These days the market is heavily influenced by trends. In a nutshell, trends are basically patterns and activities that a lot of people replicate on a social level. These could be classified under any category and hence are very important to understand the flow of the market. If you are finding a self-storage unit to store your belongings, make sure you check out Selfstorageunits.io.
In terms of self-storage units, there are also some trends that self-storage owners must know, to stay ahead of the curve. So without further ado, let’s jump right into the top five trends that owners and operators need to know about the self-storage industry.
Increasing competition and consolidation
One of the major trends that are apparent enough to be well read is the increasing competition in the self-storage industry. Earlier the self-storage industry was fragmented and divided. However, after the inception of real estate interest trusts, 20 percent of the market is now under their control.
They use these stats to corner other companies by offering, significantly low rents and by taking advantage of click advertisements. With the onset and collaboration of social media marketing with the industry, and with the growing demands of the warehousing, the market is becoming saturated with business owners and operators.
This is high time to start a self-storage business, if you want because it would become exponentially difficult to do the same after saying a tenure of 5 years. This is because the market is reaching a saturation point and with the influence of the REIT’s other companies are suffering hegemony.
Vallet self-storage as an ancillary service
When the idea came to the pitch board, everyone thought it was going to be the next big thing in the world of storage. However, due to the lack of adequate technology, the idea never took off. However, in the 21st century, we have the tools and technology to make this concept a reality.
Small self-storage owners are now offering valet pick-up and packaging services, for free or an added fee, depending on the distance of the location from the storage unit. Also, the idea of using valet to pick up and drop off your storage items is pretty convenient.
If you are a business owner yourself, you know the hassle of packing and dropping your goods at the self-storage facility. This is where the idea comes to the rescue. Hence if you’re looking to make an immense profit, then we highly recommend adding valet self-storage as an ancillary service.
Changing management styles and customer service
Since people have always been hooked on great customer service, changing the management styles and customer service is probably one of the best ideas in 2022, to make sure you’re ahead of the curve. Most people still use the sales tactic to garner customers and are successful as well.
However, when good management isn’t backed up by even better customer service, the interest of the customers in the self-storage unit goes down drastically. To avoid this, we highly recommend not adopting the REIT’s way of management.
Instead, look at mom and pop’s self-storage units to see what a real customer relationship looks like. This is because, they know every single one of their customers personally, which helps immensely in building a rapport and hence is a great way to make sure customers retain.
Automation and digitization
Automation and digitization are two things that most people dont talk about. However, these two things are the future. Automation, meaning, ultimately, the construction of a self-storage facility that is unmanned.
This means, that the entire procedure of storage, checkout, and the ending of a lease, all things can be done by a machine. However, till then, you can try and automate the cleaning process of a self-storage unit that has just been vacated and so on. The next phase is digitization. If you consider your self-storage facility to be an indigenous storage facility then make sure you are discoverable on the internet.
List yourself on every possible website and use social media marketing to your advantage. This can be done by running multiple ads and hence is the perfect way to get your business online and running. Automation and digitization is the best way of making sure that your self-storage unit stays relevant for years to come.
Location and aesthetics
Since the last decade, people have been hellbent on getting the best out of aesthetics. Aesthetics, for those who have been living under a rock, is the umbrella term that is used to describe form, style, and theme.
If you want your self-storage business to take over the local competition, then you have to maintain a theme. This theme could be anything from pop culture. As long as you know how to market it, you are going to come out on top. Location and aesthetics have become very important in 2022 and hence we highly recommend you to take a note of both, before starting out with newer self-storage facilities.
Conclusion
The above-mentioned five trends are the most important and noticeable ones in the industry right now. This is why we highly recommend you to follow and operate in terms of these trends. If you are a self-storage business owner, then these trends are a must to keep up with. With changing times, we would bring you more such trends to follow. Till then, keep scrolling and spread the word!
