GUEST BLOG: Self Storage Facility Owner 101 – Monetizing Your Website
Submitted to Investment Real Estate by Laura Gattis at The Storage Group
If you’ve been struggling to fill those last few pesky storage units, monetizing your website could just be the key. There are other factors at play in determining the success of a storage facility, but a well-designed website can help improve your facility’s reputation and competitiveness. Keep reading to make sure you’re not accidentally sabotaging facility success!
First Impressions Matter
First impressions matter – it’s why you wear nice clothes to a job interview, shake a stranger’s hand and get the best website design possible. When a potential tenant finds your website, the way they feel about your website will determine whether or not they use your storage facility. They want to feel like your facility is capable of taking care of their most valuable possessions, that you understand modern technology and are making efforts to be the best facility possible.
Sweor states that visitors decide in the first 50 milliseconds whether or not they like your website. They want clean, fast websites that are easy to navigate. It makes sense – have you ever loaded a website with such poor design that you went back to a search engine to find a better company? Unless you’re the only self storage facility within driving distance, these potential tenants are not going to sift through an outdated, ill-performing website just to rent from you. According to Inspired Mag, people only read about a quarter of the words on any given website, so make sure that the content you put up is impactful and drives them to make a rental quickly.
Protecting Your Tenants
Having a well-designed website is important, but so is the security behind it. Do tenants feel like you will protect their credit card information? 35% of shoppers will abandon the checkout process if they don’t think you’ll protect their financial information. Who would want to intentionally set themselves up to have their credit card stolen? Utilizing an SSL certificate can help increase tenant trust. As you build or design your website, prioritize security – you’re a self storage facility, after all! A self storage facility’s website should be set up with backend security that prevents hackers from easily taking over your website. Make sure your website provider has extensive security in place, as getting your website hacked is a great way to lose business!
Making Your Website Mobile Friendly
It’s 2019, and it can feel like people are on their phones 24/7. They expect that you’ll have a responsive website design, one that is just as beautifully designed and effective from a smartphone as it is on a tablet or desktop computer.
Tenants are busy, and they want to quickly be able to pull your location and phone number. Without a responsive website, you’ll drop in Google’s search rankings and tenants will have a hard time finding you. If they can’t find you, they will rent from a competitor or big-box company instead.
Online Rentals – If You’re Not Using One, Your Competition Is
Online rental tools are the future of the storage industry, allowing tenants to rent units and pay bills without having to go into a rental office.
Integrating an online rental kiosk into your website can increase occupancy and current tenant satisfaction by allowing them to bring the rental process into their own hands. Instead of taking off work to head down to your storage facility, they can sign their lease and move in at the end of the day, when it’s most convenient for them. When selecting an online rental tool, pick a Progressive Web App (PWA). PWAs allow tenants to download an app to their phone without having to go to the app store. These PWAs take up significantly less data and battery life, making them ideal for self storage facilities looking to help their tenants.
Website Developers You Can Trust
Building a website isn’t nearly as challenging as it used to be – just find a great website development team that you can trust. There are several website development and marketing agencies that specialize in the self storage industry, so start with them. Investing in a high-quality website and online rental tool may just be the best decision you ever make as a business owner.
When you’re looking for a website developer, consider more than just the cost. Does a more expensive provider offer better website design, security or customer service? The cheaper provider probably costs less for a reason – your self storage facility shouldn’t be worth that sacrifice. Find your ideal website provider and start monetizing your website today!
If you need help getting started or improving your existing website, you can contact The Storage Group through their website or by calling 888-465-6247 for more information.
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About the Author:
Laura Gattis is the Marketing Specialist for The Storage Group, the industry leader in website design, search marketing, and the first PWA/online rental tool. She has a Master’s degree in media innovation from the University of Nevada, Reno. Her expertise lies in social media management, content marketing, and strategic communications. You can reach Laura directly via email or by calling 407-392-2329 x161.
