Drive leisurely through any suburb of any city in the United States, and you will spot it. A boat wrapped in a tarp as it warps and wilts over the winter. A rusty, rundown camper sagged in the muddy, soggy grass. An RV parked precariously on the street, leaving passersby wondering whether the lumbering travel vehicle is HOA-approved. We’ve all known a neighbor who is into those big toys. But with market trends showing the sale of travel trailers and recreational vehicles skyrocketing, the need to store these considerable investments will soon follow.
And that’s where your car, boat and RV storage facility steps in. With the increase in sales for those big travel toys comes the need for storage. Therefore, the first task you should concern yourself with is marketing your facility to take advantage of the current thriving market.
When beginning the project of marketing your vehicle storage facility, there will be questions that potential leads will want to answer. When selling your services, you must answer their questions and give prospective customers a reason to consider your services.
Below are some questions you will need to answer for your potential customers and general guidance on how to win them over.
What can your facility offer?
Vehicle storage facilities aren’t overly abundant, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to win over your prospective customers. Your facility doesn’t have to be fancy with a lot of bells and whistles. Even if it’s plain jane, the pain point for potential customers will be the basics. They need a secure and safe place to store some relatively expensive toys and they want to do so in the most cost-effective manner.
Whatever you gain in perks, you will also gain in price. Value for their dollar is what attracts customers. However, if you have the basics down, such as paved and covered parking plus rudimentary security, customers won’t fault your facility for the lack of fun features.
How convenient is it to rent from you?
How easy is it to rent storage space at your facility? Are you equipped with up-to-date technology, or is your equipment second-hand? With everything getting digitized these days, operating your facility in less-effective ways may be hurting your business.
Consider adding amenities such as online bill pay and online rental reservations. Digital gate access and mobile communication will go a long way in attracting tenants. People expect quality and convenience, and having old tech that breaks or just doesn’t work is frustrating and makes for bad business.
How accessible is your facility?
Start with where your facility is located. Are you right off a major highway, making coming and going easy? Or is your facility a little more remote to accommodate large vehicles? Wherever your facility is situated, make it work for your business. Location will be a major consideration even before you open your doors for business. If your facility is close to major camping areas, that will allow you to outfit your facility with features such as wash bays and electric charging stations. These extras will add passive revenue streams as well as provide your tenants with convenient amenities.
Customers will also want access to their vehicles with as big of a window of time as possible. Investing in contactless technology will allow tenants to securely access their belongings at the times that are most convenient for them.
What are you doing for my community?
Getting involved in your community will do more than just get your business out there. It is a way to establish trust with your local customer base. Engaging your company at local events, festivals and the like will facilitate good feelings and a familiarity with your brand. Getting out in your area and handing out fliers and brochures, becoming involved with local sporting and wildlife events, and chatting with the locals about their wants and needs will only frame your company as personable and caring.
Marketing your toy storage facility will be tricky. You will need to know your customer base and learn how to improve your service through feedback. There isn’t a definitive guide or a one-size-fits-all marketing strategy that will immediately boost your sales. It will take trial and error and a bit of luck to find the most effective balance. You could say you have a long road ahead of you. But gaining the knowledge of where to start and how to set the course strategically will help immensely.
The Storage Group has a team of experts specializing in the self-storage industry that offers digital marketing services as well as innovative software solutions. The Storage Group provides self-storage business owners with industry-leading marketing campaigns and online technology tools to improve their facilities’ online presence, drive higher conversion rates and increase revenue.
*****Learn more about all facets of marketing your facility from Steve Lucas, CEO and Managing Partner of The Storage Group, at the Toy Storage Nation Executive Workshop, April 14, in Las Vegas. Steve’s presentation will answer the following questions for RV and boat storage entrepreneurs looking for great marketing plan strategies:
- How fast can I get quality tenants to fill up my site?
- What’s the right advertising mix for digital, print, radio and TV marketing.
- How do I create the best advertising and marketing budget for my site?
