» Self Storage Businesses

  • Communicating Your Storage Company’s Message
    By jeff on October 22, 2010 | No Comments  Comments

    Warning: gzinflate() [function.gzinflate]: data error in /home/totalqua/public_html/wp-includes/http.php on line 1787

    In order to be a success in the North Toronto storage industry, you need to have a good company image. This is obvious, but many companies struggle with this. The first thing that you need to do is to develop a mission statement. Companies spend months developing a good mission statement. The companies that do benefit because they then have a concise, clear company message that will serve as a guideline for everyone in your company. A little propaganda can go a long way. Some employees may thing that it is corny, but the message will be clear. Clear messages mean successful North Toronto storage companies.

    The goal of your mission statement is as follows. It should be direct. A good mission statement will say what the company is, what it aims to be, and how it intends to get there. Here is an example. Storage brand X is a customer driven storage company that will do anything to make the customer feel important. Storage brand X will not stop in striving to make every customer feel important. Storage brand X will strive to continue to grow as a responsibility to our customers and to our dedicated employees. This states your goals and it lets the employees know that the North Toronto storage customer is what matters. A mission statement is the best way for you to communicate your message to your employees.

    The way that North Toronto storage companies communicate the company message to customers is through advertising. More specifically, through a slogan. A slogan can make a big difference is your company image and you should spend time figuring out what a good message would be. You may choose to focus on a few different things. Obviously, the customer should feel valued when they think of your company. Also, your slogan needs to be memorable so that it stays in the customers mind. That way, when the eventual time comes that they need to get a storage unit, they will remember you first.

    There are a few different slogans that you can use for your North Toronto storage company. They will hopefully separate you from the other Ontario storage facilities. Cleanliness is only the beginning. This will let the customer know that your company places importance on a well maintained facility. Some customers in Ontario may have had a bad experience in the past with a company where their belongings were damaged. This will give them peace of mind that your company values cleanliness and will do everything in their power to protect their belongings.

    If you are a big enough company, you may want to consider bringing in outside help to assist you in developing a good mission statement and a great slogan. There are plenty of people that you can find that are experts in marketing. You can hire new employees to develop a marketing department. This is great because you can make necessary changes to your company message as the need arrives. Another option would be to hire a marketing consulting company. They will be able to find ways to communicate your company message at a smaller cost than starting a whole new department in your company. The problem is that they may not be there when you need them. Starting a department may prove to be the most effective.

    [Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post 

  • Customer Driven Storage Sales
    By jeff on October 15, 2010 | No Comments  Comments

    Warning: gzinflate() [function.gzinflate]: data error in /home/totalqua/public_html/wp-includes/http.php on line 1787

    Getting the basics right is the most important aspect of running a New Toronto storage facility. Unfortunately, a lot of companies try to micro manage their facility and their employees and make some huge mistakes. These mistakes are costly so you need to know what your goal is as a company. Keeping the message simple is vital so that you can see consistent profit. More renters equals more money. It is a simple equation. You need to balance how much time and money you put towards attracting new customers with customer retention.

    Give the New Toronto storage customers what they want. A lot of properties in Ontario are so focused on offering what they feel is best that they lose sight of what they customer actually wants. Know your area. Your customers in different areas will have different needs. If you are catering to businesses that need extra space, you will want to offer quality first. Price may be secondary. Businesses will be more likely to spend extra money on quality than in a poor neighborhood. You should focus on offering units that are about a ten by ten and larger. You may want to offer mostly climate controlled units so that the items are protected better than your competitors. Have good security features set up that are visible to the New Toronto storage customer.

    If you are in a neighborhood that is in a lower class neighborhood in Ontario, your focus should be on price. A lot of customers will need storage because they are being evicted or their homes are being foreclosed. It is not that they do not want to have the best that the New Toronto storage industry has to offer, they just cannot afford to get the best. Do not stray too far away from quality, but do everything you can do to keep the price as low as possible. There are some easy ways to do this. A routine evaluation of the cost of doing business should show you areas where you can save a little without affecting the overall quality of your New Toronto storage offerings.

    A move in special is almost required in lower class neighborhoods. Try to offer a better special than the competitors. It is amazing what this will do for your business. You can have lower rates than the competitors, but you may not get more renters because of it. Offer a first month free special and you may find that they rate is not that important. You may even be able to charge more than the competition if you have a better special. Also, there are many hidden costs in storage so a free truck could really mean a lot to some customers. It may be helpful to let the customer decide what they want. This way, your special will be what they want the most. You could offer a free first month, a free truck rental, or a lowered monthly rate. It is their choice.

    In addition, do not be afraid to negotiate with customers when they call in. This may mean the difference of gaining a customer and seeing them rent at another facility. Sometimes a little special deal just for them may make them feel important and that is what you and your company should be after.

    [Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post 

  • Montréal Storage Facilities
    By admin on May 30, 2010 | No Comments  Comments

    Warning: gzinflate() [function.gzinflate]: data error in /home/totalqua/public_html/wp-includes/http.php on line 1787

    It is not every day in which a customer feels they are special to a company. The just walk in and out of a facility, store or restaurant, get what they come for and then leave. The best companies out there are the ones that can make a person feel special even if they are the hundredth person that walked through those doors in a given day. When a person feels that are treated well and they got all of the needs taken care of they will most likely return to that company when they are in need again. This can be true for Montreal storage facilities.

    Storage is a different kind of beast when it comes to getting people to be repeat customers. After a customer needs and uses their storage space for the time in which they were looking for, they simply move out and may not store again for years. For most businesses that are not a good thing because they need people to come back in repeatedly to hit their goals. In this case, the Montreal storage company is relying on you telling your friends and family when they are in need of some where to store.

    The referral business is very important to self storage. The managers on site do what they can to give great service to the customers they come in contact with because they know the better they serve them, the longer they will stay and the happier they will be. Sometimes people will find smaller things to store so they can maybe not use a large space, they will get into a small space that can still help the Montreal storage company. For the storing business, any space rented is good. Also a space that is occupied is not sitting there empty losing the company money.

    There are many managers that will stop at nothing to make sure that when the customer calls, they are there to assist them. Some Montreal storage managers will give the customer their cell phone numbers and such to contact them when a need is there. They are doing a good job taking care of business and pulling in the renters to their location. At the end of the day, they cannot say that they did not do everything they could in order to gain more business and to satisfy their customers.  The in store manager is the one that drives the profitability of every store.

    [Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post 

  • Why Self Storage Businesses Are Booming – Part ...
    By admin on September 14, 2009 | No Comments  Comments

    Warning: gzinflate() [function.gzinflate]: data error in /home/totalqua/public_html/wp-includes/http.php on line 1787

    Cost Cutting

    Every business owner is talking about cost cutting these days. Some small- and mid-sized companies are even resorting to measures like downsizing their business and leasing a small office space to keep their operating costs low. Therefore, self storage businesses are getting several requests from the establishments to lease the store units. The companies shift extra furniture, equipment, and inventory to the store units in order to operate from a small office. Another reason for which the companies are hiring storehouses in this recession is to outsource their logistics. A company has to spend a lot of money in handling logistics like costs of manpower, transportation, and storing space. But when they outsource logistics, their operational cost goes down.

    The decreasing budget of the households is also helping storehouses to get some business. Some households that were planning to renovate their homes to increase the storing space are postponing their decisions. Instead, they are hiring store units that are cost-effective.

    Thus, the cost cutting spree of the companies and households is helping self storage businesses substantially.

    The fact that a warehouse businesses is doing well during recession does not mean that they do not get enough business when the economy is booming. When the economic situation will improve, the storeroom business will become even better. The only difference the storehouses would observe is in the type of customers that would approach them and the reasons for which the people would hire the store units. When the consumer confidence will return, storehouses will get a good number of clients who are spendthrifts and do not have space to store all their items. There will also be demand from the businesses that want to expand and need space to store their increasing inventory. People also change jobs when companies are doing well. As people tend to move from one place to another, the demand for self storage businesses is bound to increase.

    [Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post 

  • Why Self Storage Businesses Are Booming – Part ...
    By admin on September 14, 2009 | No Comments  Comments

    Warning: gzinflate() [function.gzinflate]: data error in /home/totalqua/public_html/wp-includes/http.php on line 1787

    Job Losses And Salary Cuts

    We all have been hearing about massive job losses and salary cuts in almost every organization. People have lost a huge amount of money in their stock market investments. The property investments have also given negative returns in the past three years. Hence, people have less money to spend. Many people are moving from big apartments or bungalows to the smaller ones to save on rents and are leasing store units to accommodate their extra stuff, as leasing the store unit is lot more cheaply than renting a big home. Therefore, even in the wake of the present economic recession, there lies a good business opportunity for self storage businesses .

    [Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post 

  • Why Self Storage Businesses Are Booming – Part ...
    By admin on September 14, 2009 | No Comments  Comments

    Warning: gzinflate() [function.gzinflate]: data error in /home/totalqua/public_html/wp-includes/http.php on line 1787

    Though most industries are badly affected by the economic recession, this is not true for the self storage businesses . The business of safekeeping facilities is doing well as people are hiring store units in order to get an extra storing space.

    Some reasons why warehouses are doing a brisk business despite slowdown are

    Foreclosures

    Many people who had bought homes during the housing boom are now unable to pay their mortgages due to the economic crisis caused by the downturn. Consequently, they are selling their homes. Some of them are selling homes before getting the foreclosure notice, while others are bearing the brunt of foreclosure. All such people who have lost their homes are shifting to either smaller rented accommodation or have decided to stay with their extended families. As a result, they have less storing space than before, and are therefore, renting storage units to keep their belongings.

    [Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post