Short answer: Being the cheapest facility takes no skill and is a weak long-term strategy. In Mark’s experience, people will pay a fair price for benefits they value. Price is a feature; customers buy benefits, so identify your facility’s three to five strongest ones and sell them everywhere.
Features vs benefits #
A feature is a fact about your facility. A benefit is what that fact does for the customer:
- Open 24 hours (feature) → access whenever you need it (benefit).
- Limited access hours (feature) → more security, with special access available if someone truly needs it (benefit).
- 35-foot-wide drive lanes (feature) → never waiting behind someone else to reach your unit (benefit).
That last one comes from a tenant who told Mark it was why they chose his facility. They would never have known about the drive lanes if his team hadn’t identified it as a benefit and told them.
Putting it to work #
Compare your facility honestly with the competition, pick your three to five strongest features and benefits, and use them in ads, on your website and on every inquiry call. Mark’s point is that a storage business today needs people who can sell.
Related answers #
- What is value-based pricing in self-storage?
- Should a self-storage facility lower its rates when competitors cut prices?
- Why do fair, transparent rate increases matter in self-storage?
Source: Mark’s post Self-Storage Revenue Strategies for 2026 Part 1 – Avoid Reactive Pricing
