By Mike Jones, Storage.com
So you’ve been closing on leads like crazy, and units in your storage facility are finally filling up. Do you have an efficient system in place for making sure all those payments are made on time? Unfortunately, a few of your new or current tenants will likely miss a deadline at some point in time (due to uncontrollable life circumstances, of course). Break the bad habits before they start and save yourself some stress with a few of these proactive tips.
Reward
Sometimes, all it takes to grab the attention of your customers is a little incentive. Maybe hold a drawing for tenants who’ve paid their bills on time consecutively for an allotted number of months. Whether the prize is a free month of self storage, tickets to a local event, or a basket of goodies, keep your customers loyal by showing how much you appreciate their business.
Reinforce
Implementing late fees or increasing the ones you currently have set may work best if you’re really struggling to collect payments on time (Be sure to check your state’s self storage lien laws first). If you know a tenant is having trouble making ends meet, try working out a payment plan before getting rid of them altogether.
“Have different payment options to make it easy and convenient for the customer to pay—online, over the phone with an agent, over the phone through an automated system (available 24 hours), mail-in check, pay in person, set up for auto-pay, prepay, etc.,” explains Mara Rodriguez, pricing analyst for The William Warren Group (management company of the StorQuest Self Storage brand). “Make sure the customer understands their bill date once the lease is signed and ask if they would like to adjust the due date to best accommodate their needs.”
Remind
Creating email and text message alerts can help prompt your customers in advance, or even after a missed payment. Work the deadline reminder into a social media post alongside other updates and tidbits (This is where an active social media presence comes in handy). Figure out which notification method your tenants prefer and lose the headaches that come with approaching deadlines.
Does your storage facility have a late payment fix that never seems to fail? Share them with us in the comments!
