14 Self Storage Marketing Ideas

Self storage facilities are growing in popularity as people work on downsizing their lives, but there’s also a lot of competition in this sector. How can you make your facility stand out more than the facilities of your competitors? Through your proactive marketing efforts, that’s how! When you can be at the top of your target demographic’s mind, then you’ll be the first place they’ll head when they have self storage needs.

It’s all begins with your ability to provide real value. Anyone can provide someone with a storage shed that has some space and a locked door. What makes your self storage facility different than all of the others? When you determine that, you’ll have an effective way to market your business and attract new customers.

Self Storage Marketing Ideas That Work

1. Use Social Media To Network
Use your social media pages to connect to other businesses online so that you can all begin working together to drive traffic. Focusing efforts on getting individuals to like your page is good, but sometimes you’ve got to scratch someone else’s back before you’ll get the attention that you want on social media.

2. Run Regular Contests
Get people involved with your business by hosting a local contest that offers a prize of a free month of storage. The cost of the prize is negligible and in return, you’ll get a lot of participation and brand awareness that normally wouldn’t be given.

3. Talk to the Movers
Moving companies have a unique need for storage help because not every job goes off as planned. Work on building relationships with the local moving companies within your region to let them know that you’ll take them in and maybe even give them a nice discount for choosing to use your facilities.

4. Upgrade, Upgrade, Upgrade
Every industry revolves around value and those who provide the most value win the most customers. Put in a secured fence around your property. Put air conditioning into your storage units. Give them the modern features people want and you’ll bring people to your facility.

5. Partner Up
Create your own offline affiliate program by speaking to the property management, real estate, and moving companies in your area about your services. Offer them a referral fee that’s a percentage of the business that they refer to you as a reward for their recommendation.

6. Create a Loyalty Program
Customers love a good referral program because it allows them to earn their way into free products or services that they find valuable. How you structure a loyalty program should encompass all of your marketing efforts, so reward people for liking your Facebook page or giving you a positive online review.

7. Put Your Service Out There
Big ticket items are a tough sell sometimes unless there is added value to the purchase for a customer. Talk to furniture stores, car dealerships, and even electronics outlets about offering a free month of service for their customers who make a minimum purchase with them. You’ll get exposure and the business will be able to provide customers with the added value they may need.

8. Get Involved With the Schools
Sometimes the best marketing plans are about providing value to the local community in some way, like providing a needed classroom resource. Create a contest for your local district and have the students create a modern self storage facility or demonstrate their own storage skills in some way. The winner gets the resource for their classroom, local recognition, and your business gets lots of good press.

9. Use Co-op Marketing
Most businesses like a little extra money and that means you’ve got a good opportunity to help a friend out. Talk with a local business that gets involved with your community and offer to pay them to put your coupons, discounts, or flyers on their products. It’s more effective than newspaper advertising and you’ll receive an unspoken endorsement in the process.

10. Use Groupon… Wisely
Groupon can drive a lot of traffic your way and that can be a good thing, but only if you have a follow-up plan in place. You can lose your shirt with a ton of discounted coupons, so know how you’ll work to retain people who use these deep discounts before so that you’re not scrambling for revenues afterward.

11. Be Prepared For Special Events
How many people lined up for the latest iPhone when it was released? Dozens of people queued up to wait in line for hours and sometimes days for the product. That’s the perfect time to hand out some free coffee, a few snacks, and get your branding recognized because all of the cups and snacks will be stamped with your contact information. It’s inexpensive, it gets you marketing on a one-on-one basis [which is the most effective], and you’ll help someone in the process. That’s a win/win.

12. Be a Venue
There are a number of churches, schools, and non-profit programs that need a location for a fundraiser and your self storage facility has a lot of space, right? Offer to let these programs use your facilities to raise money and you’ll create partnerships that will actively promote your business because of your generosity… plus everyone that stops by to help out a good cause will get brand exposure.

13. Optimize, Optimize, Optimize
Having a way to book your services through a mobile device will help you target the demographic that is always on the go. That’s pretty much everyone in some way these days, which means you’ll have the chance to provide instant gratification. Let them book their storage unit online, pay for it online, and then stop on by with their confirmation when they’re ready to get access to the storage locker.

14. Hold a Yard Sale
Stuff is good, but money is better. If people have a lot of stuff in their storage unit, they’re not going to want to haul it back home for a garage sale. Host a community yard sale on your grounds instead, let people earn money, and you’ll draw people down to your grounds to see the quality of your units as they shop.