Lessons Learned in 2024 | Self Storage Virtual Workshop

Gabfocus Episode 67 | Lessons Learned in 2024

What lessons did you learn at your business in 2024? At the end of the year, we like to get together with some of our favorite storage experts and owners to discuss the tips and tricks they learned throughout the year and what they're preparing for in the new year.

Featured Speakers: Jane Sauls, Alexis Ducharme, & Matthew Roberts
Moderators: Tommy Nguyen & Melissa Huff

Category: Operations
Focus: Owners, Operators, & Managers
Aired: December 19, 2023
Duration: 1:18:15

Overview

If you don't have time to watch the whole session, here are some of our favorite parts:

At 7:20, our experts discussed the toughest challenges they encountered this year.
16:35, they talked about the big changes they noticed in the industry this year.
Starting at 21:25, each expert discussed the various industry sources they use to keep up with new trends.
At 26:00, our guests highlighted some weaknesses they identified at their businesses and how they solved them.
30:15, our experts shared customer trends that they noticed in the last year.
Around 41:00, the guests answered questions about how to handle customers who are currently paying more than street rate.
At 48:10, our guests covered technology changes of the year and what they expect in 2025.
57:00, the experts touched on the various things they are preparing for 2025.
1:00:50, the experts answered the question of the week!

Resources

Gabfocus Takeaway

2024 was a tough year with lots of learnings from increased competition and decreasing demand in the storage industry, but smart operators are still finding ways to thrive! As we head into the new year, it's time to buckle down and make sure that the foundation of your business is strong before getting creative about new strategies you can use to bring in new customers. There is still plenty to be optimistic about in storage, and this industry has incredibly experts and associations who are able to help along the way.

What are Gabfocus Sessions?

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

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 to learn more about self storage? Join us on select Thursdays for Gabfocus.

Questions Answered in this Session

What was your toughest business challenge this year?
Did you notice any big changes in the industry this year?
What sources do you use to keep up with these changes in your market?
What's one weakness you identified at your business this year?
What customer trends did you notice this year in your markets?
How do you handle a customer who's rate is higher than your current street rates?
What technology changes have you made this year?
What technology improvements do you expect in 2025?
What are you preparing for in 2025?
What's the best thing about being in the storage industry?

Matthew Roberts

Matthew Roberts

Southern Storage

Website: https://www.southernstoragenearme.com/
Email: mjrober19@gmail.com

Jane Sauls

Sauls Storage Group

Website: https://saulsstoragegroup.com/
Email: jane@saulsstoragegroup.com

Alexis Ducharme

Alexis Ducharme

Stop-N-Go Storage Management

Website: https://www.stopngostorage.com/
Email: alexis@stopngostorage.com

Steve Smith

Storage Commander

Website: https://www.storagecommander.com/
Email: steve@storagecommander.com

Resources from this session

Awesome Quotes

“Once your operation is in place, you can become more dynamic with your pricing, but that requires data. You need some method of being able to record the data that you need to know whether your price is in the right place - whether you need to move it up or start giving some concessions.” - Warren Lieberman

“I never want to downplay to what someone else is doing. I'm better than they are, then I'm going to be worth a higher price. That's what value is. If you go out to a restaurant and get really good service, would you go back? Yes! What if it was pricier? You'd still go back because you got better service and a better product.” - Jim Mooney

"It's good to be informed on your competition. I don't want to ignore them, but I don't want to respond too strongly to them either." - Warren Lieberman

"We did a survey of 10,000 facilities on their pricing. We found out that two-thirds of those operators didn't change the price of a single unit of the course of a month." - Warren Lieberman

“Rate increases and value pricing are the number one ways to grow your revenue.” - Jim Mooney

"Tenants in more convenient units tend to be less price sensitive." - Warren Lieberman

"The size of the unit is only one aspect of what people are willing to pay for." - Warren Lieberman

Highlights

Foundational marketing strategies to have in place - whether leasing up or stabilized:

Website
Set up listings (Yelp, Google My Business, Apple Maps)
Social Media
Establish Local Partnerships

Lease up marketing strategies:

Lead Generating Strategies (like digital ads)
Aggregators (Sparefoot, Storagefront, etc.)
Awareness Campaigns (like billboards, flyers, and sponsorships)

Your average customer value
Find the average stay length of all tenants. Next take your economic occupancy and divide by how many units you have. That will tell you what the average customer pays.

Multiply the average length of stay by what the average customer pays, and that's the average value of a customer.

For example, if a customer stays for 12 months and pays $100 per month, then their value is $1,200.

Your average lead value

Figure out your closing rate (or conversion rate) i.e. how many leads do you turn into tenants? Multiply that by your average customer lifetime value to figure out what your leads are worth.

Pro Tip: see which lead sources are converting the best. It may be that certain sources have a higher conversion rate, so those leads are worth more to you than a source that barely converts.

Typical Lease-up timeline

According to our panelists, it's typical to see a 3-4% increase each month, putting your facility at 36% after the first year, and 72% after the second.

Alternately, you can look at your lease up goals through the lens of your units, aiming for 20 units rented per month.

For Nick and StorageMax, they pro forma their economic occupancy at 85% with their sweet spot at 92%.