» self storage customer

What makes you as a customer stop and decide to rent from a self storage company? Is it the location of the facility, their pricing, their security or something else? That is a question that has self storage companies going crazy trying to figure out what they need to do in order to get more business. Do they need to relocate their facility or add door alarms to every unit? Being an owner is not easy, but customers do not always make it easy on them.
Many times when customer decides to rent, the property manager will ask them what made them decide to rent there. Many customers will choose not to do the survey or just say, it was a random decision. Something made that customer wants to go there and rent from that facility. This kind of response will drive a self storage company crazy. If a customer rents online, they might actually skip the survey. So when the owners get the survey questions answered, they have to think their selves if there is enough of a sample to get a true measurement.

Self storage is a very competitive industry. No one getting involved in self storage thinks they can come in and make money right off the back. It is tough. So when customers are asked questions like what was listed above it helps the owners in their competitive endeavors. When a customer does not give accurate responses, the owners are left scratching their heads.

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Why do customers decide to rent from a particular location? Well that is just it the main reason people decide to rent a storage space is because of the location. There of course are other factors involved, but no one really wants to drive further than they need to in order to get their storage belongings out. Now there are self storage customers who only store just to leave their belongings in there, but there are other people who feel they need to visit their storage unit often. They take it to heart to think that the storage unit is a just an extension of their home. This is a good thing for the most part.

Customers sometimes need to come by and to check on their belongings. If they do not come by to check on their units, they will at least drive by the facility to make sure that everything is in place and nothing unusual is going on. Can a customer do that if they are not close in location to the facility? No they can  not. Many people still like to use the location yellow pages or something or the sort to find self storage because they do not want to look at something outside of their local area. They want to ensure that they do not have to drive so far in order to get the storage they are looking for.

There are self storage facilities out there that are in rural places that have no security or anything. They might not have an office or a manager that works on site. If this is the case then you have to decide if this is the site that you want to rent from. Usually these places are pretty far away from your normal drive. For the most part, people want to rent from a location that is on their way back home or close to work. This way they do not have to drive so far out of the way to get to their belongings and then back home. Customers do not want to sit in traffic just to get to their self storage space.

We have to remember that customers are storing their things away from their homes for a reason. If they could storing their belongings at home they would, but they are not so they need to find somewhere in which they could rent close to their homes. Whether it is for long term storage or for short term it does not matter. Once the customer drives to the storage facility once, they are going to think about how far it was to get there. If it is close, then they will think about going back there if they need something. If is farther away than they realized, those belongings might stay there until they feel they really need it or it is time to move out.

It is said that over eight percent of people decided on a storage unit because of the location. Yes price is a factor, but they also know that gas is not cheap and they have to make sure they are not making any unnecessary trips back and forth. Typically a customer will just store things they do not need and do not plan on using again for a while. If they do need it, they know that if they pick the right location they can swing by and pick up their belongings. For most customers, it is all about the location.

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When you are looking for a storage space, it is not helpful to call up and just ask for price and get mad when the person on the phone does not just start shouting out prices. There are going to be other factors that you will want to consider. The price will only tell you how much your unit cost. Where as what you are getting for the price is far more important. You can look up prices online with some companies but people still call and talk to the manager. Subconsciously they are thinking in their heads that they want to hear what else they are getting for the price.

The size is the first thing that the manager will need to know in order to quote you a proper size. They will and should ask you what you are thinking about storing. If they do not ask you this question, you should bring it up. You can ask for the price all you want to, but you if you have narrowed down a size it does not matter. Let’s make it this simple. A price is associated with a size. No manager just wants to go down their price list and tell you everything they have. They want to narrow something down for the customer so they can find the right solution for them.

A small space may be around 50 dollars while a big space could be 300 dollars. You do not want to spend any more money than you need to. There are people that will call a property manager and say to them that they want the average space or the middle space. Some manager will just go right into them needing the 100 square foot space that is most common. Again they have to ask the customer questions to ensure that that is the right size for them. As a manager it is important for you to find the right solution for the customer, not just go whatever the customer says. The customer sometimes does not know what is right for them.

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In the technology world we live in today, many people decide to grab their smartphones, laptops and other devices in order to search for storage. Many end up finding exactly what they are looking for where others end up searching for a long time. Of course many, if not all, of self storage facilities ensure they have some sort of online presence in order to attract customers to their site. Sometimes a customer will not choose to rent with a particular storage facility because they are not online. That same customer wants to get an idea of the facility before they decide to go down to the facility.

When a customer goes online they are looking for prices and pretty much any sort of discount. They are searching their local area so they know the facilities they are searching are close, so that is not a concern. They are trying to figure out which facility in their local area will be able to take care of their needs. Online they will look at the store, any features they need such as climate control and even the look and feel of the store. Now of course the facility could look completely different than the picture online, and that is one of the things that could confuse the customer.

There are a couple of different things that bother customers as they are searching online such as confusing specials, pricing that is not available, or where it says call for specials and deals. There are many customers who want your website to come out and tell them what they want to hear. Naturally many facilities plan it this way so the customer has to call them for more information vs. going from storage facility to storage facility. Most self storage companies feel that if they can get the customer on the phone or even to walk through their door they will rent there. For this reason owners will not always post their pricing.

To the self storage customer that is looking for storage, they will reluctantly call and find out more information, but since they are on to that scheme, they might not give the manager the time of day. This customer will just call, get the information they desire and hang up. They are still shopping. Hopefully your website is enticing enough to attract the customer to call, come by and have a discussion about your facility. Hopefully there is not much confusion on what they saw online and they are just calling to get more information and potentially rent.

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