MsSSOA Virtual Event | Lien Law Panel Discussion with Joe Doherty

Questions Answered in this Session

There seem to be a lot more facilities opening in my city? How will this impact me? What should I expect?
What can I do to keep my occupancy up when there are so many other facilities around me?
What can I do to stand out from my competition?
Should I adjust my strategy or prices compared to what my competitors are doing?
How do I optimize my local search?
How much does my brand matter?
What if my market gets overbuilt? Is there anything I should do to prepare?
Big box brands seem to be coming into smaller and smaller markets. What does this mean for me and the industry?
With so many locations selling to the big REITs, do the small operations stand a chance?
Do I have to run ads and pay for leads on Sparefoot to compete with a REIT?
How do you see the industry changing with the emergence of so many different kinds of storage entities (REITs, smaller operators, management companies, large operators, real estate companies, etc.)?
What’s the most important thing I can focus on to stay competitive in my market?

stephanie-winfree

Stephanie Winfree

Interstate Self Storage

Website: https://www.interstateself-storage.com/
Email: interstateselfstoragesc@gmail.com

Jim Mooney

3 Mile Storage

Website: https://3milestorage.com/
Email: jim@3milestorage.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

Question of the Week

We asked our panelists: What’s the biggest hurdle to introducing value pricing to my facility?

““Manager buy-in is going to be the biggest hurdle to overcome. ” - Jim Mooney

“Embracing the concepts and believing that this can really work. If you don't, you're going to find all sorts of reasons not to do it. After that, the next biggest hurdle is just ranking the units. You don't want to do it alone. Divide it amongst your team, and get help.” - Warren Lieberman

Gabfocus Takeaway

Traditional pricing for storage units has centered around size. A smaller unit costs less than a bigger unit. Right? In this Session, we learn how pricing can be dynamic and really depends on what matters most to a customer. Borrowing insights from other industries, Warren and Jim discuss how significant convenience and availability can be when pricing your units, as well as a whole host of other features and amenities. In short, the value of your units isn't static. Introducing dynamic value pricing to your facility, can not only help you get more out of your units, but it lets your customers prioritize and choose the qualities about your units that matter to them most.