Download SiteLink Software to Your Computer Download Now

Get Pricing Right And Why It Matters

Written by Chuck Vion on October 20, 2016 under Pricing & Online Marketing & Lead Generation & Revenue Management & Industry Webinar

Get Pricing Right And Why It Matters

Article Contributions by: Angela Kilkenny - Sales Director at Stortrack

A New Era in Self-Storage

As consumers become increasingly comfortable and more reliant on the convenience of the world wide web, it is expected that businesses should provide information at the click of a button. Whether consumers are looking to book a flight, reserve a hotel or shop online, businesses face the pressure to be front and center of their consumers.

The same applies to the self-storage industry. It is very important to make it easier for tenants to make reservations or complete a rental from the convenience of their smartphones or computers. Savvy consumers have learned how to shop around for the best deal and any businesses or products not accessible for instant comparison are quickly disregarded. For the average self-storage operator this means, at minimum, maintaining a website which enables the consumer to view rates and ideally, be able to make reservations and even rent instantly. This brings us to the next point – pricing.

Why Pricing Matters

Pricing is one of the most important aspect of business — it directly impacts the bottom line. In self-storage this is especially true due to the recurring revenue of monthly tenants. When a consumer is researching self-storage options, if they don’t see a price then they likely omit that facility from consideration (they don’t want to call or wait for an email response.) So, it is imperative to not only display your pricing information online, it’s important to ensure the price you offer is competitive in your market.

The top and mid-tier operators understand this and have mastered pricing by investing heavily in departments dedicated to revenue and pricing optimization. At the other extreme, single-store and independent operators often rely on store managers to make pricing decisions based on data collected through manual competitor web research and call-arounds (mystery shopping.)

By not having a systematic approach to pricing, these operators leave themselves open to a loss of market share to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and other competitors who use their position in the market, along with smart pricing strategies, to take over opportunities for growth.

While the REITs and other large firms have the means to develop or invest in sophisticated technology, affordable tools have recently emerged to help the average self-storage operator look at pricing more strategically. Manually researching and calling-around for pricing might give operators a snapshot in time of the competition; however, this information is often unreliable or cannot be used to monitor trends or derive meaningful analytical conclusions.

In such an aggressive industry and an in era of growing technological reliance, smaller operators wishing to retain market share cannot afford to ignore pricing or the shopping behaviors of their consumers. At minimum, self-storage firms should review their pricing strategy and find tools which can help them understand and improve their market position - always offer the right price.

Article Contributions by: Angela Kilkenny - Sales Director at Stortrack

Want To Learn More?

Watch The On-Demand Webinar Now

Watch the on-demand webinar Why Pricing Matters: Competitor Tracking and Pricing for Profit now. As the self-storage industry continues to grow, operators are focusing on pricing to maximize revenue. Top operators realize the single most important lever driving revenue is pricing. Learn how to track and incorporate competitor pricing into your pricing strategy and grow your business.

Watch The Webinar Now

Related Industry Blogs

Check out other industry blogs related to Get Pricing Right And Why It Matters.

Pricing For Profit

As self-storage companies incorporate systematic, dynamic, and data-driven methods into setting move-in rates and rent increase to existing customers, they typically realize sustainable increases in profits that are greater than anticipated.

What You're Losing by NOT Offering Tenant Insurance

Tenant insurance is to a storage facility as the internet is to a computer. Sure, a storage facility can run without having tenant insurance available, but just as the internet opens up opportunities for a computer, tenant insurance opens up opportunities for storage facilities by adding a valuable security feature, mitigating liability, and most importantly enhancing the customer service experience for tenants.

SiteLink Web Edition

Subscribe To The Monthly SiteLink eNewsletter

Stay up-to-date with latest SiteLink News, Webinars, Blog posts,
Event schedule and other self-storage industry resources.

Scroll