So, you finished building your self storage facility – congratulations!
Welcome to the next challenge for your business – filling it up!
There are sure-fire ways to make sure your Self Storage site fills up as fast as possible and most of these need to be considered before you open! The Editors asked industry experts for their 5 ways to build occupancy in a new Self Storage facility.
Do your Homework
With more than 3,500 Self Storage sites across Australia, getting your research done prior to opening the doors is critical to the long-term success of your new site. Like many investments, Self Storage facilities can sometimes be built without the owner doing a lot of research beforehand. Whilst Self Storage might look like a bunch of garages on a block of land or a warehouse with lots of rooms, they are in fact specialist buildings, designed to work based on industry knowledge and research. This website contains a lot of knowledge from suppliers and industry experts who can ensure your development works. Ask them for advice.
Get the Unit mix right
Again, research is needed. Listening to the local garage builder who thinks he knows what you need is the first step to empty units. A carefully designed Storage unit mix will show early rental trends, delivering flexibility to add more popular units as occupancy increases. Early enquiries will also indicate what sizes to build. Building all of your fit-out at once can work if you get the entire mix right from the start, but few achieve that goal, with some units over many years never rented. Don’t overdo the range of sizes.
The industry’s leading contactless move in technology, RapidStor created a Space calculator that directs customers with three simple options “small medium or large” helping to narrow the choice for consumers, resulting in faster rentals.
Many Self Storage customers have no idea other than “small, medium or large, offering 25 sizes leads to renter confusion and vacant units. Get your unit mix right at the start leads to much higher occupancy. Some sites after 5 years are still 20% vacant, often left with unrentable sizes.
Market Early
Lead times for rentals are a fact of life for all Self Storage sites. Of all customers who that are investigating self storage online, only a very few need a unit today, while most are researching or planning. Marketing your new Self Storage Facility early means that you have a ready supply of ready to go leads. R6 Digital the leaders in Self Storage marketing say 2-3 months prior to opening provides a foundation for opening day occupancy. They can plan a marketing campaign to suit your budget. You will need to follow up these leads and installing SiteLink Web Edition will keep all these leads in place. SiteLink Web Edition will be the tool you use to rent units and manage your site day today.
Price Space to sell
Be realistic about prices for spaces and look to the competition for guidance. Being $5 lower does not guarantee a rental. Location is and always has been the major factor for 95% of rentals. Customers expect convenience and value. In the US across heavily built markets, the spreads of prices on sizes is less than 10%, convenience the key factor to move-ins.
When customers compare your prices and you are competitive, then their rental decision is based on convenience and ease of rental. Can they book online? Can they work out what they are renting? Is the price displayed so they can decide? If you hide your price, a portion of the market assumes your pricing for space is excessive. Competitive businesses expose prices and sell on quality and service.
Don’t skimp on Good People
Our industry is close to the person less Self Storage site, but the fact remains we are not there quite yet. Self Storage for many is still a mystery, hence personal communication is essential to help your customers. Staff need to be web conversant and treat tools used to garner business as their personal assistant. The professional website and marketing, the right unit mix, the multi-million dollar site comes down to the face to face contact at the site, ensure staff are friendly, know their tools and their product and your site will rent more space.
There are plenty of industry experts who can assist your journey into Self Storage, ask them for assistance and advice and your site will be successful.
