Have you ever seen an advertisement and wondered what in the word the marketing executives were thinking when they approved it? Advertisements need to speak to the viewers, but preferably in a way that entices them to frequent an establishment, not make it the butt of jokes. Those who fail in this regard will often find themselves lacking in business simply because they failed to get in touch with the people.
Getting “in touch” can very well result in being “in business” when it comes to the self storage industry. How successful you are at it can very well depend on the method that you choose.
One way in which many self storage businesses have used to get in touch with their communities by participating in some way at local street fairs and festivals. Sometimes this can be done by acting as a sponsor for an event or by setting up a booth and becoming a part of it.
"As a business within the area, we feel even more connected to our customers when we participate in neighborhood events. We enjoy Nyack's street festivals and sharing what we know about self storage to those who attend," says Storage Post Suffern manager Sebastyan Kopolovich.
Storage Post Self Storage has made it a practice to get involved in community events. In Nyack, New York, they will be a part of the upcoming Septemberfest on September 25. The week prior to Septemberfest they also had a booth at a local street fair in Suffern.
As fun as getting to know the community at a street fair can be, it is not always possible. Not every community holds those types of events for any number of reasons. However, if physically meeting them is not possible there is no reason why a self storage facility can’t reach out and get in touch with the virtual community.
Social media has made it possible to have direct one on one contact with tenants and potential tenants without ever meeting them face to face. According to statistics, people spend over 20 percent of their time online visiting social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.
A number of self storage facilities have used Facebook to hold contests and promotions to bring in new clients. Since the World Wide Web and social media sites are practically free to use, the costs for these contests and promotions is minimal.
“We have always offered college specials, but this year we decided it was time for something fun, and more in tune with the college customer market than the usual print advertising,” ezStorage President Todd Manganaro said in regards to a Store Your Stuff and Win competition they promoted online towards the end of last year.
Sources Used:
“Storage Post Self Storage Participates in Nyack SeptemberFest.” PRNewswire; 21 September 2011.
“Storage Post Self Storage Participating in Suffern Community Festival.” PRNewswire; 14 September 2011.
“Social Networking and Self Storage Starting to go Hand-in-Hand.” Self Storage Industry News; 17 November 2010.