» Self Storage Business
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Attracting New Customers to Your Storage CompanyBy jeff on January 24, 2011 | No Comments
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If you are experiencing a little down time in your Minnetonka self storage operation, this would be a good time to gear up for the busy season. With all of the snow on the ground, it seems like spring is a long ways away. It will be here before you know it, which is just kind of the way these things work. Last year may not have been everything that you hoped for. Many in Minnesota had slow years. The outlook is good for many Minnetonka self storage companies this year. There will be a lot of phone calls coming in within the next couple of months and you want to be at the top of your game. You may have developed some bad habits over the long winter months, so it is high time to get rid of the cobwebs and gear up for the spring.
What your Minnetonka self storage does in the spring will benefit for the rest of the year and beyond. Each storage customer is important and will generate a lot of revenue for your company. The rent is the obvious revenue source, but there are some other sources of revenue that you do not want to miss out on. Moving and storage supplies will be needed by pretty much everyone that rents from you. They may not realize that you offer many of the things that they will need. They would then just buy most of the stuff before they got to your facility. You should consider putting many of your more popular items on a discount so you can move them in bulk throughout the spring. Make sure to tell each caller than that you offer locks, boxes, and pretty much anything related to moving and storage supplies. If you do not carry moving and storage supplies, stock up for the spring.
Every knows that the key to success is customer satisfaction. Attracting new customers is what it is all about, but you also need to take care of your current tenants. Try something unconventional. You could offer a five or ten percent discount to customers who have been with you for longer than a year. This is something that most sites in Minnesota would not even think of doing since it would seem that you are losing revenue. This will generate more revenue in the long term because you will have loyal customers. Loyal customers will stay longer. If customers stayed an average of one extra month because you offered them a discount, then the program would pay for itself. It lets the customer know that you appreciate the fact that they store with you. They could have stored anywhere, but they chose your company.
Loyal customers will also send you referrals and generate even more revenue. It is definitely a snowball effect of sorts. Short term thinking storage owners may not see the big picture. They will be consumed with making the most money now that they will fail in the long term. They will be on to something else, like maybe owning a used car lot. Owners who think in the long term will generate good profit now and in the long run. They will be able to have a nice retirement some day and enjoy the golden years.
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Guide For Your Self Storage BusinessBy admin on February 7, 2009 | No Comments
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If you are the owner of , then you must feel that day by day the competition is increasing and it is becoming more tough challenge to stay in the industry. People are always looking for extra space to keep their additional belongings. To cater to their requirement, plenty of self storing businesses are cropping up here and there. The industry is growing gradually and hence the competition is also increasing. If your business is more than a decade old then you might find that it is not paying off same way as it was before. At this point of time, you have to concentrate on certain issues, so that you can again go back to your good old days by earning a reputable amount of revenues from your business.
The ideal self storage business is a dream concept. It is really very difficult to attain that level, where there is more than 90 percent occupancy through out the year or you get innumerable calls in each day or your staffs do not require any training or you can convert most of the prospective customers into real ones etc. Reaching to this level might be difficult but not infeasible. If you are sincere, devoted and dedicated to your business, you can easily reach near that level. To ensure this level of business operation, you have to look for following marketing aspects.
- In your self storage business you have to ensure that your phone remains connected with your prospective customers 24 hours 7 days a week. Even if this is not possible, you have to take this as a goal for your business. For this, you have to give more priority to the marketing and advertising part. Your total spent money on the advertising part should return back to you in this way. You should try out various types of creative and innovative ideas, to project your business. You must keep a moderate amount of money as your marketing budget. If you want, you can take professional help to build up brilliant advertisements for your business.
- The second step for your self storage business is going to contact more people who call you up and visit. This depends on the way you communicate with the potential customer, when he calls you up. While you are on the phone, you have to give him an impression that none of the other storing facilities can be more beneficial to him than yours. You have to convince him in such a way, that he at least plans to visit your place and ultimately does this. Once he visits your place, then you can talk to him much more clearly and convincingly. Try to convert at least 70 percent such caller customer to visiting ones.
- The next step in your self storage business is to improve more in the number of people who visit and then sign for the agreement. This part is also quite difficult as you have to prove to the potential customers that you are the best in the locality. You should convince your customer by any means, so that he immediately plans for signing the agreement.
- The final step is to deal with your sincerely and nicely, so that no dispute arises during the storing period and thus he can extend the storing period for long term or he presents you much more referrals. You have to give him such a confidence level, that whenever he thinks of storing, he thinks about your facility.