Self
Storage Facilities & Community Involvement
It’s not about
how new your facility is or how many units you have
available to rent ... it
really comes down to the quality of staff you have
managing your storage facility. In such a competitive
storage industry, it’s extremely important
that your managers are active within their communities.
Managers, who actively participate in community functions,
develop impeccable customer service skills, better
overall sales skills and establish meaningful relationships
with their team and other members throughout the
community. Getting involved in the surrounding
community will help “brand the name” of
your self storage. Bring the community to your
store and in turn, you have now created foot traffic.
An
ideal starting point would be to work with your local
chamber to see what works within the community and
how they might be able to help promote and support
your on-site functions. Making cold calls to
different organizations, non-profit groups and other
business leaders will help identify their needs and
what your store could do to assist.
Having an
open mind is crucial in planning an event of any kind
at your storage facility. You know
your property best so you have to base your events
on how much space you actually have available. Keep
in mind that just because you have a smaller parking
lot does not limit your options completely.
Here are some events to consider:
- Community Yard Sale
- Child Finger Printing
- Child Car Seat Inspection
- Customer Service Day
- Career Day
- Blood Mobile – “Give Blood Today”
- Vendor Tradeshow
- Pet Pampering Day
- Antique Car Show
- Drives/Donations
Paul & Jerry’s Self Storage, in partnership
with Broken but Beautiful Ministries, Inc., organized
a Blanket Drive for the homeless of Hernando County.
The outpouring support of the community far exceeded
the county’s recognition and it became recognized
nationwide by the Inside Self Storage magazine
along with a variety of local newspapers and media
networks. In opening their arms to help those
in need, the entire management team has received
hundreds, if not thousands, of phone calls and emails
offering help and support for the homeless community.
No thought is too small and no community is too big
to reach out to. After being featured in the Inside
Self Storage magazine, the phones began to ring
off the hook! Someone wanted to allow the homeless
to shower once a week and another to provide them
with meals. Another handful of people in the
community wanted to donate toiletries and clothing.
It takes just one small act of kindness to touch
the hearts of many who will in turn remember you
for years to come when they need your services.
With
tough times upon many families across the country,
Quality
Self Storage in Englewood has offered to
be the donation location to collect food and non-perishable
goods for the Englewood East Church of Christ and
a local Englewood Pantry. Not only is Quality
Self Storage providing a drop off location for the
community but they are also showing other businesses
that space is no issue for such a worthy cause.
Two
Rivers Self Storage of Bradenton provided to Manatee
County that there is definitely not a shortage of
books if you just reach out to the community and
ask. The management team was able to round
up approximately five hundred books in just over
a month. They put smiles on the faces of senior
citizens, single mothers across the county along
with giving children the chance to expand the vocabulary
with a variety of children’s book donations.
In
many instances, involving other businesses within
your immediate area can be beneficial for them as
well and also cut down the total cost you actually
spend on hosting an event. Most businesses
are excited to advertise their products or services,
so having another business sponsor your refreshments
or gift bags would allow them to include information
about who they are, while still promoting your facility
as the event host.
Another thing to strongly consider
would be to donate space for good, community causes
and you receive positive response from that organization
as well as being recognized for your willingness
to get involved. Be
sure that your manager is striving to attend the
Chamber ribbon cuttings and on their way to becoming
an Ambassador of their local Chamber. In our
management of many facilities we have found that
this can be such an asset to your business. In
addition, getting involved in your local school community
can be extremely beneficial. Not only does
your facility get recognized by the entire educational
faculty but the support for the children’s
parents can really give you the extra edge on referrals.
These competitive facilities near you may have hard
to beat specials, newly constructed properties and
the popular rental trucks with move ins but you can
host numerous events on site which makes your facility
standout. People know who you are because they've
heard about your successful events, have friends
who currently rent from you or even saw media that
made reference to your activities. This is
where you stand out from the crowd because your community
knows who you are as a management team helping others
and not just as another business down the street.
In
the overbuilt market we are facing today, it’s
hard to imagine the old phrase ... “It’s
better to give than to receive”. We
have found that by ‘giving’ to our local
communities, we in turn are receiving more than we
give. We spend hundreds if not thousands of
dollars a month trying to get people to our stores
and by having an event, we could bring hundreds in
and it would only cost us pennies. People may
not be thinking storage when they arrive but they
will know where you are when the need arises ...
and we
know it will!
 Self
Storage Facilities & Community
Involvement
Accountable Management & Consulting
By: Danielle Adams
Accountable Management & Realty, Inc., located
in Lutz, Florida, has been involved in self storage
facility management for the past twenty years,
with 40+ stores currently under contract. They
have created a comprehensive training & marketing
program for their 150 + employees that now is being
taught as well through consulting and auditing. Accountable
Management has been an active member of the Self
Storage Association and the Florida Self Storage
Association for many years. Visit us at www.FloridasStorageSolution.com or
call (813) 929-3088 for more information. |
