As you clean your own home and your self-storage facility, why not promote the same concept to your customers and prospects? After all, there are many people looking for ways to de-clutter their homes and offload stuff they just don’t use or need. However, those folks may not be ready to dispose of items permanently. Self-storage provides the perfect opportunity for that interim move. The wise self-storage owner will capitalize on this sentiment by offering “spring cleaning” storage deals to existing customers and prospects alike. What will best motivate people to take advantage of an offer?
The ever-present money-saving option. Either discount the space rental, or perhaps do a value-add. One innovative possibility is to partner with a local mover or hauler, who will transport a certain amount of stuff to a self-storage facility for a set fee. All the customer has to do is load their belongings on the truck, and unload at the other end.
If this fee is reasonable – or even free, if it involves some type of barter such as promoting the mover on your self-storage blog or website – owners can offer this as a free value-add. This builds goodwill with the customer, who doesn’t have to rent or borrow a truck, and provides a strong incentive to get ‘er done. For an extra fee, this offer can be sweetened by having the mover load and unload the items, leaving little for the customer to do, other than point out what’s being moved.
A promotion focused around a home hot button. Kids getting ready to leave the nest, or those returning after a prolonged absence, can make a reasonably priced self-storage option very attractive. Or, consider promoting seasonal storage of clothing, sports equipment and the like. There’s also the option of positioning storage as a way to “reclaim home space,” instead of looking at it as a way to add on by transferring items to self-storage. By reaching out at the right time with an enticing rental rate or other offer, self-storage owners may find low-hanging fruit.
Partnerships with companies providing organization services. Professional and personal organizers are popular because of their ability to de-clutter and organize living and work spaces. Test the waters by contacting a handful of such companies to see if/when they might want to recommend self-storage to their clients. A package deal, where the organizer could either include self-storage as a part of an overall program or simply offer discounted rates to their clients, could prove popular and establish a conduit for ongoing business.
By getting imaginative and being willing to do some new networking, self-storage owners can discover a variety of ways to work smarter versus having to work harder.
Photo courtesy of Things Organized Neatly.
