I don’t see owners utilizing landing pages that much anymore in online self-storage marketing, and I am not sure why. I suspect it is because it has been beaten into our heads that reduced clicks for consumers are the holy grail for online marketing success.
Now I am all about reducing friction to renting units online, but let me tell you why I am still a firm believer in landing pages. Even today!
What Is a Landing Page
First of all, let’s discuss what a “landing page” is.
It is a website page that potential customers go to after they click a link in an ad or promotion in an email.
So if you are running Google ads, or have a post on Facebook or Instagram promoting something, and a customer clicks a link to get more information, they end up there.
Now I learned about landing pages over ten years ago and have used them a lot, particularly in my other businesses. I didn’t learn about them specifically around self-storage marketing. I joined a mastermind group of marketing people who work in media placement and all kinds of other industry marketing to see what they had their eyes on, with the intention of translating it to my self-storage business when I was in heavy growth mode.
In the old days, landing pages were called “squeeze pages.”
When a potential customer lands on a landing page, they have two options and two options only. They can click the link to accept your offer or leave… period. There are no other pages they can roam around in seeking “more information.”
Today, mostly, I see ads with direct links to the owners’ websites. Yes, it may take them somewhere specific on the site, but the potential customer can roam around and often gets lost checking everything out.
But more importantly… most storage websites are fairly generic in their content. Yes, they may mention somewhere on the site different types of customers they may cater to, like businesses or students. However, for the most part, these sites are generic, and customers have to stumble and find themselves reflected back in the sites, if it is even there at all.
Self-Storage Marketing Needs a Target… A Bullseye to Aim At
I learned this concept long ago studying how other industries market online.
Number One Rule in Marketing: Know Your Customer
As we know, every self-storage market area, or trade center, is different.
Even in the same city.
Your trade center is made up of unique people, and the demographics in your trade center are unique to that location. You need to know what they are.
If your facility offers “contractor units,” you need a different message for them. They are interested in access, security, perhaps leaving their cars on-site during the day, etc.
A student is not going to be that interested in their valuables being safely stored for future generations to throw away.
Someone moving and needing storage for shorter periods of time is more interested in flexibility on your terms.
Landing pages allow you to tailor your message to the specific target you are aiming for.
Landing Pages
Many websites allow you to create landing pages.
If your provider doesn’t, then many of the CRMs you may be using do. If you are not using a CRM and your website does not offer you the opportunity to create separate landing pages, there are subscription services such as Leadpages (which I have used for years with this online business).
Steps
- Identify your targets based on the demographics of your trade area and the nature of your facility. Examples are:
- College students during summer
- Residential moving companies
- People in-between homes
- Contractors
- Small business owners
- Medical representatives (climate-controlled units)
- Boat & RV owners
- Car clubs
- The list is endless
Each of the above groups has different needs.
- Design ads on the various platforms that speak to the specific needs of each potential customer profile.
- In the ad or post, have the link be to a landing page that is, in essence, a sales letter to them identifying their need, how your facility satisfies that need, and a call to action.
- On the landing page, have the action step “rent here” and link to your available units page of your website.
- If, for some reason, you do not have the ability to rent online (handle that issue today), then have the call to action be to place a call or to reserve now.
Target marketing is about being intentional in who you are marketing to and having a specific message for each different group being addressed. My experience is that this increases your conversion rate, thus reducing your marketing cost and increasing the value of your facility.
Have fun and remember, set a bullseye on your customer types, then aim and help them meet their needs with your facility.
