Tips for setting and spending your self-storage marketing budget

Self-storage marketing has changed a lot over the past 10 years. Printing costs have increased, leading to higher advertising rates. Social media provided additional opportunities. Fewer and fewer people read print magazines and newspapers, having switched to digital versions. Mobile-friendly ads are necessary for customers using smartphones. Increased media competition has provided more advertising channels.

When formulating your marketing budget, one pitfall to avoid is planning for a specific dollar-for-dollar return. It’s not wise to say, “Well, if I spend $300 on that ad in a magazine, within two weeks, 2% of its subscribers should be renting a storage unit.” Advertising doesn’t work that way. Specific returns on investment are difficult to quantify.

If you ask people how they heard about your business, many may not be able to tell you. They may say they found you online, but where? On your website ? Your Facebook page? On the local newspaper website where you purchased a digital ad? In many cases, it’s difficult to determine where a customer saw information about your business.

The need for smart choices

Online advertising is now the dominant marketing medium for many American businesses. Ad placements, search engine optimization, digital ads, mobile ads and social media dominate the advertising choices in the market, while traditional media, such as print, radio and television, are in decline.

Multiple ads spread over time tend to be more effective than a one-time, large and expensive placement. Also consider the shelf life of the ad. A recommendation is to run an ad every other day in a daily publication or every two weeks in a weekly publication. It refreshes the reader’s memory and requires less financial commitment. Many publications will offer a multi-ad discount to entice you to advertise more during the year. They may also offer a package that lets you use a traditional print ad and an online digital ad that links to your website.

The goal of marketing and advertising is to create visibility and get potential tenants to think of your property first, before they search online or look elsewhere to find a unit. When large real estate investment trusts and other national self-storage companies are present in a market, they invest a lot of money in online advertisements to ensure that their brand and facilities rank first in online searches. Most independent self-storage owners cannot compete with the marketing budgets of much larger operators, so marketing campaigns and advertising placements need to be more selective.

Decide where and how much to spend

The more limited your marketing dollars are, the more wisely they should be spent. Several factors can help determine where and how much to invest, for example:

• Is this a new establishment or an established establishment?
• Is it a highly competitive market or is your establishment the only one in town?
• What is the demographics of your area?
• Are there times of the year when you see more rentals than others?
• What features of your installation are different or better than those of the competition?

In a very competitive market or when promoting a new property, advertising will be more important and will require an additional budget. For established properties or in less competitive markets, advertising may be reduced but should never be removed.

Some experts recommend budgeting a minimum of 2% of gross revenue, while others suggest at least 5% to grow your business. In highly competitive markets and industries, marketing budgets can represent up to 20% or more of gross revenue. The Small Business Administration recommends allocating 7% or 8% if sales are less than $5 million and gross profit after expenses is between 10% and 12%.

Commitment of marketing dollars is highly dependent on your revenue and business goals. Self-storage owners must determine whether they want to increase or maintain sales year over year. The old adage “You have to spend money to make money” is true when it comes to marketing. Without a viable plan, potential customers may not know your business exists.

Knowing age demographics can also help decide where to spend your ad dollars. In many cases, older prospects in their 50s, 60s, or 60s will search for storage in their area differently than those in their 20s, 30s, or 40s. A younger demographic is more likely to make buying decisions after doing research online. This group is also more likely to rent online and respond to social and digital media. Older prospects can research online, but also use the local yellow pages and print media, and get recommendations from their peers before visiting the establishment to see it for themselves.

The timing of an announcement can also create interest. If your site is busy in late spring and summer, marketing can help increase rentals during off-peak times. Run an announcement in December or January that encourages stocking up on holiday decorations. Promote the storage of outdoor sports equipment such as boats, kayaks, or camping gear during the fall or winter as a way for customers to free up garage space. These types of messages can help boost off-season rentals.

Create a community niche

While a large national self-storage operator may not advertise in local publications or hold community events, smaller operators can easily adapt to their markets and target their marketing dollars to reach local customers. . Large chains often focus on internet advertising designed to attract customers to their websites, while local or regional operators can use their involvement in charitable and community causes to increase their market exposure. For example, toy, canned food, and school supply drives can be effective ways to drive customers to your site.

When you host events, let your customers and prospects know. Also share information about special offers and referral discounts available to them. This type of outreach should include posting flyers on community interest forums and posting on social media pages and community news pages. Consider writing a blog with content about your area, decorating and organizing tips, and helpful self-storage information. Submit articles about storage to local newspapers or magazines.

Free = good for your budget

Free promotional opportunities can be an important part of any marketing plan, especially if your budget is limited. Inexpensive options include meeting with apartment managers, business owners, construction companies, real estate agents, and others who can refer clients to your establishment. Offering a referral program can entice other business owners to refer customers to you. For example, consider partnering with a local real estate agency. Get a great deal where you send the company a gift card to a local restaurant for every referral they send you.

Becoming the community self-storage expert also means free publicity. Creating social media pages on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms can help get your business known at little or no cost.

Engage and Follow

Marketing has several purposes. This helps to generate consumer interest in your product, increase occupancy and revenue, promote services to the community, and ensure that your establishment is a priority when the need for free storage is needed. -service is felt.

You wouldn’t skip insurance because you might never make a claim. Similarly, you shouldn’t avoid setting a marketing budget because it’s hard to quantify the return. Follow everything you can. If you run ads on the internet for four months and then stop, will your web inquiries go down? Is your site getting fewer phone calls? If so, that would indicate that the ads were providing exposure to potential customers. Has move-in decreased when it was expected to increase? If so, these ads were driving customers to your business during the campaign. Without running the ads, you wouldn’t have seen a change in your business.

There are many opportunities to market and advertise your storage facility; the key is to determine the best path for your site. This is often discovered by trial and error, and sometimes a strong marketing rep can point you in the right direction.

Donna Edwards is a manager at Plantation Self Storage in Bluffton, SC, which is operated by Southeast Management Co. She joined the company in 2013 and has over 10 years of property management experience. His marketing experience includes setting budgets, designing annual marketing plans, and creating and writing all types of advertisements. For more information, call 843.815.8000; E-mail [email protected]; visit www.southeastmanagementcompany.com.