This is done through advertising mediums. This includes Television, Radio, Direct Mail, Yellow Pages, Billboards, etc.

Rather than go into each medium, I’ll get straight to the point on this…

For most facilities, spending advertising dollars on anything but Yellow Pages, Internet and Direct Mail is a giant waste of your money. Convenience and location are by far the biggest decision factors in the self-storage business. People want their belongings close and within easy access! This is why most of your customers live so close to the site they store at.

So, advertising to somebody 20 miles away by using mediums like radio, TV and sometimes even Yellow Pages is absolutely pointless. Why would you make somebody an offer who won’t accept it even if they wanted to?

Rather you should focus on the closest 30,000-60,000 households to each of your facilities. They are close, you are convenient and you can inexpensively deliver them a message that motivates them to use you. To fully occupy each facility, you probably only need 1%-5% of that universe to become a customer.

All of your marketing tactics should focus on those who live and/or work by your facility. Period!

Now, before you say something along the line of: “Direct mail doesn’t work” or, “I trash every piece of direct mail that comes my way”, consider this: according to the Direct Marketing Association, “Direct Mail is still the most efficient and effective way to advertise.”

If you’ve tried direct mail in the past, and it didn’t work, don’t challenge direct mail. What you need to do is challenge the way you did the direct mail. Almost every client we have has moved very cautiously towards making a small test investment in direct mail only to be proved wrong. Remember, most people WILL trash your piece…that’s fine. All we typically need is a measly 1%-5% to respond and we’re in the money…

I hope you've found this article helpful, insightful or at the bare minimum, a reinforcement of your existing beliefs.

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