There are only 3 ways to grow any business – including your self-storage business.

1. Acquire New Customers (Increase Occupancy) 2. Increase The Value Of Each Customer 3. Lower Operating Expenses/Increase Margins

If you think about it for a few minutes, you’ll quickly realize that everything you’ve done to increase profits has fallen under one of those 3 categories.

If you find yourself engaged in a discussion about ideas that don’t fall into these areas, you’re in a danger zone and need to back up and make sure you start with this foundation prior to continuing.

I’ve seen millions of dollars wasted on ideas that fall outside of these 3 areas and I would be doing you a disservice by not cautioning you on the danger of even exploring the ideas if they don’t fit snuggly into these categories.

So, let's get started with point number one: Acquiring New Customers

Although there are other ways to increase the profitability of your storage facility, increasing occupancy is the most obvious and talked about method.

However, since there are so many ways to acquire a new customer, there is a lot of confusion and therefore a lot of money wasted in this business on bad marketing and sales tactics.

Before we get into the tactics of actually acquiring new customers, we need to take a holistic view of what is actually happening in your marketplace when a prospective customer needs storage and begins the hunt for a facility to store their belongings.

In order to create powerful marketing strategies we need to first see the world through your prospects eyes, in an effort to understand their motive in deciding to use storage in the first place. Then to understand their motive in choosing whatever facility they do. You’ve likely heard the maxim: “If you want to know why John Smith buys what John Smith buys you’ve got to see the world through John Smith’s eyes”.

As a marketer, that is one of the most valuable, underused maxims of all time.

See, marketing has many definitions. But ultimately it all boils down to MOTIVATING somebody to use your product/service to satisfy their need or want. But, in order to motivate, we must understand motive.

We uncover motive by – now this is real rocket science here so brace yourself – asking your customers and prospects what their motive is!

Imagine that!

Now, this must be done correctly since we know that a person’s first, surface level answer is usually not the complete and real answer but it really boils down to asking them why…

Why, after all of these years of a cluttered closet or garage, did you finally decide to use self storage?

Why, Businessman, did you finally decide to use self-storage to expand your distribution reach?

Why, of all the choices in town, did you choose us?

Why, why why?

After asking the right questions, the right way, enough times, you’re able to start drawing some good conclusions. But we’re not finished…

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