Owning and running a storage property means that you cater to a unique clientele. Unlike other real estate businesses, your customers may not necessarily reside or operate full-time from your storage facility. They would come in and go at different times of the day. However, their presence or absence doesn’t negate that you need to maintain a quality and valuable business environment.
Furthermore, you want your business to portray an attractive outlook to present and potential clients. Thus, it’s vital to keep up with value by adding some techniques to ensure a competitive edge over your competition. For instance, if you have a diverse storage property, like the Safestore Units Auckland, you may want to examine each client group to ensure you can meet their expectations.
However, regardless of your client composition, listed below were practices that can help you add value to your property. These practices can be a determinant to increasing your customer satisfaction and return on investment.
One key selling point of your self-storage property is its visual appeal. One of the first tests a potential client does is how your facility looks. Therefore, you should ensure that the grounds and architectural appearance are welcoming and captivating. By taking care of the visible areas, you project to your clients that you care and can take good care of their belongings.
If you have a site office, it should also carry the same good first impression as the outside appearance. Overall, it would be best to look at landscaping, painting, and lighting. All these add to enhancing the curb appeal of your property. Thus, attracting potential renters.
Your target clientele would have varied requirements and needs for using your self-storage property. Thus, it’s crucial to ensure you can cater to these needs comfortably. When you have varied sizes of rental units, you give your clients a broader choice in selecting a unit that can fit their needs.
If you have several large units that get used seasonally, you can consider partitioning them with a roll-up or foldable wall. Such a step ensures that you can meet the demands for small units and still be available for the large-unit season.
Even though most of your clients might have their means of transport, some may want a rental truck once in a while. Thus, you can look at having a rental truck that can help assist such clients. Additionally, you can have a one-stop-shop with various amenities that your clients may need. These amenities can be packing materials and security locks.
It’s essential to take note of your property’s repair and maintenance needs. By scheduling regular maintenance, you keep your facility in good condition and avoid emergency repairs that may inconvenience your clients.
Additionally, scheduled maintenance can help you carry out necessary upgrades. These upgrades can be security-related or improve the facility’s curb appeal. An old-looking property can turn off potential clients and can elicit exits from your existing ones. Thus, it’s vital to keep up with repairs and maintenance.
Sometimes, the surrounding community can form a significant number of your clients. Thus, building a connection with it can help earn more trust. You can involve yourself in community-based activities like charity work, local sports, or volunteering. In so doing, you can bring your self-storage business to the forefront within the community.
Customers rent self-storage facilities to store property of varying value. Some may hold a sentimental value, while others cost a significant amount of money. Therefore, the customers expect that the items in storage are safe and can collect later in the same condition. Additionally, when they visit your property, they expect that their safety isn't at risk.
Thus, you need to prioritize security measures that help you achieve a safe environment. Installing security cameras in and around the property’s perimeter and a perimeter wall would be ideal. Depending on your location and local authority regulations, you can choose to add electrical fencing.
Other security steps like hiring a security guard and providing an access code or pass can help you improve your security.
Apart from security, safety precautions that avoid injury to clients while on the property are also vital. Areas like slippery floors and faulty roll-up doors can easily cause harm. Furthermore, if you have an injury-proof property, you might enjoy a discount from your insurance company.
As part of safety precautions, you should ensure your property follows provisions provided by law. For instance, if you’re in the United States, you should ensure you can meet the American Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance standards.
Conclusion
To summarize, adding value to your property might not be a one-time exercise. It should be a continuous practice that helps improve the outlook of your self-storage facility to your clients. The above techniques can help you achieve this exercise.