There is one way to insure that your business is going to be healthy enough to stick around, a consistent number of customers. If you have at least a base number that you can count on than you know that you will at least be bringing ‘X’ amount of revenue every month. When you at least have that base level then you can decide how aggressive you need to be in finding new tenants for your self storage facility.
So how do you keep your customers?
Some situations are inevitable and there will be nothing you can do to keep that customer from leaving. When military personnel get redeployed, students graduate, families move into bigger places, or businesses relocate you can’t help it. However, barring events like those there are things that you as the self storage manager/owner can do.
One of the best things to do to keep your tenants renewing their contracts is to make sure you reduce their stress levels whenever possible. Chances are strong that they are using your self storage facility because they are either on the move, away from family, forced to downsize living quarters, and any of a number of reasons that people may not be happy about.
Coming to pay their bill or needing to sift through their unit for something is likely not high on their list of things to do. Make those things easier on them and they will likely show that appreciation by sticking with you longer.
“We realize that the majority of our move-ins is experiencing a certain level of stress, as moving is often stressful or the result of a life change that acts as a major stressor, such as marriage and divorce, births and deaths, and moving and renovations,” said Frank DeFazio director of marketing for Guardian Storage Property Management.
Tenants want to be comforted. By doing what you can to make sure they have their stress will be reduced will give them what they need. Stream line the paperwork and make it possible for them to get in to their units faster and easier.
It also helps when you make the process of finding you easier as well. Make sure that you have a good, well-established presence on the web with a site that is easy to navigate and understand. People will often look to the web when they are first thinking of using a self storage facility so having a website is vital.
“We see a lot of business come through the Internet,” Rick Yonis, the president of Sentry Self Storage Management said. “There is enough anxiety associated with move-in, so we try make their storage experience less stressful. We like giving them the ability to do their research online before they get to us.”
Sources Used:
“Customer Care and Retention.” SSA Globe; March 2011.
“Use Self Storage to Minimize Holiday Moving Stress.” Self Storage Industry News; 18 December 2009.