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March 1, 2001
6 Min Read
Launching a Call Center
Competition ups the ante on new marketing strategies
By Stan Colona
Developing and maintaining a competitive edge requires an intensifiedmarketing effort. The conventional marketing vehicles of Yellow Pagesadvertisements, direct mail, brochures, signage, mass media (radio, newspaper,television, etc.), banners, referrals, promotions, Internet and word-of-mouthare all important and viable tools. However, many operators have begun to usemarketing strategies that are outside the norm. These next-level strategiesconsist of ways to reach the customer earlier in the moving/storage decisionprocess, and ways to convert a higher percentage of inquiries to space rentals.Call centers are one form of new marketing that has generated a lot ofattention.
Full-Service vs. Support
In 1996, one of the large REITs established a call center in its home office.That center now handles approximately 200,000 calls per month. In the last fewyears, other operators have begun to open full-service call centers andvariations of these operations. The majority of existing self-storagephone-center operations fall into two categories: full-service, and roll-over orsupport centers.
How It Works
A full-service phone center receives phone calls placed to storage propertiesregardless of whether the onsite manager is available to answer them. In thistype of operation, phone-center agents replace onsite managers in answeringnew-tenant telephone inquiries. Most full-service centers answer calls through abasic process: Callers to a facility are greeted by an automated message askingif they are an existing or new tenant. Generally, they will press "1"if they are a new rental customer or "2" if they are an existingtenant. If a caller selects the first option, he is transferred to the callcenter. If he chooses the second option, the call is transferred to a directline at the property for the manager to answer.
The remainder of the process is the same for roll-over and full-servicecenters. The two types only differ in the steps cited above--that is, how thecustomer calls are received. A roll-over center will only receive calls duringproperty office hours if the manager fails to answer the phone in a specifiednumber of rings. Roll-over centers support property management during officehours and extend the phone coverage of the property during hours it is closed.Roll-over centers do not replace property managers in handling daily inquiriesfor storage space.
Reservation sales agents answer calls that are transferred to the callcenter. Agents have computers with information that reflects currentavailability and rates for the subject property. Most operations keep thisinformation current with a minimum of daily updates. Agents access thisinformation to find the type of storage, availability and rental rate to meetthe needs of the customer. Large multisite operators have the ability to provideagents with information regarding several of the operator's properties in theprospect's trade area. Agents use this information to find tenants the optimumlocation, size and rates.
After the agent has determined the best alternative for a customer, heinvites the caller to reserve a space. This is done by inputting caller name,address, telephone numbers, etc., into the database. The computer system isdesigned to assign a tracking or reservation number to the record. This willallow the reservation to be tracked and verified as a rental.
The reservation is then transmitted to the property, usually via fax ore-mail. Onsite property managers are responsible for converting the customerreservation into a storage rental. The process necessary to convert areservation is typcially a standardized series of steps a manager follows.Skilled and motivated property managers who follow up effectively will alwaysproduce high reservation conversion rates.
The Benefits
Call centers offer many benefits to operators, managers and customers:
More Rentals
By extending the operating hours of a facility via phone coverage, calls missed during after-business hours are minimized. Calls missed during office hours are eliminated completely.
Reservation agents are trained and given incentives to produce reservations that result in move-ins. This is their focus. Agents never miss a call because they are showing a storage unit on a property or executing other duties managers are responsible for.
In operations with multiple sites, the call center can direct customers to sites with availability and maximize an operator's overall occupancy.
More Effective Marketing Feedback
The call center allows operators to effectively track responses to marketing efforts, such as pricing policies and promotions. Phone volumes can be isolated and analyzed after a specific program has been implemented.
In a center servicing multiple sites, the phone center allows customers to shop a market for price without having to call the competition. Allowing the customer to make one call and find the most convenient location, best price and right type of storage for his needs increases customer service.
With a roll-over center, an operator will know the volume of calls being left unanswered at a facility during office hours. This will allow the operator more information to evaluate the property staffing.
Increased Standardized Service
Most callers do not prefer to leave a message on an answering machine. Phone centers decrease or eliminate the chances a caller will ever be answered by a machine.
Callers receive a consistent sales presentation when they speak to a professional customer-service agent, as opposed to calling individual facilities, which can result in varying levels of professionalism.
Some Obstacles
Given the heightened competition in the industry and the benefits of a callcenter, a logical question would be: Why doesn't every operator have a callcenter? There are some obstacles. First, the payroll costs associated withoperating a phone center prohibit all but the largest operators fromestablishing one. In addition, the training and supervision involved can providechallenges. For a call center to operate effectively, agents need to be highlytrained and motivated. In most situations, agents are selling space at aproperty they have never seen. The execution of this entire process is critical.MIS systems, staffing, agent scripts and atmosphere must all be optimal in aphone center.
Execution at the property level is as important as always. When the onsitemanager receives a reservation from the call center, it is a sales lead. Whetherthe sales lead becomes a rental is highly dependent on the actions of theproperty manager. Large operators have experienced great success with theirphone centers in some geographic areas and have come up short in others. Thedifference is not the phone center's ability to be effective in different partsof the country, but the execution of the operator's management in thesedifferent territories.
Phone centers can be very useful weapons in the competitive arena of theself-storage industry. At least one center is currently being custom-designed tomeet the needs and budgets of all operators. However, as with any sales effort,the most important ingredient will always be the staff and its execution of theprogram.
Stan Colona is one of the founders of XPS Services LLC of Dallas. He andhis partner, Brad Boyd, have combined industry expertise of more than 20 years.They have managed more than 300 properties, supervised more than 600 managersand visited an estimated 2,500 facilities. Known as the "Agents ofChange," Mr. Colona and Mr. Boyd offer cutting-edge consulting services toself-storage operators. For more information, visit their three websites at www.xpsservices.com,www.ministoragejobs.com or www.ministoragemanagement.com.
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