Within any industry, it’s important to understand who you’re trying to market your services to and why. This rings especially true in the storage industry. There are a lot of reasons as to why an individual, family, or business may need self storage. If your storage facility is focusing its marketing efforts toward any of these demographics for the wrong reasons, then you could end up spending more money on marketing than you bring in through rental revenue.
The better you understand your target market, the more opportunities you will see to reach them. There are several benefits to identifying your most promising prospects for new customers.
You Could See a Larger Return on Investment
If you don’t know your target market, you could end up trying to get the wrong people to your facility. In doing so, you won’t see the return on investment that you originally hoped for. This could potentially become an issue, especially if this misdirection goes on for a prolonged period of time. However, refocusing your energies towards the customers that truly need your services is not as difficult as it seems. Start small by promoting one service at a time. You’ll begin to find the right customers who are in need of one service, helping you approach more people with more services over time. In turn, your ROI should begin to rise.
You Can Keep Tenants Longer
When you connect with the right customers and market your services to them, you have the chance to keep them renting with your facility longer because you’re fulfilling a true need for them. If you’re focusing on the wrong market, retention rates are more likely to constantly fluctuate because they’re not getting what they want or need. The right customers will stick around and keep utilizing what you have offered or may offer in the future.
You Could Reach More than Your Original Market
If you have marketed your services to your best target audience, the chance of reaching more people than you planned could be there. This is because the customers you were hoping to reach will, in turn, sell your services to others, especially if their experiences with you have been positive. For example, if a tenant has stored a boat or RV at your facility and was pleased with the experience, he is likely to tell his other boating or camping friends about it. One of the strongest marketing options is word of mouth, and when consumers have enjoyed a storage facility’s amenities and services, they will tell others about it.
How to Identify Your Storage Facility’s Target Market
Here are some initial ideas to get you thinking about who’s in your target audience.
Buyer Personas: Who are your customers? Are they small business owners? People who are moving? People with large recreational gear or vehicles? By identifying the appropriate buyer personas, you can determine their needs and preferences and cater your marketing communications and services to them.
Think Locally: Most customers are located within a 5-mile radius around your facility. How can you connect with them and let them know about your services? Consider how to reach potential customers in your geographic target.
Location-Specific: How does your facility’s location relate to your buyers? Depending on whether your facility is located in an urban center, a residential surburb, or an industrial park, you may attract different buyer personas. Take some time to think about how these factors fit together for your facility and how you can customize marketing messaging—including signage, advertisements, and your facility’s website—to appeal to these targets.
Your target market is always within reach. If you take the time to find out who they are, what they need, and how they want to receive the information, you can spend less time trying to get customers into your facility and more time keeping your tenants happy.
