By Marc Goodin, CEO of Storage Authority, the only Self Storage Franchise.
One of the fastest ways to become a premiere business is by learning from others. McDonald's did not become a leader in fast food, real estate, and franchising by doing the same thing over and over. Every year they look at their process and products to see how they can get better and better serve their customers.
Here are three items McDonald's is implementing that we need to consider for the self storage industry immediately.
This year they made a big investment in digital strategies to create a more personalized and convenient experience for customers. Their digital kiosks make ordering a breeze and now account for 40% of sales.
Every self storage needs a kiosk to rent a unit and take payments. And let's put it in a vestibule to make it very customer-friendly. Websites need to be upgraded and include online rentals. Many online rentals are "bulky" and need upgrading as well.
2. McDonald's loyalty program is expanding.
Few if any self-storage's have a loyalty program. It may be hard for the REITS to build a loyalty program when they increase their initial teaser rental rate by $90/month in record time. But the rest of us need to consider a loyalty program to help us Crush the REITS.
3. McDonald's is raising their prices by 10% in 2024 after raising their prices 10% in 2023.
COVID effects, high construction costs, high interest rates, higher property taxes and staffing are just some of the reasons self storage rental rates must be raised. You can follow the REITS crazy strategies of severely discounting move-in rates and then having huge (up to $90/month) rental increases in 3 and 7 months. I don't like stabbing my clients in the back so we have guaranteed our rates for a year. Of course, since we have higher move-in rates we have to be much better than the REITs by clearly providing the hospitality service and product our clients want and expect. Which isn't hard with know-how and practice.
What are you going to do differently in 2024?
Do you want to know if you qualify for a Storage Authority Franchise?
If you fill out the application (apply icon on our website) you will have your answer in 2-3 days. Or we can have a 10-minute call today and not only will you know if you qualify, you will learn the basics of what is involved in developing and operating a self-storage business. Give me a call or let me know a couple of good times to call you. (Let me know the time zone - I am Eastern Standard Time)
Marc@storageauthority.com or 860-830-6764
Marc Goodin is the President of Storage Authority Franchising. www.StorageAuthorityFranchise.com He owns 3 self-storages he designed, built, and manages. He has been helping others in the self-storage industry for over 30 years. He can be reached at marc@StorageAuthority.com or directly at 860-830-6764 to answer your franchising, development, marketing, sales, and operations questions. His best-selling self-storage books are available on Amazon.
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