June 1, 2004

6 Min Read
On the Bright Side

Opportunities of All Kinds

By Jim Chiswell

Do you send a welcome/thank-you letter to all of your newcustomers? Its a simple task, one that can be automatically handled by mostself-storage management software programs. If you dont, keep in mind theunderlying purpose of this letter is not just to thank your customer for rentingwith you; it can also help determine if he has given you a valid mailingaddress.

If you send a thank-you letter within a week of renting a unitand it is returned as undeliverable, you have a problem. Obviously, the customersaddress is either listed incorrectly in your database or is truly invalid. Ineither case, immediate action must be taken by your management staff todetermine and correct the error.

Should you encounter a wrong address, you must first assume itis your fault and not the customers. The data could have been inaccuratelyentered into the computer. The misspelling of the street address or thetransposition of a single digit in the ZIP code could have resulted in thereturn of your letter. Remember, in most communities, the letter carrier is notdoing any sorting by hand. If the sorting machine does not recognize the ZIPcode, the mail will be returned.

First, check the copy you made of the customersgovernmentissued photo ID. Of course, you can only do that if 1) you insisted onseeing a valid form of ID and 2) you have a good copy machine. (And please dontsay you cant afford a copier for the office, especially when three-in-one(printer/scanner/copier) ink-jet printers sell for as little as $100 to $125.)You should have enlarged the image so it is easy to read. Its much simpler tocheck the information on the ID when the image is 200 percent larger than theoriginal.

If the information from the customers ID does not assistyou in correcting the error, try calling the tenant directly. You can also tryreaching other contacts listed in his file. These days, it is not uncommon tohave an e-mail address or cell-phone number. If all attempts fail, you may havean underhanded renter on your hands. Taking time with each customer at the timeof rental, asking questions, and gathering information accurately and completelywill help you avoid this situation. Attempting to mail a thank-you letter will alert you topotential problems early in the game.

On the Bright Side

OK, enough about the dark side behind sending thank-youletters. Even though an early warning to a problem is of benefit to us,we should not forget the value of an opportunity to tell customers we appreciatetheir business. Letters give you the chance to communicate a variety of messagesto tenants:

  • Use letters to remind customers ofyour referral program. If you dont have a referral program, you should, as itcan generate new business.

  • Let tenants know that if they wantto rent additional units, they can do so without having to repay administrativefees. You can also offer them some other type of incentive.

  • Remind tenants of gate and officehours and their payment schedule.

  • Provide a contact number tenantscan call in the event of problems. If you work from a different location thanthe one where the customer rents, include your address and phone number.

  • Finally, dont forget to ask forpositive, constructive ideas to make customers rental experience better.

Customers initial perceptions of a self-storage facilitycan be positive, and a personalized letter can reinforce those good feelings. Idid say personalizeddo not open a letter with Dear New Tenant. And dontuse a business envelope with one of those clear windows that shows the addressoff the letter. An envelope addressed by hand will receive much more attention,especially if it has a stamp instead of a meter mark.

There is no rule that says the letter can only be one page; soget the most out of the postage you are using. And dont forget your referralor business- card inserts. Consider making the thank-you letter a part of yourmarketing budget, one that gets top priority from your entire management team.

Run, Charlie, Run!

If you have not heard, a self-storage owner is running forCongress. Charlie Broomfield is running in the 6th District to unseat incumbentSam Graves. Charlie has been a rallying force for selfstorage in Missouri andacross the nation for many years. His insights and powers of persuasion havehelped to strengthen the industry.

No stranger to public service, Charlie served in the MissouriHouse of Representatives, initially elected in 1964 and re-elected in 1966, 1968and 1970. He was later elected Western Judge/Commissioner on the Clay CountyCourt of Missouri. Winning re-election seven times, he served a total of 14years in this position.

It is not every day we have a chance to support one of our ownfor national office. Now each of us has a chance to have an industry friend inCongress; and I encourage you to join owners across the country in providingfinancial support to Charlies campaign. Whether for $25, $100 or the federalcampaign individual limit of $2,000, donations can be made by making a checkpayable to Broomfield for Congress Committee and mailing it to P.O. Box681068, Riverside, MO 64168. You can contribute online and learn more aboutCharlies campaign at www.broomfieldforcongress.com.Your support is neededand appreciated. Good luck, Charlie!

Dont Waste Opportunity

During a recent visit to a self-storage store in Charleston,S.C., I observed something that surprised even me after 19 years in thisbusiness. I overheard the facilitys manager, Teri Tunender, answer the phonewith a very professional, sincere greeting. It was soon obvious she was talkingto a person who had dialed the wrong number. Instead of telling him he had dialed incorrectly and hangingup, Teri got out her Yellow Pages and attempted to find the correct number. But this wasnt what amazed me.

After having found the number, she started to solicit thecaller for a self-storage unit. She just took a moment to tell him where thefacility is located, that it offers a variety of unit sizes, and that she wouldwelcome the opportunity to assist him in determining the size he might need. I have never witnessed a manager try to sell storage to acaller who had dialed a wrong number. Great going, Teri!

In truth, I should not have been surprised, because Teri fullyunderstands the concepts of customer service. She knows that successfullyfocusing on those concepts will continue to bring in new rentals. Dont missunexpected opportunities to promote your business, better serve customers andincrease occupancywhether it be a simple welcome letter or a phone call made in error.

Jim Chiswell is the owner of Chiswell & Associates LLC.Since 1990, his firm has provided feasibility studies, acquisition due diligenceand customized manager training for the self-storage industry. In addition tobeing a member of the Inside Self- Storage EditorialAdvisory Board, he contributes regularly to the magazine and is a frequentspeaker at ISS expos and national and state association meetings. He recentlyintroduced the LockCheckTM inventorydata-collection system to the self-storage industry (www.lockcheck.com). He can be reached at 434.589.4446; visitwww.selfstorageconsulting.com.

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