The Future of Self Storage:
Embracing Technology and Innovation for a Seamless Customer Experience

by Henry Purchase, Storeganise

Technology is quickly becoming a key player in self-storage industry growth. Learn how to implement innovative tech to help your business stay ahead of the competition.

Self storage is an industry that’s been rapidly evolving over the years. Technological advancements have recently become integral to the entire self-storage experience. For example, in Texas and other states, self-storage facilities are embracing new technology, such as management software, automated security systems, AI assistants and more.

Let’s look at the future of self storage while touching on how critical self-storage features like automated access control, real-time monitoring tools, etc., can help transform the customer experience.

The Future of Self Storage in Texas

Self storage continues to boom in Texas, with more than 5,000 facilities across the state. The industry has seen significant technological advancements in recent years, with facilities incorporating automated access control systems, cloud-based analytics, real-time monitoring tools and other innovations to enhance the customer experience and increase operational efficiency.

One of the biggest trends in self storage is adopting sustainable and eco-friendly solutions, which are increasingly popular with environmentally conscious customers. For example, some facilities are implementing solar panels, energy-efficient lighting and water conservation practices to reduce their carbon footprint.

According to a report by the Self Storage Association, the demand for self-storage facilities in the US is expected to continue to grow in the coming years. This trend is driven by factors such as urbanization and the evolution of e-commerce, among other things.

In Texas, the self-storage industry also benefits from the state’s strong economy and population growth. As more people move to the Lone Star State, the demand for self storage will increase. According to the US Census Bureau, “Texas is one of the fastest-growing states in the US, with a population increase of over 10.5% between July 2020 and 2021 in Georgetown alone.”

In summary, the future of self-storage businesses in Texas looks bright, with the industry benefitting from technological advancements, sustainable solutions and a growing demand for storage space driven by population growth and urbanization.

Strategies to Reach More Customers

As a Texan self-storage business, you should understand that the Lone Star State is one of the most promising markets in the US. However, it’s essential to ensure you are providing a seamless and efficient experience in order to stand out. You can achieve this through the strategic use of technology, such as utilizing customer relationship management (CRM) systems, investing in modern security systems and offering customer-friendly services like online booking.

Investing in a comprehensive management software solution is also critical. With many companies offering a comprehensive suite of tools dedicated to the self-storage industry—including inspection management and automated billing—you can offer customers an efficient service with minimal effort (and some companies, such as Storeganise, offer a low-cost option). Customers can easily manage their rental agreements online, so their rental experience is worry-free from start to finish.

Making the Best of Digital Marketing

The digital landscape is ever-changing. Just look at the way you consume marketing content on a day-to-day basis—this undoubtedly impacts the self-storage industry. So, using the right digital marketing strategies allows you to stay ahead of the competition and provide an effortless customer experience through the use of technology.

How can you achieve this?

1. Understanding the Market
A knowledge of your target market is essential in any digital marketing strategy.

Who are your customers and what do they need? Are they local Texans, or do you have customers from all over the US?

Knowing who your customers are and breaking down demographics such as age and location will help you craft messages that will reach your target market/s.

Pro tip: Use built-in social media and website analytics to understand who is already visiting your website and social channels. This is a great place to start.

2. Integrating Technology
Digital marketing and technology go together like peanut butter and jelly. Customers now expect to be able to interact with businesses, book services and manage accounts online—and some younger generations expect to be able to do so from their mobile devices.

A comprehensive solution can help you streamline your self-storage marketing efforts and make it easier for customers to use your services. Everything can be managed remotely through a single platform—from bookings and payments to tracking inventory. That way, customers don’t have to juggle multiple systems or remember passwords for multiple accounts.

On top of this, you can introduce website plugins into your site to further boost your reach, which can both be helpful for SEO and understanding your market (as explained above).

3. Email and Social Media Strategies
Social media is still crucial for digital marketing success in 2023, but email is no less potent as a communication tool between a business and its customers.

With the number of active email users is forecast to reach 4.6 billion in 2025 (source), while this “traditional” marketing strategy might be overlooked by many self-storage businesses, the new emerging technology in the space might generate a higher ROI (return on investment) than you expect.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the self-storage industry still growing?

Yes, the self-storage industry is growing. As of 2023, the industry has expanded to encompass over 1.7 billion square feet of space. Within five years, 253 million square feet of storage space has been constructed, representing approximately 15.3% of the total inventory (source).

Is self storage still a good investment?
Self storage is still a good investment due to its relative resistance to recession cycles. People often require storage units when relocating to new homes or apartments, which creates a consistent demand for these services regardless of economic conditions. Additionally, Americans tend to purchase new homes during economic upswings, further supporting the profitability of self-storage businesses.

Does self storage provide passive income?
Owning a self-storage facility can be a viable option for generating (near) passive income while working full-time with the right technology and team.

As an owner, you can delegate most of the day-to-day management responsibilities to a third-party management company, making it a relatively hands-off investment. Or you can try your hand at remote management depending on your local market. By charging monthly rental fees to tenants, you can earn a consistent stream of passive income without having to participate actively in the business daily.

Conclusion

To remain competitive, self-storage businesses in Texas must embrace technology and innovation to meet the needs of modern customers. Storeganise offers a comprehensive software solution that enables operators to offer a seamless and stress-free storage experience while prioritizing the safety and security of customers’ belongings. Suffice it to say, implementing such innovative technology can modernize your operations and ensure customer satisfaction.

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Automation

Why You Should Consider Automating at Your Facility
by Jennifer Jones, Managing Editor of Self-Storage News

Understanding what technology can do for you and your facility can make a difference in your bottom line, bring you money that may be left on the table and streamline your operations. If you’re still using spreadsheets, they may work for you to some degree, but automating and updating your processes will allow you to have a better idea of where things stand with your facility on a daily basis and free up time to devote to other functions. The difference is like trying to light a fire by rubbing two sticks together versus using a match. Both get the job done, but one is much more efficient.

“I am a strong believer that automation makes for efficiency,” says Katie Cowen. “Your benefit in automating everything that you can is that you know it gets done, and it frees up your manager’s time so they can focus on serving their customers and renting units.”

COMMUNICATION

“We automate functions having to do with tenant communication and revenue management,” says Mike Gately. “We use a texting service to remind delinquent tenants about payments, which has been very successful. It saves the manager time and the tenants appreciate its convenience. We make sure our managers use it as a reminder for tenants, but not as a substitute for the manager making phone calls or sending emails on the more serious delinquent situations.

“We also use automated tenant surveys that can be scheduled to go out within a few days of move-in or move out, which are emailed to the tenant and can be sent to the manager or to the corporate office. We keep the surveys short and easy to complete and use the information to make sure we are creating a positive customer experience.”

“Our management software automates the delinquency process, late fees and automatic lien letters that are generated and emailed,” adds Sarah Cole. “All new move-ins receive an automated email welcoming them as customers and inviting them to take a survey.”

 “We automate our collection calls,” says Cowen. “Robo-type calls are used as our first call to alert tenants that units are past due. These aren’t the only calls made, but a good portion of past due tenants pay after the robo call but before our managers make their ‘live calls.’

“We have an integrated SMS [text] program that is scheduled to send tenant messages for certain events on pre-defined dates. These can include past-due notices, or notices that something is happening at the location. This has been especially helpful during weather-related closure events to keep our tenants updated with issues on the property. These aren’t completely automated due to a software limitation in SiteLink, so someone has to actually hit ‘process’ to send out the notices, but once that’s done, the system generates a text to every tenant who is set to receive that particular message.

“Nothing zaps a manager’s will to live like stuffing hundreds of envelopes with letters. We use an automated mailing service that’s integrated with our software to process paper notices to our tenants. This is also an option for sending auction notices without having to go to the post office, which saves a ton of time for our managers.”

Reviews can help a facility’s reputation drastically by showing your potential customers that your current customers love you. Cole says, “Use Google Review QR codes to allow tenants to leave reviews while at the store. We created a QR code that will take tenants directly to our Google Review page for each location. When the customer is at the store renting a unit or truck, or making a payment, we ask them to scan the code and leave us a review. Because we made it so simple, our number of reviews have gone up quite a bit.”

LEADS

There’s also something to be said for instant communication and striking while the iron is hot. “We don’t have missed call leads because they automatically roll over to our call center rather than going to an answering machine,” says Cole. “When a customer makes an appointment to come to the store to rent a unit, there is an auto- mated text message that is sent out two hours before their appointment.”

Cole’s website automatically emails completed and incomplete reservations to the manager, district manager and home office to follow up with the customer and track the reservation lead.

REVENUE MANAGEMENT

“Most management software programs now offer a revenue management feature, which we have found to be a real money maker and time saver,” says Gately. “For example, you can program the software to raise rents on vacant units by a set percentage when the occupancy on any unit type exceeds a defined target (e.g., raise rents by 6 percent on any size that is 90 percent occupancy or higher). During the busy leasing season, this can really be a big help to the manager, as the software will automatically raise the rate without the manager having to even notice that the occupancy target has been achieved.

“This revenue management feature is also very helpful in prompting rate increases on occupied units. For example, you can instruct the software to raise rents on any occupied unit after 12-months’ tenancy by a certain percentage. You can allow the rate increases to be limited to the current street rate or not. The manager can get the proposed list of rent increases each month for review. The manager can be given the authority to approve the rent increases or modify as deemed appropriate.”

“We use a website scrubbing soft- ware to monitor our competitors’ rents and specials and any changes. The software is inexpensive and provides regular prompts of any rate changes with comps in your defined market trade area. The pricing is laid out in an easy-to-use grid, showing rates by competitor and unit type. In addition, we have the managers contact their counterparts on five or so comps each month by phone to trade notes on the occupancy, rates, specials and market info. The managers should drive by their comps at least quarterly.

Cowen also uses software to help with competitive pricing. “We use a revenue management program that ‘scrapes’ online rates for our competitors and compiles them into a list so we’re able to easily see our low, high and median competitor rates in any given market.”

PAYMENTS

“We have an automated payment prompt that customers can use to make their payment over the phone,” says Cowen. “This saves our managers or call center agents from having to talk to multiple customers who are just wanting to make a payment and frees them up to handle other customer issues or new inquiries.

MAINTENANCE

“We even use automation for maintenance internally,” says Cole. “We have a maintenance ticket system where the manager creates a ticket and it sends it to the maintenance personnel. They repair what needs to be repaired and the manager receives a notification when the job is done and the ticket is resolved.”

Technology has come a long way and continues to allow us to streamline things that we previously handled manually. A lot of times, the use of technology can give us an edge on competition as well by giving us data at our fingertips to help us make smarter and quicker decisions.

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