Niche Secret Shopping
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Storage in itself encompasses everything the name itself means. The reasons for getting storage is as vast as the people who are looking for it. All around the US and Canada calls come in everyday for information about storage facilities. Pricing is a big factor, then the amenities. And, add in the location. Mix it all together and you have the reason why we have storage facilities.
With a growing industry comes other niche industries that develop. One good example of how self storage has spun off new markets is the self storage industry. As supply catches up with demand in the self storage world, offering great customer service and having good sales skills is important and requires that storage owners use secret shopping for some quality assurance.
From sunny Florida all the way up to Nova Scotia people are looking to store items from bags and boxes to RVs and boats. There is storage in the biggest of cities to the smallest of towns. Some people are surprised to know that there is a facility a block or so over because they never noticed it until they needed it. Some say they drive by the facility on their way home or to work and they only want that facility because it is near them most of the day and they feel safer putting their items in that place. Others have to get a storage unit because they are moving out of state and, they have to leave some items behind because their new home is smaller. To them, storage is not a luxury, it is a necessity.
Another aspect of storage that is growing are the people who are staging their homes. They only need storage for as long as it takes them to sell their home. And, there are the house flippers. They also only need temporary storage. Or, the business person who sells restaurant or pharmaceutical supplies and needs long-term storage because they get the materials they need on a monthly basis.
All those are good scenarios for a secret shopping shopper to use when they are pretending to be a customer. is a sure way to make sure that customers in any situation receive excellent care and superior service.
Storage for the average consumer is primarily household furniture and other miscellaneous items. When a person calls the facility they are usually full of questions. What are the gate hours? Where exactly are you located? What is the difference between climate control and non climate control units? Can you park a vehicle inside? What all sizes do you have here? Will there be a contract? Is there a deposit? How long do you have to rent the unit? How high are the ceilings? What does the special mean? Are there any specials now? Do they have military or senior discount? Those are just some of the questions potential customers usually ask.
Answers to those questions are what a secret shopping company would look for when conducting their secret shopping program. A typical secret shopping agent would not take too much control of the conversation between himself and the self storage manager. The goal of the secret shopping program is to determine what service the sales associate offers.
Storage for all who need it really is vital. Think about what you would do if you lived in a 3 bedroom home and had to move into a 1 bedroom apartment. What would you do with all the belongings you cannot take? If there was not any storage, would you put it in a friend or relatives attic or basement? Would you have to put it in your parents utility shed in the backyard? If there were not any storage facilities the options would be extremely limited. Thank goodness for storage facilities. Without them, we would not have many friends or family members speaking to us.
The bottom line with storage is it helps make out lives easier. The locations of the facilities and the pricing and the amenities they offer helps us make our storage decisions. Some people just do not care about that. They just care about the price. The rest care about the whole package. All of them just want a secure place to put their valuables.
This is why a secret shopping program has become necessary for self storage owners and self storage companies. A secret shopping program will ensure that customers receive all the info they need to make an educated decision about where they should store.
Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.
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