Tenants love an on-site office, a face to put to the name, and a place to get their questions answered.
Your office is not only the place where your staff and your tenants meet, it’s also a potential packing store, an ice vendor, or even a moving truck rental hub.
These new services can generate some revenue, but the biggest goal is to make your facility more useful for potential tenants. Happy tenants leave good reviews and tell their friends about you - the best marketing you can get!
Plus, any service you offer in your office gets people onto your facility! If you have a facility that looks good and provides good service, this is a huge marketing boost too.
Any tenant that visits your facility is going to think of you when they eventually do need storage. And of course, if you can make some money while you do it, all the better.
Turn your extra space into an opportunity with any of the following ideas.
There’s one assumption you can make for every tenant: they’re moving. Whether that means moving homes or just moving out some clutter, they’re likely going to be using boxes, duct tape, and bubble wrap.
Selling these supplies in your on-site office is not only convenient for your tenants, but a massive opportunity to turn your blank space into profit.
With the right self storage SEO, you could even appear in searches for locals in your area who just need supplies without the storage unit - and that can bring both a bit of revenue and a great marketing opportunity to your business.
If you’re sitting on some empty square footage in your on-site office, you’re probably leaving money on the table.
Here’s what you could sell at your on-site self storage office:
If your facility is equipped with boat and RV storage, then you can sell more than just moving supplies!
Boat users might need some supplies for their coolers, and an RV tenant could need gas to cook on their grill. The point is, if they don’t buy it from you, they’re going to buy it from somewhere else.
Be the one-stop shop for their weekend adventures!
Boat and RV supplies to sell at your self storage facility:
Not every facility has the space, funds, or market to offer moving truck rentals at their storage facility. If you do have the chance to provide that service, you could be bringing in an entirely new kind of customer!
Not only could you rent your trucks to new tenants, but to anyone moving locally in your area.
Moving trucks are also an amazing incentive for new tenants and could be a leg up over the facility down the street. Some facilities we work with will offer a free moving truck for storage units of a certain size or larger; others will cover the gas for new tenants.
That’s all up to you, but the more you can sweeten the deal, the more tenants you’ll impress!
Not all of your on-site office opportunities require a huge upfront investment! This is more about building good relationships. When you put up other local business cards (like movers or apartment complexes), they have the opportunity to return the favor.
That’s some good, free marketing! Who is better to be your voice in the streets than other businesses that deal with move-ins? The best part is, they aren’t even direct competitors!
In terms of cost-effective, low-square-footage ways to optimize your on-site office, doing business card swaps is by far the best.
If you’re looking for another low-cost investment that can give you a leg up over the competition, carts and dollies are one of the easiest solutions yet!
By simply adding a few free-to-use carts and dollies to your office, now your tenant’s experience is a lot more convenient. It’s a no-brainer.
It may seem simple, but something as useful as moving carts could be used in your marketing or called out on your website. Give your customers just one more reason to become tenants.
If you want to reach an entirely new set of clientele, opening mailing services at your on-site office is the quickest way to expand your market!
Not only will your tenants be grateful for the convenience of mailing a package after visiting their unit, you’ll find customers who don’t need self storage at all (yet). Mailing services reach an audience that exists entirely separate from your tenants. What an opportunity!
Not only does this appeal to the masses, it appeals to your tenants. If you offer mailing and package receiving services, you’re now the best place to store inventory for your local business or e-commerce in town.
Not every facility has the manpower, space, or funds to expand into mailing services, but for those who do, it can make a difference.
Empty office space is prime real estate! Not every facility can or needs to open side ventures on their property, and that’s okay. For those who do have the freedom and resources to expand their offices into new revenue, we hope these helpful tips give you a good head start.
Interested in learning more about owning a self storage unit business? Check out some of these great resources!
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