How Customer Service and Marketing Go Hand in Hand

I spend a lot of time traveling between stores, and I am always watching for the way other businesses in all fields perform training, use marketing, implement marketing campaigns, and in general operate to be successful. Traveling to Houston recently,I used a lot to park in at Love Airport called the “Parking Spot”. I chose this particular company for the customer service provided and the curb appeal of their facility among other factors. I took note that I was waiting in a line that was moving efficiently with about 10 cars.  The facility next door had no line and attendants were slouching against the outside of the ticket booth wall. Their curb appeal was not as nice, but they were running a great deal. Upon entering the Parking Spot, I was greeted by a well groomed smiling employee that welcomed me to the Parking Spot and offered me free water and a morning USA Today along with the row number that had availability. Upon parking and approaching the shuttle, the driver assisted with baggage and also handed me a business card with my row number and spot number. The reason I mention the co,petition is the funny little thing that happened on our return trip. We were on the shuttle back to the lot from our return, and a block from the lot, a gentleman with a tip ready in hand,  approached the driver and explained that he was not in the Parking Spot lot, but in the lot next door. They had not given him anything with their name on it or used their name enough in the entry presentation to remember it. All he could remember was he was next door to the Parking Spot.  He meekly asked the driver if he could drop him off next door. The driver graciously complied with his request.

This illustrates the importance of brand and name recognition. It should also illustrate the importance of making sure new customers have a business card with your name on it, a customer referral card with your location on it, along with any other marketing material you can put in their hands. It is important to remember each employee, their appearance, and their actions are a reflection of the Brand. Keeping the curb appeal refreshed and pleasing is as important as paying the electric bill. Windows clean, paint refreshed, seasonal flowers and mulch refreshed as well as the parking lot being clean and freshly striped. A little care goes a long way to the bottom line. 

Remember, Keep Smiling... It is Contagious!

The Proof is in the Pudding

This past summer, while the temperatures were climbing to over 100, Storage Wars Texas filmed at several of our locations. I watched closely as the filming took place, making sure that the sale followed the Texas lien law and all bidders had an opportunity to be part of the sale. All of the units were paid for by the person offering the highest bid. I also watched not only on the facility surveillance system and from around the corner as they were going through the units filming their finds and loading it in their vehicles. It sometimes took five takes to open the box or carry it to the truck. I was amazed at how REAL this reality TV show was.
Over the last six months, I have talked several times of my experience...and was pleased to say I was on Storage Wars Texas. Everyone I talked to wanted to know if it really was real. Did they really find those things in units? Well lets begin by saying that not every unit bought makes it to the screen. Some of the units bought have no story or monetary value and get cut. My standard answer was, "Well so far everything I have seen has been above board and Real. But as they say The Proof is in the Pudding. I would let them know when I see the final cut." Well tonight I saw the units that were shot at our facilities. Some of those units were not the prettiest, but the items that they showed coming out of the units, I personally saw. The Pudding I saw, was the Real Thing!
Making a living can be done by buying units and reselling the items, but you have to remember, only about 5-10% of the top units make it to TV screen. There are several units that turn a moderate profit and there is always a large amount of items in units that head straight for the dump...part of the key to success is truly knowing the value of what you are looking at.
Oh by the way, Victor, you owe me a drink for turning you onto John Redding.

Trust--The reason they rent

Shopping for self storage takes place in a variety of ways.  From looking for facilities on the Internet and yellow pages to driving by the facility on a daily basis. No matter how a customer finds the facility, the top five answers for picking the facility are:

5. Brand Recognition
4. Curb Appeal
3. Price
2. Location
# 1. They Trusted the person they were dealing with.

There are several aspects of trust that a customer looks for from a Self Storage Manager. A customer gets a first impression in the first 6 seconds of meeting a facility representative. A well groomed, smiling and pleasant employee begins the foundation of a customer's trust. The organization and appearance of a Manager's office is an extension of that manager, and a major factor in that first impression. As a potential tenant talks to a manager, their knowledge of their facility, product and industry continues to build the future tenant's confidence to trust this person's advice. The manager should also be well versed in all aspects of your marketing programs to insure the proper implementation of the offer. It also requires them to stay current with all offers on various web sites as well as any other advertising sources.
    Once that trust is earned by one customer, it can easily be transferred to another through word of mouth referrals. This is also one of the best ROI you can hope for.
     Hire smart, using tools such as etest.net to help in evaluating manager prospects. Do that background check along with a multi level hiring process to get more than one opinion on the candidate. After that perfect candidate is found, spend the time to properly train them on all aspects of renting storage, along with each marketing program. Their knowledge creates the trust that makes the rental.

Smart Business, Smart Site, SmartPhones!

     I consider myself technologically informed, but will admit that I am a dinosaur running as fast as I can to stay educated with the ways of the future.  Tomorrow is already so 45 seconds ago. Twenty Five years ago, I was one of the first in my circle of friends to have a home computer with Windows. Then, I was in the groove carrying the newest technology made affordable to the general public known as "the cell phone." What a deal... $1 a minute and a phone that was the size of a brick... which over a very short period of time transformed into smaller, more convenient devices with packaged minutes at even better rates. At the same time, computer technology continued to develop and the laptop and air card became my best friend, giving me the unbelievable freedom to mix work and pleasure in a new fashion.
    Then, the Apple IPhone came out and not being a MAC fanatic, my general thought was  "so what, I have my Blackberry." That was until about 3 weeks after their release and a friend of mine was playing with his at a Self Storage Show.  He handed it to me to show me the ease of it's operation and I immediately fell in LOVE.  I went out and purchased one for my work phone. The addiction was cemented the first time I dropped and broke the screen on my phone.  I found myself driving an hour out of my way to get to a store to replace my phone. The ease of access to the Internet and web based operating systems has made managing several properties possible on the go.
     In using my phone on a daily basis, I have learned to Facebook, Twitter, get property reports, fix customer payment problems, search for hotels, make plane reservations, use as GPS, send pictures to the IT guy, text the son, and let's not forget staying in touch with the wife. That is the way my day starts before I even start talking to people. I find myself continually getting further away from my standard laptop and even Ipad due to the continued advancements being made for the "SmartPhones". Still, I'm waiting for my son to show me the app that will allow me to print from my IPhone to several different printers, and I will be thrilled.
     I think I'm advanced until I get together with the family and the 10 and 12 year old relatives have their own "SmartPhones" with more apps than I want and the ability to host their own Hot Spots.  I then realize the continued growth of Internet usage on these devices will be how the next generation will be making purchasing decisions and will be obtaining their information. Then, I also realize that the Facebook posting from my elderly aunt is being done via her IPhone. During a FaceTime conversation, she let me know that she does all of her banking and bill paying on the Internet using her phone.
     The latest numbers I saw concerning SmartPhone Internet usage are as follows: 1 in 3 mobile Internet searches are local. After looking up a site on a SmartPhone, 61% call a telephone number and 59% visit the location. In a recent conference call, one of the Self Storage REIT's disclosed that in the last 6 months, their mobile searches have gone from 8% of their traffic to 17% of their internet traffic and that mobile searches result in calls from 60-65% of mobile searches in comparison to 18-20% from standard internet searches.
     The other thing that I noticed is what pages attracted the women in the family.  They still account for 60 to 70% of purchasing decisions in the home. The ability to access a site quickly, with the information such as coupon, prices, telephone number, and map were the top five items that kept them on a page. Websites that had white backgrounds and sharp distinct colors grabbed their attention. Having "call to action" verbiage and easy manueverability to find information is what keeps them from bouncing off of a page.
     Keeping your website up to date and able to load fast to mobile applications will continue to be the direction of technology development. As you update your site, look at your competitors and compare how they load to mobile devices.  Does what you have on the landing page have the content to make you want to stay or explore?  If you really want to know what works find 5 to 10 young ladies between the ages of 16 and 30 with their SmartPhones.  Give them the list of competitors sites and ask them what they liked and disliked about each site. The answers might surprise you!

Aggregators: A place in Self Storage?

Over the last month there has been an attack on Self Storage Aggregators. They have been attacked on how they have dominated front page listings on Internet services, fees charged, maps claimed and how they are competing against the same industry that they are claiming to be helping. There are a variety of business plans out there that are lumped into this one category. There are those that list on a closest distance from center of zip codes, radiating out, for a set monthly amount. Some pay per lead sites are managed by REIT's that have found independent facilities to join their network in  a market area that they do not have Corporate facilities to cover, but know the value of assisting a customer. There are affiliate programs that are focused on being able to give 1st or 2nd  page presence to small operators that are driven from the those pages by the dominance of the REIT's in major markets. There are also the pay per reservation or rental sites, that offer various buy up opportunities.
   These aggregators are being compared to those in the hotel and airline industry. The hotel industry can sometimes be compared to the Self Storage industry due to the number of individual property owners seeking to drive traffic through their front doors. There is a fine line owners and managers must balance when it comes to marketing, discounts and promotions in either industry to fill space. At the same time you must take various local factors into consideration along with management of street rates.
   Aggregators gained their foothold in our industry during a time when growth of facilities was at it's highest point and the economy threw a curve to the nation with the worst recession we have seen since the 1930's. These vendors offered advice in a growing technology and the fastest growing marketing medium in history, known as the Internet. They have the strongest presence in the larger market areas where small and middle size operators with limited budgets are battling the REIT's who are spending millions of dollars monthly on Internet advertisement along with Internet marketing and SEO research. It is difficult for the small operator to battle the advertisement dollar of a REIT that buys ad space with their web link under an independent's name and address on the independent's facility map flag on Google Maps.

Not true? Show all edits Not true?

  The first thing I will say is that the large and the small facility owners should have a web presence if they want to continue to increase the value of their investment. With that said, you must also be willing to invest the time and money required to manage it's success. Right now you should already have a Facebook page, Twitter account, LinkedIn page and Google+ account. Use these sights to help stay current on your industry and research others that operate in a similar manner. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the key to the game. "How do you make the most of it?" is the million dollar question, as Google continually changes the way it looks at relevance. As an example in late 2011 there was a large push on getting reviews on various sites that offered postings as Google was extracting reviews from various 3rd party review sites. Google has since stopped extracting reviews from other sites for relevance... which encourages the smart owner to be educating his team on how to send their clients to the Google review pages, sign in, and leave that desired review and rating... Realize that just building a web page "Does Not" guarantee they will come. It takes continual updating to keep your site relevant through various strategies including link building, bounce rates, relevance ratings on Google analytics, to the proper key words for SEO. It is a lot of work and then only the beginning.

   Some of the operators trying to compete in major market places, have a limited number of units and a limited budget for Marketing and Internet optimization. The cost and effectiveness of web hosting varies immensely from flat rates to build the site starting anywhere from $1000 and up, plus a monthly maintenance and optimization fee that can start at $100 and up. That is where one form or another of the aggregators are helpful. Some aggregators offer flat fee services that offer a landing or place page for a facility and some even offer administration rights to edit rates, units and various descriptions.
   If you are looking at a number of units that are vacant and want to use the technology of showing your street rate and a special Internet rate, there are those aggregators that charge a fee per reservation and can help with placement through a varying rate scale, along with charges for various unit sizes. You have to look at the average ROI per customer and the related costs to determine if this is an option for you.
   There are basically two types of customers that you obtain using the aggregators. The first is the lazy Internet user that is looking for several quick choices in his general vicinity. The second is the customer that is looking for that Deal.
   The bottom line is that the operator is still setting what they will accept for an empty space. An operator's success or failure on any Internet site is whether they keep the information current as well as being open to publicly publishing prices. Make that "Call To Action" easy with a telephone number that will be answered by a manager that professionally obtains and disseminates the proper and necessary information.
   I have used aggregators in the past for travel and have learned that dealing with hotels directly will usually give me the same if not a better price.  When there is a problem it is easier to deal directly with the organization you are having a problem with, than with a 3rd party. I personally book direct to earn the vendor points as well as an escalated amount of customer service.
   There are several sides to every issue and I guarantee there is not one answer that is 100% correct. The best answer is get educated, learn as much as you can and everything about the Internet you can, and then continue soaking it in. Secondly, you must consider the marketing dollar, advertising dollar and Internet investment dollar you have to spend, and then use what you have to be the most beneficial to your organization. What you do Today will be different from what works Tomorrow... be versatile and open to change. Our customer's renting habits along with the way they find us, changes daily...
Aggregators: A place in Self Storage ?
Maybe you should be asking; Is my web site Smart Phone friendly?