Facility Marketing

Designed for facility operators, this track includes sessions on social media, pay-per click advertising, mass-media marketing and much more. Don’t miss our special two-hour mini clinic!

Wednesday, March 14

9-9:50 a.m.

Experiment for Online Success: The Science of Pay-Per-Click Advertising

Speaker: Craig Barrett, Director of Search Marketing, SpareFoot.com

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can be a quick and simple way to drive targeted search traffic to your website, so you can turn potential tenants into customers. What's the point of having a great website if no one can find it? Services like Google AdWords make it easy to get discovered at the top of search-engine results pages when consumers search for storage in your area. As with most paid marketing ventures, however, a smart and methodical approach is the only way to ensure your storage company turns a profit. The more you learn and experiment with PPC, the more cost-effective results you can expect.
You will learn:
  • Which keyword search terms you should bid on for the most clicks
  • How to tweak and refine your ads to find the optimal balance of cost and conversion
  • Why being specific can increase your likelihood of scoring a higher-ranked search result for a lower cost
  • How to incorporate PPC campaigns into your other Web marketing efforts like SEO
  • That experimentation is the soul of PPC success
10-10:50 a.m.

Mass Media = Massive Results: A Case Study and 'How to' Session for Self-Storage Operators

Speaker: Randy Smith, Director of Operations, Another Closet Self Storage

If you're a mid-size self-storage operator or aspire to be one, what are you doing to broadcast yourself to the world? Come hear how, in just a few short years, one (formerly) small operator used radio and television to create a powerful brand that dominates the competition. It's not true that mass media is not cost-effective. During this session, you'll see how effective a good mass-media strategy can be. Forget candy jars, lollipops and cold calling ... If you want to develop a steady stream of traffic to your stores, enter the world of broadcast media.
You will learn:
  • The power of broadcast media in branding your business
  • Right and wrong approaches for self-storage media campaigns
  • How to effectively combine mass media with a simple, low-cost Internet presence
  • How to develop your own mass-media strategy
  • How to use mass media even if you have just one facility
11-11:50 a.m.

The Great Debate: Mass Media vs. Web Marketing in Self-Storage

Moderator: Joe Niemczyk, President, Executive Self Storage Associates
Panelists: Tron Jordheim, Director, PhoneSmart, Jason Lopez, Director of Corporate Development, US Storage Centers, Derek Naylor, Founder and President, Storage Marketing Solutions, Kenny Pratt, President, Crescendo Properties Inc., and Randy Smith, Director of Operations, Another Closet Self Storage

Which marketing channel is best for self-storage, online or mass media? Join us for the ultimate face-off between champions of each strategy at this live debate. Our participants will discuss the efficacy of Web marketing efforts vs. radio and TV advertising in driving rental activity. This event was inspired by a series of back-and-forth articles and blog posts by our debaters published on InsideSelfStorage.com last summer. Watch and learn as our contenders battle it out on several marketing topics.
You will learn:
  • The cost-effectiveness of different advertising mediums for self-storage
  • Which marketing strategies are easiest to measure for return on investment
  • Whether TV and radio ads or pay-per-click and aggregator ads reach the widest target audience
  • How to accurately calculate cost-per-acquisition of tenants
  • How your local market area affects your success with broadcast advertising
  • More!
1-1:50 p.m.

Sure-Fire Marketing Strategies to Ensure Prospects Conclude, 'I’d Have to Be a Moron to Store With Anyone But You!'

Speaker: Derek Naylor, Founder and President, Storage Marketing Solutions

When marketing is done properly and with innovation, your self-storage prospects should feel like doing business with you is their only option, regardless of price. Unfortunately, customers often resort to price shopping when they don’t have other criteria on which to base their decision. In this session, our presenter will teach you how to inexpensively differentiate your facility from your competition in ways that will be truly meaningful and enticing to customers. You'll learn how to effectively communicate your unique selling proposition to prospects so they know their absolutely best choice is to store with you.
You will learn:
  • Why price shoppers are our own fault
  • What soft innovations are and how they will instantly reduce price shoppers
  • How to create key “tenant magnet” differentiators for your facility
  • The "four-step communication compass" that will differentiate your facility from competitors
2-2:50 p.m.

People Are Finding Your Self-Storage Facility Online ... Here's How to Convert Them Into Renters

Speakers: Nick Bilava, Director of Sales and Marketing, USstoragesearch.com, and Christopher Baird, CEO, Automatit

Launching a website has become the easy part building a company's online presence. Making your website work for you is the harder part. Your website is a sales tool that never sleeps. You must think about the elements that will draw customers to the site and encourage them to rent from you once they are there. Your website can encourage visits to reserve units or request information, but it's up to the self-storage operator to close the deal. How you respond to online leads makes all the difference in the sales process. This session will teach you how to establish a proper follow up campaign for your online marketing.
You will learn:
  • Essentials of website design that draws in customers
  • Conversion techniques to capture visitor information online
  • Online reservation procedures
  • Proper Web follow-up
3-3:50 p.m.

Tactics for Acquiring Self-Storage Customers Through Social Media

Speaker: Kenny Pratt, President, Crescendo Properties Inc.

Social media is white hot in marketing circles, but how does it apply to your self-storage business? The good news is there are dozens of ways to use social media to augment the marketing and advertising you're already doing. Customer acquisition through social media requires a different approach, and our presenter will walk you through several examples that have worked in the real world. You'll walk away with dozens of tactics you can implement immediately.
You will learn:
  • Concrete ideas for using social media to augment your existing marketing plan
  • Figuring out where to start: Facebook? Twitter? Blog? YouTube?
  • How smaller operators can use social media to market in ways the REITs will never match
  • Three easy ways to use social media to attract new customers

Thursday, March 15

8-8:50 a.m.

The Quick-Response Invasion: QR Code Marketing for Self-Storage Facilities

Speaker: Stacie Maxwell, Director of Marketing and Communications, Universal Management Co.

You're starting to see them everywhere ... small squares of matrix barcode “pixel bits” that, when scanned with a quick-response (QR) reader on a smartphone or other device, create active hyperlinks out of printed materials and other everyday objects. There are many ways to use these little 2D action triggers in the marketing of your self-storage facility, but there are also many pitfalls to avoid. Our presenter will provide a comprehensive overview of QR codes and how you can effectively use them as part of your business.
You will learn:
  • The history of QR codes and some interesting ways they are being used by businesses
  • Where and how to generate your own QR codes and the many types available
  • Best practices for using QR codes effectively
  • A list of don’ts that will help you avoid an epic QR fail
  • Creative ideas for using QR codes to market your facility and promotions
9-9:50 a.m.

An SEO-Survival Guide for Beginners: How to Outwit, Outplay and Outlast Your Competition

Speaker: Julie Purcell, Founder and President, Epic Creative

Get a basic introduction to the world of websites and search-engine optimization. During this session. you'll learn key terms and concepts as well as what Google is and what it wants from you. You'll also find out which design elements make a website successful and if your website has everything it needs to convert leads to rentals. Our speaker will share tips on hiring the right website design/SEO company, common mistakes to avoid, do-it-yourself Web tricks, and input on how to measure results. You don't have to spend a fortune to have a successful website. In this session, you'll find out why!
You will learn:
  • Website and search-engine optimization key terms
  • Great Web design elements
  • How to find the right Web company
  • Website DIYs
  • How to measure Web results
10-11:50 a.m.

***TWO-HOUR SESSION***
Power Marketing: A Mini Clinic for Self-Storage Operators

Speaker: Tom Litton, President, Litton Property Management Inc.

This fast-paced seminar will analyze the most current self-storage marketing trends and provide powerful information you can immediately implement in your operating business. Learn how to market your self-storage facility via the Internet, social media, outbound marketing, referrals, website optimization and search engine marketing, and power-packed telephone-selling techniques. This seminar will also include 50 new and innovative marketing tips that are low in cost and effective.
You will learn:
  • 50 powerful marketing tips you can immediately implement in your business
  • How to better spend your advertising dollars
  • How to enhance your website with free upgrades, utilities and Web tools
  • Redesigning your website to work in concert with your phone-sales techniques
  • Low-cost, Web-based, contact-management tools that guarantee referrals

OPENING SESSION

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