Success for a self storage facility can rest almost entirely on the relationship that a facility has within a community. With the exception of people that need storage space after moving to a community from another, tenants will pretty much all be from the immediate local area.
Community has always been an important part of business for self storage facilities. Prior to the creation of directory sites like USSelfStorage.com, people often used whichever self storage facility they saw in the community first. This made whatever self storage facilities could do within the community to stand out more vital to the success of the business.
Involvement in community events is a common way in which many self storage facilities increase their presence within the local community. For example, Storage Post Self Storage in Suffern, New York, will have a booth at the Suffern Street Fair on Sunday, September 18.
"We love working for the community and with the community to give them the storage they need year-round. Participating in this festival is just another way we can support the town and show what Storage Post is all about," says Storage Post's Suffern manager, Sebastyan Kopolovich. "We can't wait for the fun of the festival to begin."
By making a connection with people while they are enjoying a family-friendly event like a street fair, a self storage facility gets a chance to become familiar with prospective tenants in a fun, positive atmosphere. This makes it more likely that people will leave with a positive impression of the facility.
If you need self storage, where are you going to go; a place you have a reason to like or one you just happened to drive by?
Another common way in which self storage facilities endear themselves to the community is by giving back to it. It is not uncommon to see a self storage facility acting as a drop off point for a charity drive, sponsoring a local little league team, or donating money to a worthy cause.
Hide-Away Storage, a self storage company in Florida with 10 facilities in Manatee County, helps out local charities and churches by offering them heavily discounted storage units for long term use and free ones for short term needs.
“There are many nonprofits who have furniture and other things they want to keep, but they need a place to keep it. Or they do things every year, fundraising events, and they just can’t throw stuff away between annual events,” Steve Wilson, the managing partner of Hide-Away Storage, said. “They need storage space.”
To make sure they get it, Hide-Away Storage offers spaces free to local charities and churches for up to three months, and at a 40 percent discount for long term use.
Sources Used:
“Storage Post Self Storage Participating in Suffern Community Festival.” PR Newswire; 14 September 2011.
“Hide-Away discount plan benefits nonprofits, churches.” Bradenton.com; 23 March 2011.