Gabfocus Spotlight: How can I compete with discounted rates?

If you haven't seen big players steeply discounting their street rates, then you just haven't been paying attention.

The rate management strategies going on in the last year have made it hard for smaller operators to compete without taking losses.

Of course, we know that those low street rates are usually coupled with aggressive rate increases over the following months, but our customers don't know that. So how can we keep up?

Listen as Lee Creech talks with our very own Tommy and Melissa about his strategy.

Question: "How can I compete with discounted rates?"

Check out the video clip below to hear their answers:

In this Gabfocus Session: Exceptional Customer Service Tips for Managers, Tommy and Melissa had the chance to speak with Lee Creech of Northshore Pellissippi Storage. Lee is an expert when it comes to providing top-notch customer service, and he gave his opinion on its importance (along with how to deliver it).

Check out the full Session to dive deeper! 

Don't want to watch the clip? Here's what Lee had to say:

The market I work in has been flooded by one of the REITs in particular, who you know. Similar color doors as yours.

Only a few of my doors, my hallways are color-coded. There's not all one color that gets people lost.

The thing we have done, and once again time will tell how successful it is, we're operating at an advantage because we are a stabilized facility. We're not trying to lease up in this environment, but the thing we're doing is we offer a 12-month rate guarantee. 

You have to have proof of insurance, preferably because you bought it through us, and you have to have to be on autopay."

—Lee Creech

"I'll put a link to your page on that lead where everyone can see your 12-month guarantee. I think you call it the neighbor's promise, which I think is very cool."

—Tommy

"That's a perfect example of that give and take and that tension of I'm going to provide really great service, but I'm going to need you to do this. And both sides can meet their obligations and that results in a really great experience for everybody.

A great experience for you, and a great experience for the customer. And I think that's a perfect picture of that, Lee. And... you can talk about what the other people do in regard to how you do things.

And it is, we offer a 12-month guarantee. You may not find that at the competition. That would be worth checking if you want to go back and double-check with them, see if they have a 12-month guarantee because they're going to tell you no. 

But this is how we do it and this is why we do it.

And I think that way you're constantly turning that focus back onto the good things you do instead of the bad thing that your competition does. And I think we see this is an election year, right? So every single ad that is out there, every political ad right now is telling you how bad their opponent is. Instead of focusing on this is the good that I plan to do.

It's, let me tell you how crappy that person is. And that's what every ad's about. And we all hate it. So we don't want to fall into that trap. So instead of bashing them, talk about the good you are doing and how you are solving that problem for them, if that makes sense."

—Melissa