Posts filed under 'Strategic Counseling'
Here’s one way to get publicity: Hire someone with star power to manage your facility. That’s just what Hawaii Self Storage did.
Shaun Salvador in 1996 was a football walk-on for the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, for which he played a year at tight end, including one game he suited up against University of Hawaii (which UNLV lost), according to the Star-Bulletin. The Star goes on to conduct a Q&A with the “star.” This is priceless publicity because folks in the local community will doubtless want to meet him, or at least the kids will.
What can you do to leverage the star qualities of your staff? They say everyone has their 15 minutes of fame. Perhaps you don’t have any ex-college football heros on your team, but ask questions of your staff and make the most of their experiences. It could be that they are comunity service superstars or foster parent heros. Get the idea?
Click here to read the story in the Star-Bulletin.
June 26th, 2007
The Wesco Torrence Self Storage Center made a smart marketing move — announcing to the world its senior, student and military storage discount specials, along with a branded 800 number (or 888 number as it were).
That’s the news hook. The operator took full opportunity to describe the many benefits of doing business at the facility, including its wine storage, self storage or RV storage — it’s a full-service business center that’s ideal for businesses of all sizes and the general public alike.
This is a masterful release that communicates Wesco’s unique value proposition — and communicates it well. Would that all facility releases so on target.
Click here to read it for yourself.
June 20th, 2007
You gotta love it when you see self-storage headlines in Forbes. Through its Associated Press feed, Forbes is running the story about Extra Space buying 13 properties from AAAAA Rent-A-Space for $130 million in convertible units. In fact, the news about Extra Space is all over the place.
When you see breaking news in the industry like this, it’s time to ride on that media relations bandwagon and get your own name in the paper. Hint: Be sure to have something newsworthy when you do. You need an angle. Approaching the media without an angle is asking for a disgruntled editor to mark you as a time waster the next time around.
Click here to read the rest of the story in Forbes.
June 19th, 2007
Marcus & Millichap’s Mele Storage Group is warning investors that the commercial mortgage-backed securities, or CMBS market is experiencing a minor setback. Problems in the sub-prime residential mortgage market are adversely impacting the commercial mortgage market. CMBS lenders are even seeing some of their aggressively underwritten loans being kicked out of loan pools as the spread requirements of the bond investors are increasing, according to a recent report from BridgePointe Advisors, a real estate investment banking boutique based in Alphretta, Ga.CMBS are securitizations of mortgage loans backed by commercial real estate. That makes CMBS similar to Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS), which are mortgage loans backed by residential loans. CMBS are not exactly a new financing phenomenon – it was created in the late 1980s – but this method has gained notable momentum in the self-storage industry. Essentially, CMBS are a means for investors to participate in the ownership of commercial mortgages. Apartment buildings, shopping or strip malls, office buildings, hotels, industrial buildings and self-storage, among other commercial property types, secure loans that serve as CMBS collateral.
“Some are calling the subprime problem the ‘elephant in the room’ and many investors are getting nervous about aggressive underwriting practices,” said Michael A. Mele, Senior Investment Associate at Marcus & Millichap’s Mele Storage Group. “This could be a blow to self-storage investors because the spreads had narrowed and CMBS was becoming an attractive long-term financing alternative.”
Click here to read the rest of this release on FastPitch.
June 12th, 2007
According to a Mini-Storage Messenger article called “Death of a Tenant,” Self-storage operators have their hands full with the daily activities of their customers, but when a tenant dies, life becomes much more complicated. Operators can rely on state probate laws to determine the legal parties who can claim goods left behind in a storage unit, however, there can numerous complications. These can include locating next of kin, or worse, a long-lost relative or estranged spouse showing up to claim the items after the tenant’s belongings have been dispersed.
This is a good how-to story on what to do when a self-storage tenant dies. In order to gain access to it, of course, you have to subscribe to the newsletter. You can do that at www.minico.com.
May 23rd, 2007
Digitech International instigated a strategic alliance partnership with a group of Self-Storage Management Software Partners, including the most popular brand names in the industry. The companies are guaranteeing a reliable interface for each installation with two-way behind-the-scenes communication between the management software company and Digitech.
New members have applied and been accepted into the partnership including eMove, publisher of WebSelfStorage facility management software used by eMove Storage Affiliates, the world’s largest network of independent self-storage operators. Another, an international member, is Storman Self Storage Software. Originated in New Zealand, StorMan has risen to become the premier software supplier for New Zealand and Australia and has recently added an office in the US.
I love to see these types of strategic alliances come about in the self-storage industry for many reasons - it helps customers, it helps the businesses and it helps the industry. This is the sign of a maturing industry that is preparing itself for a new level of growth through services. In the future, I believe services will become an ever larger competitive differentiator in the self-storage industry. Although there are major differences between generational property types today, as more Class A facilities rise, it may be the behind-the-scenes infrastructure that pushes some facilities over the edge.
Click here to read more about the Digitech alliance.
May 21st, 2007
“A box full of childhood memories, furniture from a college dorm room, the china set grandma owned, the belongings of a departed loved one. All put in a self-storage unit for safekeeping. All lost forever because the rental payments weren’t made.”
That’s the beginning of a Times Expres article on self-storage auctions. It’s an interesting foray into the world of self-storage auctions and I believe it sheds some light on the process for curious gainsayer who might choose to bid, but more importantly for deadbeats who may choose not to pay. It’s always good to shed light on a matter.
I was glad to see that the self-storage owners interviewed in the article had the right spirit about it all and that the reporter captured that spirit. Self-storage didn’t look like the bad guy, but quite the contrary, looked reasonable and even lenient. This is a win for press relations for the industry. Would that all articles were so well done. Of course, it largely depends on the interviewees projecting the right image.
May 7th, 2007
Nassau County has given the green light to a new 100,000-square-foot storage center to replace A1A Self Storage in Yulee. According to the News Leader, the new center will be located on 10 acres behind the current facility on the north side of A1A near Chester Road. It will include climate-controlled units and about 400 boat and RV parking spaces.
Boat and RV storage is getting hotter and this announcement is further confirmation. Florida, of course, is a prime location for the boating aspects, but storage facilities in most states can benefit from RV storage with the Baby Boomer generation retiring. The RV industry is demonstrating explosive growth and storage can piggy back on this vehicle with the right strategies.
April 13th, 2007
Transit Systems has announced a new Storage Promotion Program offering self storage owners and managers free listings and the opportunity to earn ancillary income from referral payments.
The program offers self storage owners and managers free location listings in an Online Storage Locator, and the opportunity to earn $50.00 for each move or shipment booked through the location. TSI also provides the locations with a counter display and brochures featuring TSI moving and shipping services.
This is a win-win for the moving and storage industries and I’d like to see more of these type of arrangements (and suspect we will as the industry continues to mature.) Strategic alliances are a vital part of doing business and the self-storage industry is no exception.
Take a moment and think…what types of strategic alliances could your company forge with complimentary, but not competitive, product and service providers? Here’s a hint: it could be informatioanal services, insurance services, some sort of affiliate marketing or revenue sharing agreement. There are many possibilities…
Click here to read more about this strategic alliance.
January 26th, 2007
Bank of America is holsing an ‘Out of the Box’ REIT Summit in New York City later this month and gues who’s smack dab in the middle of the fray? Sovran Self Storage.
Sovran CFO David Rogers will participate in a self-storage industry panel discussion, followed by a company overview and a Q&A session. You don’t even have to be there to listen in. You can listen to a live streaming Webcast on Sovran’s site.
What a score! This is great for Sovran and for the industry. Rogers has the savvy and communications skills to represent both well.
Appearing at conferences, presenting keynotes, participating in Q&As and roundtables, these are all strategies that consultants, brokers and high-profile investors should covet, especially in non-self-storage industry events. Keep abreast of what’s going on around you in the mainstream real estate and financial sectors and don’t be afraid to reach out for these types of opportunities. If you have the knowledge and experience — and the right approach — you’d be surprised at the publicity you can generate for yourself, your company and your industry.
Click here to learn more about the upcoming event.
January 24th, 2007
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