The self storage business is competitive.
Lots of new space is coming or just came online. Probably in your market.
Much of our strategies as small business owners and small self storage operators is to automate and cut down on payroll cost to be competitive and take our businesses into the future.
But is customer service sacrificed?
I think so in many cases.
Perhaps I was just in a mood when this happened, but I was scouting competitive projects in a market recently and was going to rent space in my potential competition.
I came across a recent conversion by a nationally known brand and walked around the building and realized there was no office and no rental center.
After my first 360, I went to the “front” of the building, and there was a small 5 x 5 lobby behind an electronically locked glass door.
No kiosk. No phone, no flat screen connected to a website. And certainly, no person in the office. Not even a phone number to call.
But there was a QR code.
I had to scan a QR code and rent a unit on my phone before I could even see the inside of the project.
I just left rather irritated.
If I were a potential customer, I would have just left really irritated.
Perhaps I was just in a mood that day. But whatever mood it was, I am feeling it again as I write this.
I remember being at a convention and hearing the president and founder of a regional fully automated self storage company say, “The goal of an automated facility should be to approximate the experience of a facility with a manager as close as possible.”
Some people may like a QR code and renting on their phone. That certainly isn’t me.
Automation with a Personal Touch
Don’t get me wrong. I am not against automation. I use it and see the day when we are fully automated.
But I also don’t want to sacrifice customer service and a positive customer experience for the sake of automation or reduced payroll cost.
Here are some simple things I think can go a long way to create a good customer experience in an automated self storage project or one where the manager is not present, and a customer utilizes technology, either at the facility, in their car, on their phone, or at home on the website.
An Introduction Video
On the home page of the website, or on a touch screen in a rental center room in your facility, make the first thing a potential customer sees is a short video.
In this video, hopefully, done by you as the owner, an overview of the project, shots of what is inside or behind the gate, and a short explanation of how you are different from your competitors.
I am not overselling but welcoming.
If there is a short story about how or why the project was created, by all means, share it.
Not your story; they could care less about you.
Be warm and inviting. Mention the benefits of doing business with your facility. I said benefits, not features.
Human Beings
Just because you don’t have a manager, or have one present, doesn’t mean there can’t be a human being accessible if a potential customer needs one.
This assumes you have some kind of rental center. A place where someone can pay a bill, rent a unit, interact on a screen with someone if needed, or at least get out of the rain under cover and talk on their phone with someone.
I suggest having a rental center with a screen, a pad, or a kiosk. If someone walks in or gets undercover and decides to rent a unit by themselves, they can.
If someone just stands there, like I would have at the facility with the QR code, a live person (usually a vendor, not an employee) pops up on the screen and can totally move someone in.
They could even be on the phone with that person as they walk to their unit to ensure they get there.
Many small self storage companies with multiple facilities do this in-house from a central location.
I believe that 90% of customers experience “good customer service” from their interaction with a human being.
My coaching is to have one available if a potential customer wants to use one. Without that, many “potential customers” become your competitors’ “customers.”
Send Cards.
Again, it can be done from a back office or central office.
When someone moves in, the next day, send them a thank you card (preferably handwritten).
Nothing elaborate. Just thank them for doing business with you.
This also serves another purpose. If the card comes back, you know the address used during the move-in doesn’t work, and we overlock their unit and call them, letting them know we need a correct address. You cannot conduct a valid auction in most states without a correct address.
This also helps keep down fraud of people targeting automated self storage facilities to gain access for less than legal reasons.
But for 99.97% of customers, this just appears as a genuine thank you, which, at least from us, is.
Conclusion
Just my opinion, but my coaching is don’t lose the human touch.
As much as possible, have a human answer the phones, not voice mail, or my favorite, computer-generated “press one for new rentals,” etc.
I just hang up.
Even though you and we are utilizing automation in the industry today without a human touch, I think many are losing customers.
As the business becomes more competitive and sophisticated, the owners who can figure out how to provide a positive customer experience with human touches along the way are the owners who will win in this business.
