FineView Marketing

Depending on where you live, the country is slowly recovering from the COVID 19 lockdown. It’s time to put a plan in place to protect your customers and your employees. From safety concerns to financial considerations, self storage operators have a lot on their minds.

Having a plan ready to go be a welcome relief. You need safe, rational methods that will accommodate everyone based on their personal comfort levels. Unfortunately, the country has become deeply divided over individual reactions to this virus, and you need to acknowledge that your customers are going to have different perspectives, and that they have the choice as to where they spend their money.

For example, looking at the home decor business sector, At Home has no mask requirement, but Home Goods mandates the wearing of masks. Their merchandise is similar, so people have a choice. They’re going to spend their money where they can do what makes them comfortable. If they want to wear a mask, they’ll shop at Home Goods; if not, At Home will be their shopping destination.

There is one group that feels an extreme level of discomfort being in public. Among this group are those that are extremely anxious about exposure to the virus as well as the very vulnerable who have to be extra cautious due to age and pre-existing conditions. All of these people have legitimate concerns, and social distancing, enhanced cleaning, masks, and hand sanitizers have to be included in your interactions with these customers.

The other group of people are not as concerned, either because of their age or because they are more confident that they will not develop the virus.

Get Your Business Up and Running

Most areas of the country are getting back to business as usual with the use of masks, social distancing, and common sense restrictions in place. Other areas continue to be subject to more severe regulations. You’ll want to adapt your facility based on your area, and people’s comfort level.

A User-Friendly Website is a Must

The key here is user-friendly. You have to be sure that your site is straightforward, uncomplicated, and easily navigable by older people and those who are not as comfortable or familiar with technology. It’s also necessary to maintain your face-to-face customer service for those people who prefer that option.

Online Contact-Free Rentals

Many facilities were offering contact-free rentals prior to this pandemic. Contact-free rentals allow customers to rent, pay for, and move into their storage units with no face-to-face interaction.

Your prospects and tenants need clear visibility to your services. People who don’t feel comfortable interacting with staff will use your website to research services, complete rentals, and finalize payments. Adding videos of different size units to your website will attract prospects that would prefer viewing the units online to having personal interaction, with the added benefit of making things easier for your older customers.

Online Account Management

Most facilities have had online account management with auto-pay options for quite a while. Many tenants are happy with the convenience and will continue to pay using this option.

Smart Technology

If you’re using mobile apps and smart locks, you still need to sanitize keypads, door handles and other high-touch surfaces several times daily.

Face-to-Face Contact is a Choice

You will have customers who want to tour the facility, meet the staff, and view the different sized units in person. It’s important that they be accommodated as well as those who choose not to have contact.

Office Accommodations

You can lock your doors, opening them as needed, limiting the number of people in the office to one or two at a time. You can require masks, mark the floors with tape for social distancing, and make hand sanitizer available. Don’t keep pens on the counter; if a contract needs to be signed, hand the customer a pen and tell them to keep it.

If you choose to implement these strategies, it’s vital that you use outside signage stating that “doors are locked, and only two people at a time will be allowed access to the office” and “masks are required.” This will give people the choice as to whether or not they want to rent from your facility.

Don’t Forget Your Employees

You can make alterations to the office space if your employees are more comfortable social distancing. You can space desks six feet apart and use plexiglass guards with pass-through openings on the counter.  Remember to keep the restrooms, as well as the office, clean and sanitized.

Specials for Special People

Think about offering limited-time specials for first responders and medical personnel. They have been on the front lines through this entire event, and 1.4 million healthcare professionals have lost their jobs because of a decline in ER and office visits as well as elective surgeries.

Keep a Positive Outlook

Despite the current challenges, we will get through this by maintaining exceptional customer service, superior security features, and additional conveniences. People are suffering mentally as well as physically, so we need our “patient” hats, and we need to get back to normal. No, we don’t mean a “new normal.” We mean plain old everyday normal. The kind where, as self-storage operators, we consistently give our customers outstanding, problem-free self storage experiences.