March 2005 marked the debut of USstoragesearch.com, a company that connects self-storage customers to facilities nationwide via the Internet. The idea spawning the company was unique and, if one reflects on the growing list of clients, it was obviously a good one. Two years and more than 5,000 members later, the company is going gangbusters, with no signs of letting up.

Filling a Niche

USstoragesearch.com is the brainchild of Michael Kucera, president and CEO, who has long been in commercial real estate and was formerly in self-storage management. Kucera knew real estate and the Internet go together like peas in the pod, but somehow self-storage hadnt made that same connectionyet.

And so, he hired Megan Eckert, a graduate of MIS and marketing from the Peter Kiewit Institute of Technology, to help him in his quest. Its becoming obvious that the Internet is a necessary part of every operators marketing mix, states Eckert. People cant just be content with the fact that they have a website. Now, they have to ask, Can consumers find my website and am I implementing the necessary things to profit from my online marketing?

To answer that question, Eckert would direct anyone to USstoragesearch.com. For a base monthly fee of $24.95, members get a detailed facility listing, including phone number, driving directions, office hours, unit sizes, amenities and current specials. In addition, potential customers can continue on to the facilitys website, request a free quote via e-mail, or browse through facility photos.

Our website is unique in that we focus on highlighting your facility and pre-qualifying your potential customers, explains Eckert. Because of this, our members report better close rates and a greater return on their marketing dollars. The company has expansive coverage on all major search engines. This means that anyone shopping the Internet for self-storage will likely be driven to USstoragesearch.com.

Securing top placement on search engines is handled completely by USstoragesearch.com. We purchase keywords for our members to take the hassle out of competing for those top positions and, therefore, send them only serious shoppers, notes Eckert.

For those new to online marketing without a webpage, USstoragesearch.com takes the headache out of the process, posting information tenants will need to make their rental decision and contact the facility accordingly.

Having seen great success in the self-storage realm, the company is branching out to offer similar services for mobile storage. The new features will allow shoppers to find and compare mobile storage. As the first site of its kind, our mobile website addresses a crucial industry need to provide mobile-storage operators with customers specifically requesting their services, stresses Eckert.

The Future

Our company vision is to continue to expand and adapt our service to meet the needs of the industry, she continues. Our goals are not only to continue to send quality, targeted customers to our members, but also to help them close these customers and really profit from their online marketing.

We provide unmatched value, she concludes. How many forms of marketing can boast that with only one rental your entire annual advertising expense can be recovered?

For more information on the company, call 866.880.0742 or visit www.usstoragesearch.com.