Friday, October 14, 2011

Ways Self Storage Facilities Can Give Back

Want to make more money? Want to draw positive attention to your self storage facility? Want to increase your profits and book every self storage unit in your facility? Then be nice. True story—being nice does not always mean you finish last. Being nice at your business comes in so many different forms and you don't have to even take money into consideration in the whole process (except for the part where your sales increase and you start making more money). Giving to the community doesn't mean shelling out a lot of money to sponsor a sports team or something along those lines.


 

You can give back to your community by leaving boxes throughout the facility for people to donate unwanted clothes, books and other items. Think about how many people have been displaced by the horrendous state of the current economy. Think how many of the people that rent from you are storing their household goods because they've been forced out of their homes. If you set up a box for gently used clothes and books, others can greatly reap the benefits and you won't have to be bothered at all. You've now helped somebody and helped to create loyalty with a customer.


 

You can give back to the community by participating in a one of the hundreds of races, runs, and walks that take place every month to raise money for charities. Have people sponsor you. Wear your self storage facility t-shirts or something during the event to show your brand. Again, you are creating loyalty with people who like that you are taking time to help others and you are doing something nice for the community.


 

During the fall and winter, giving back is on the minds of so many people. Since it's October, you could do something for Breast Cancer Awareness month. Put up pink balloons, wrap pink paper around your main door, put up posters shows people ways to get involved. For Thanksgiving, put a box out in the office for a canned food drive. Promote an offer like 1 can = 1 % off next month's rent up to a certain amount to help raise food for a local food bank. Your company gets attention and the community receives resources. Work with the United States Marine Corps and have a Toys-for-Tots box at your storage facility. Again, promote that people can receive a small discount for donating. Have a crafty spouse make something like candles and set up a stand at one of the hundreds holiday crafts fairs that take place this time of year and say your company is donating the profits to charity.


 

Year round you can donate a small storage unit to a charitable organization to boost exposure and give back. Create a gift basket for a silent auction full of moving supplies for a local high school. The possibilities are truly endless. Think about what you could do to get your company's name out in the community and give back at the same time.


 

As we all know, most of our customers come from local markets and quite often from word of mouth; so make sure what people are saying is good and remember your storage facility's name when their friends and family mention they need self storage. Make sure that people have positive connotations of your company so that they will want to trust you to harbor their items. Instead of customers thinking, "Oh, right. I think I've heard of that storage place down the road, I guess I'll look into it." Have them think, "I'll go book with this storage facility because they came out and supported the March of Dimes last spring." Go out and do some positive promotion, give back, and complete random acts of kindness. It'll be good for your business, you as a person, and the community.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Adding Depth to Your Self Storage Facility

Your self storage facility is more than just a location full of storage units and an office; at least it can be more. In today's market, everybody is trying to find a way to be different. Most are trying to stand out from other places without having to put too much of a dent into their own pocket. There are many things that can be done and looking at what others have done can be a great source of inspiration.


 

Store Self Storage and Wine Storage, a Palm Beach Gardens Self Storage facility, was able to drum up some extra attention throughout the summer and into late September by opening up part of the facility for a green market. By opening up a covered portion of their facility, they were able to host essentially a farmer's market where local vendors brought in their home made or home grown goods. The event brought in people during the summer and provided a great source of word-of-mouth advertising. In October, the facility is hosting another event. They will be hosting a Wine and Design Showcase.


 

The green market and showcase that Store Self Storage and Wine Storage holds also garners them a lot of local attention from local, small media outlets. Perfect free advertising. Both events were also covered by Insideselfstorage.com. The facility saw a need in the community and offered up a venue to satisfy that need and received a lot of attention for it.


 

Your business can do something similar. Fall is craft season. People love homemade goods from holiday presents. You can open up part of your facility for a small craft fair. Advertise around your community with simple fliers and posters. Or you could open up part of your business as a meeting facility. Allow organizations to rent out portions for group meetings and such. Just find something to bring in more people that won't have a deep out of pocket expense.


 

Another Chicago Self Storage Facility, LifeStorage of Libertyville, Ill., is hosting a used car tent show. Nine dealerships are in on the event that will surely bring in a lot of attention. Not only will people throughout their local area be informed of the event, but again, the facility is receiving attention from readers of Insideselfstorage.com. This project is a little bigger and more involved, but it is just another option from which you can draw inspiration.


 

Host a flea market, local art show, bark in the park in your parking lot, or something that brings in people without costing you a lot of money. Take a look at your community and see what your facility can do to add to it. Are you in a college town where there are art students who would love to sell their stuff? Host a simple art show. Do you know of a car club that is looking for a place to show off their cars? Host a cruise-in.


 

Examine what your self storage facility has to offer and then make a difference in your community while enjoying the advertising benefits.