By Nick Bilava, Storage.com
As a self storage owner or operator, your job each year is to improve your bottom line. This means you need to be constantly setting and reviewing big-picture goals, not managing smaller day-to-day issues that arise at your facility. But that doesn’t mean daily operation isn’t important. These tasks still need to be done…just not by you.
In order to maintain your facility, keep current customers happy, and attract new customers while boosting profits, you need to hire a storage facility manager who can take on daily tasks and help you free up your time for business development.
Handling Day-to-Day Operations
Having a storage facility manager means they can take daily operation tasks off of your plate. These can include:
- Managing customer information
- Helping to achieve sales goals
- Ensuring facility cleanliness through facility walkthroughs
- Conducting facility and storage unit tours with potential tenants
- Handling accounting and billing for current tenants
- Coordinating construction and repairs
Also, the facility manager can be the face of your business, as they’re physically present on the self storage property during office and/or access hours. This means they’ll be the person in charge of communicating your business goals and delegating tasks to other facility employees, as well as handling customer concerns. By taking care of these day-to-day duties, you’re free to focus on how to improve your overall self storage operation.
Handling Your Facility’s Online Presence
If your storage facility has a website, local listings, and social media profiles, you need someone to constantly monitor your online presence and promote your facility, otherwise your online marketing efforts aren’t worthwhile. You probably don’t have time to manage all of these things, but a facility manager does.
A successful storage facility manager today should be able to:
- Make simple changes to your website. Whether it’s publishing blog posts or updating storage unit inventory, your website needs to be updated with fresh content at least once a month to ensure your facility is found in online searches.
- Run your social media accounts. Social media has become an important marketing and customer service tool for businesses today. Your accounts need to be active in order to see the benefits of social media marketing. This means sharing posts and responding to comments.
- Monitor and respond to online reviews: With local listings come online reviews. If your facility is receiving reviews from former or current tenants (regardless of whether the reviews are positive or negative), the reviews need to be addressed to show anyone viewing the reviews that your business cares.
Take the time to find a storage facility manager who will be able to handle day-to-day work and help your facility grow. In the end, your customers, your facility, and ultimately you will reap the benefits.
Nick Bilava is Sales Director at Storage.com and a contributor for Inside-Self Storage, Mini Storage Messenger, California Self Storage Association, Florida Self Storage Association, Massachusetts Self Storage Association, and Connecticut Self-Storage Association.
