Market It And They Will Come, part 1 by Marc Goodin, author of Crush Your Competition.
When I designed my first self storage facility over 30 years ago as a young civil engineer in the 80’s I wondered if self storage would catch on or be brief fad. Now of course in the US, with more double the number of self storages then all the US Cities & Towns combined, everyone has heard of self storage. While a lot has changed in the self storage business over the last 30 years, a lot has stayed the same. It is still the best business bar none. But just like 30 years ago your communities understanding and perception of your facility have a great impact on your business.
Because self storage is the most profitable commercial sector most owners are satisfied with their profits and don’t go the extra mile. I am not saying most self storages don’t provide a great product, in fact they do. What I am saying is a little extra “marketing” will put your facility in the high profit ranges of one of the most profitable business sectors. Unfortunately we have to admit that perseverance is not the most human trait. And people often refuse the truth because it is not convenient.
The good news is for us go-getters is the sun is shining. Build It and They Will Come is truer now than 27 years ago. The industry has started to educate the public on the value and many different uses of self storage. The number of self storage users continues to grow year after year. We are coming out of a recession where the use of self storage will be more extensively required as the population becomes more transit again and when business are expanding again. Now you just need to let them know how your facility is special and why they need you. “We are different let us show you how” is the required motto for the modern self storage business to be unbelievable successful.
If your ready to launch or re launch your marketing program my just released book Crush Your Competition 101 Self Storage Marketing Tips For The Fastest Way To Huge Profits is the cheapest way to get the knowledge and the Self Storage Marketing tips you need. It is available at my blog and web site http://www.SelfStorageMarketing101.com
If your not convinced you need to read on.
I know many of you are saying advertising and marketing does not make a difference. You are saying, “I’ve heard all those Pepsi ads and they never enticed me to buy Pepsi.” Self storage is not like Pepsi but is a little like the on going Pepsi and Coke battles. Let me give you two of examples to explain.
Self storage is like the wine business and the restaurant business. Self storage like wine is an acquired taste. Many people prefer beer instead of wine. Just like many people store their car in a local barn in the winter instead of self storage. Many people didn’t like the taste of wine when they were young. After several occasions where wine was encouraged they began to enjoy wine more and more until they regularly drink wine. Then like me replaced beer with wine. When properly educated (educating is marketing) people who stored their car in a barn learned it was often not insured by their insurance policy (but would be in a self storage facility). They also learned how easy it was to get access to their car on a sunny winter or spring day. They decided to give self storage a try, loved it and now use store their car in storage every winter.
Have you ever noticed how there are two very similar restaurants in your community where one is doing fine and the other is always jammed packed. Both are nice restaurants and serve great food. The differences are often very subtle. Often it is not one thing that makes the difference but a host of many very small, almost invisible things. The marketing and marketing philosophy, little environmental improvements and the improved customer service is what makes one restaurant so much more successful. At one the staff is always cheerful, talking about the great things happening in town, how great the co-workers and owners are. The other one often does the same but once in a while can’t help to gossip or lets their personal problems slip into the conversation. At one the coffee is brought to your table just one minute faster; at one you can ask any staff for assistance vs. just your waiter/waitress and get a cheerful response; at one you notice the little extra touch that went into make your dinner an experience. You get the idea. The same goes for self storage. A little extra marketing (dressing up your facility inside and out & customer service is marketing) goes a long way.
People have a choice when it comes to self storage. People do not choose randomly. I own 3 self storages and I can also personally testify the vast majority of people do not choose one self storage over the other based upon the lowest price. In the end, most people rent from you as opposed to “them” (or vise versa) because “it just felt right”. That is what “Crush Your Competition” is about - Making sure people and prospects “just feel right” at your self storage. You can buy it now at http://www.SelfStorageMarketing101.com
If you didn’t just click on that link you need to read part 2, to learn more about marketing and why “Crush Your Competition” is the one book you need to take control of your self storage future. Read it. Believe it. Do it. Your future depends on it.
To Success!
Marc Goodin
Market It And They Will Come, Part 2 by marc Goodin, author of Crush Your Competition. I hope you enjoyed part one. If you missed it take a minute and check it out.
Take Control of your Destiny
THE BOTTOM LINE? You want to be successful. You want to take control of your destiny.
The bottom line is you can’t change what the neighboring self storage business is doing, but you can realize your biggest competition is yourself and all those negative thoughts in your head. And you can crush all those negative thoughts with actions. You are the magic.
First I want to tell you briefly how I know this to be true.
As a civil engineer and owner of an engineering company I learned the life blood of a company depended on skilled workers and marketing, especial if you wanted to be an industry leader. Along with a good product you need a great marketing message and campaign. As a civil engineer I designed site plans from Burger King to Wal-Mart but self storage always intrigued me the most after I designed my first (one of many) facilities 27 years ago. Many nuances go into not only the design of a great self storage but also the City approvals.
After designing dozens and dozens of self storage site plans for others, I decided it was time to go into the self storage business for myself. I designed, got approvals for, built and manage two of my own self storage facility in the US. My first personal international self storage facility was recently built in Canada. Again I designed, obtained approvals, built, manage and own the facility. In the trenches I learned gorilla marketing and saw first hand the big difference it made.
Over 10 years ago I sold my engineering practice to concentrate all my energies in the self storage business. After reading hundreds of marketing books over the years full of general theory I decided it was time to put my experience from the trenches into a book for self storage owners and mangers. I accomplished this goal with the easy to use, specific how to, hands on marketing book, complete with examples, tactics and ideas that can be implement immediately for more profits. You can buy Crush Your Competition 101 Self Storage Marketing Tips For The Fastest Ways To Huge Profits. at Amazon or at my book website. http://www.SelfStorageMarketing101.com.
In the book are 102 weekly magical marketing practices that have been deigned to help you crush (leave in the dust) your competition and make more profits. Within each weekly practice is a wealth of simple marketing task to be learned and performed. You don’t need a to hire a marketing professional or clear your calendar because each task is designed to be implemented within your everyday life schedule.
One last important thing, your self storage business community including your competition, your self storage association and companies like 24hrStorage.net are great recourses to help you and your business be very successful. Together we can all insure this is a great business for many years to come.
Here is some of the fine print on what you will find in Crush Your Competition.
Crush Your Competition will give you the ammunition you need for incredible profits - weather you’re an entrepreneur, professional, self storage owner, self storage manager or absolute new comer to the self storage business. Marc Goodin will show you how to use simple marketing specifics, tactics and ideas with minimal cost and maximum profits.
This book has the tools for new start ups with more energy than money and is ideal for established businesses that need new fresh ideas. You’ll find:
· Complete step by step guidance in plain English on marketing a self storage business.
· Hundreds of great marketing ideas for much less than you would expect, many free.
· Personal insights and stories from the trenches to grow your business.
· How to take control of your marketing for easy money.
· An initial plan for you to make an extra $30,000 to $120,000 every year.
· Ways to keep your clients longer and get more referrals for free money.
· Dozens of tips to improve your customer service and rent more units.
· How to supercharge you sales from drive by customers, to walk ins, to phone calls, to the internet, to retail sales, from your existing client base and more.
· Tactics for penetrating your market.
· Knowledge you need to start making more money day one.
· Secrets the big boys and REITs don’t want you to know.
· You can’t afford not to energize your marketing for substantial profits any longer.
· How to make your clients feel special and appreciated.
· How to increase your profits week after week with proven specifics in this book.
· You will no longer have to take a leap of faith. After reading this book you will be able to reap the rewards of your actions.
Crush Your Competition with 101 Self Storage Marketing Tips For The Fastest Way to Huge Profits is the one book you need to take control of your Self Storage Future. Read it. Believe it. Do it. Your future depends on it.
To Success!
Marc Goodin
ps if you got are looking to build you can also check out my development book at the site above.
pss I am so sure you will get way more than your money's worth from any book purchase, I provide you a 100% money back guarantee - no questions asked. Plus if you buy any of my books you also get too check me out for one hour conversation at no cost! marc@StorageAuthority.com