The Whole Customer Experience | Gabfocus | Self Storage Virtual Workshop

Gabfocus Sessions

Gabfocus Sessions are weekly, virtual workshops for self storage owners, managers, and operators. Brought to you by the team behind Gabfest: StoragePug and MR Management.

Each session features hand-picked industry pros who will dive deep into relevant topics surrounding our industry, share best practices, and explore trends in the market. It's our hope that these sessions help you navigate your self storage business better during these uncertain times.

Want more tools for your managers? Join us on Gabfocus weekly on Thursdays.

Jim Mooney

Freedom Storage Management

Website: https://freedomstoragemanagement.com/
Email: jmooney@freedomstoragemanagement.com

Jess Casto

Digital Marketing Consultant

Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-casto-747962149/
Email: jlcasto0684@gmail.com

Phil Murphy

CallPotential

Website: http://callpotential.com
Email: phil@callpotential.com

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Sue Haviland

Haviland Storage Services

Website: https://havilandstorageservices.com/
Email: sue@havilandstorageservices.com

Resources from this session

Move-in process: Jim Mooney

Send Welcome Email
Give them information on what we expect and how it works
Our managers reach out to them on the phone to double check that the information we have is correct
To streamline the process, we've even got so far as to have their lock ready for them in the unit
Managers follow up to make sure they've gotten setup properly or have questions

Awesome Quotes

“Everyone gets a different point of first contact - those driving by, those on your website, even those still looking at the yellow pages. You have to keep them simple and consistent." - Phil Murphy

“Whatever your policies, whatever your procedures, make sure they’re consistent. If your managers and operators know what the process is and stick to it every time, no one has to ask questions. Keep it clear.” - Sue Haviland

"We spent most of our time focusing on the empathy portion of the sales journey and the customer process. You can rent three walls and a door anywhere, so we want to focus on what the customer wants or needs. If we can make you feel good, you’re more likely to store with us." - Jess Casto

“With digital versus physical, you have to be able to walk in both worlds.” - Jim Mooney

Tools Mentioned

Lead2Lease - Sitelink Integration

Question of the Week

We asked our panelists: "What’s the most important part of the customer experience?"

Branding. That’s the first thing they see about you. That determines if they trust you or not. I think branding is the most important part of that entire customer experience. - Jess Casto

I think the most important part really is the manager. They’re controlling your first impression. They’re controlling the cleanliness of the property, the phone conversations - the whole customer experience. They’re in charge of it all. - Phil Murphy

It’s about developing that comfort level for the customer. They never see the owner, they see your manager and your front line. If they’re not comfortable with you and don’t have that trust in you, you could have the nicest property in the world and they’re not going to come to you. - Jim Mooney

If they don’t leave feeling good about having spent money with you, then we haven’t done a good job. You want that customer to leave that first time, glad that they chose you. - Sue Haviland

Gabfocus Takeaway

Be agile. Every location has different customers, and different customers have different needs. Cover your bases, but pay attention to who your customers are. Tailor your customer experience to conduct business and messaging to the way the customer wants to experience it. Be consistently agile . ( Jared Carter from the Live Q&A)