Short answer: The biggest lease-up mistake Mark sees is overspending on online marketing that doesn’t produce move-ins, often after handing it to a vendor and checking out. Agree on one goal with everyone involved, usually move-ins per month, then build a budget together and hold some back to scale what works.
Start with one shared goal #
For lease-up, Mark’s goal is usually a number of move-ins per month, based on the pro forma, the break-even occupancy and when the loan’s interest-only period ends. He gets buy-in from the vendor, manager and staff. Without that, each side may chase something different: a vendor might count “conversions” (ad clicks to the website), which aren’t move-ins, while an owner might measure monthly revenue, which a vendor can’t control because they don’t set rates or concessions.
Then the budget #
Mark doesn’t set the budget until the goal is agreed. The right number depends on facility size, market, number of competitors, how many others are in lease-up, whether REITs are present, and whether the trade area is stabilized, underserved or oversupplied. He works it out with whoever will execute the plan and doesn’t spend the full amount at the start, keeping some in reserve to scale up what works.
A typical online budget covers SEO (organic and paid), pay-per-click ads and social content and campaigns aimed at specific groups. Some valuable pieces cost little: review generation, follow-up emails to people who didn’t move in, and good tracking.
The owner’s role #
If you own the facility or are on the loan, it’s your responsibility to make sure marketing dollars turn into move-ins, even with a vendor in place. Hoping someone else knows what they’re doing isn’t a strategy.
Related answers #
- How should owners track, test and adjust lease-up marketing?
- What should you focus on when opening a new self-storage facility?
- How should self-storage operators choose and vet vendors?
Source: Mark’s post Lease-up Marketing: A Strategy for Smarter Spending That Can Produce Real Results
