Back to Basics - Self Storage Marketing Fundamentals

Storage operators are starting to feel the pressure.

The industry grew quickly in 2021 and 2022 - this encouraged new investment, new facilities, and new competition. We saw enough demand that operators could go on autopilot and still fill their self storage facilities.

Now that the market is slowing down, there’s not enough demand for everyone to do well. The REITs are consolidating and snapping up facilities across the country.

How can an independent operator (or even a mid-size storage company) compete with those giants?

Talking with Tommy Nguyen of StoragePug, one of the best ways to keep up with the biggest players is by getting back to your marketing fundamentals.

In short, you need:

• A facility that looks and feels good
• Quality photography
• A complete Google Business Profile
• A website with modern features, including online rentals

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Back to Basics

Many operators may already have these bases covered - and if you don’t, you need to get started! But even if you’ve touched up your GBP recently, and even if every photo of your facility is clean and bright, it’s still vital to focus on these basic aspects of your facility.

Remember, for every customer that comes your way, you’re making a new first impression. Chipped paint, stray weeds, or a slow website can permanently turn a customer off your business.

Once you have a strong foundation to build from, you can start to embellish the details and improve your conversion rate, offer special discounts, focus on rate management, and all the other tactics that help a storage business thrive.

Your business is built on the fundamentals; the path a customer takes from deciding they need a bit of extra space until they move out of your storage unit months or years after. If that path is clean, clear, and well-kept, customers will use it.

David Austin is SEO Content Manager for StoragePug, a self storage website design company working out of Knoxville, TN. David worked for StoragePug for two years as an SEO specialist and content writer. He's dedicated to helping small self storage operators compete with the big players in the industry. To reach out to David, email him at david@storagepug.com.