If youre anything like me, you hate going to the doctor for a checkup. Not only is it time-consuming, its expensive and a great way to pick up another sickness in the waiting room. Then the doctor makes you answer 50-plus questions and embarrasses you by touching you in places youd rather he not. Throughout the exam, you think of everything else youd rather be doing and promise yourself youll skip next years waste-of-time physical.

After reviewing his notes and findings, the good doc comes back into the room, slaps his chart on the desk, and looks you in the eye with a gaze that just doesnt seem right. Is there any history of cancer in your family? he asks.

Your heart drops sweat starts to bead your forehead. After reviewing the X-rays, I have concern about a growth on your lungs.

In 10 seconds time, youve gone from worrying about a 60-minute, time-wasting visit to thinking youd give anything to buy good health. Your needs have changed, instantaneously.

When marketing and advertising for boat/RV storage, mobile storage or traditional self-storage, you must understand that very few people actually feel they need your services, just like hardly anybody feels they need a physical until its too late or the checkup saves their life. Many residential driveways are dotted with boats and RVs. Just open the average Americans garage or peek in their basement and youll see extra belongings stuffed inside. Talk to the owners, and you may find theyre not at all worried about the clutter. They might be bugged or annoyed by it, but properly storing boats, RVs, etc., or straightening up the basement is far down their priority lists.

So, what do you do? The first thing is to create a strategic message. After its designed, you must deliver it to the right audience through advertising mediums. The key is finding the right angle.

If you simply run an advertisement promoting boat and RV storage, youre offering people something they dont know they need. Some might respond, but youre missing mega-opportunities if you dont convince other folks their lives would be better without so much clutter. Instead you must channel an existing desire and link it to your storage options. This sounds deep, but stay with me.

Humans have a core set of desireshopes, dreams and fears. To create real response in advertising, you must channel these emotions into your product or service.

In the doctor example given earlier, you already had a fear of death before you went for the physical. All the doctor did was channel that emotion by mentioning cancer. He didnt create a desire to live, but he channeled your fears, making you anxious for his medical services. How do we do this with boat-, RV- and mobile-storage marketing?

The Target

Say a potential tenant just spent $60,000 on a nice new ski boat. Most likely, hell hope to keep it shiny and beautiful, functional for a long time, and secured from theft or vandalism. He may have hopes of providing plenty of enjoyment for family and friends with this new, expensive toy, possibly making others envious while hes zipping by other boats on the lake.

Now we must take those existing emotions and channel them into boat storage. For example, this new owner must be made aware that boats parked in driveways or streets get scratched by bikes, cars, lawn mowers, etc. After extended time in the sun, the gel coat on a boat will bleach, pigment and oxidize, causing it to lose its shine and vibrant color. New gel coat costs hundreds or even thousands to apply.

Due to the concentrated weight distribution of boat and RV tires, driveway damage will occur in hot weather if the trailer remains in the same spot for a long time. This is very costly to fix.

In addition, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, more than 27,000 boats are stolen each year. Most thefts occur from driveway or street parking. The organization recommends secure, shaded storage or removing the tires from the trailer to help prevent theft. My guess is most boat owners wont want to take the tires off their trailer every time they park it. Plus, think of how unattractive a tireless trailer looks in a driveway.

A sincere letter to a boat owner connecting his fears and hopes to your boat-storage solutions will work countless times better than simply saying, We offer boat and RV storage.

The Approach

One way to reach boat owners is to rent a list of Boat World or similar magazine subscribers in your ZIP codes. Contact a list broker by searching the Internet and inquire about boating magazines providing list-rental services.

Once you get a list, send each subscriber a letter containing a message with a low-risk, hard-to-refuse offer for becoming a new customer. Design an attractive voucher and enclose it with the letter. Youll be surprised how well this works when properly executed.

In addition, form alliances with boat dealers in your area. Boat salespeople are always looking for ways to make more money from customers and provide exceptional service. You can help them with both.

Create a professional letter, flier and voucher for salespeople to give new customers. People are most worried about their investments when theyve just signed paperwork, so this is a prime time to offer storage and channel their emotions. Tell salespeople theyll gain repeat business and referrals by taking better care of their customers, and youll give them a $50 commission for each customer they send to you.

Your materials should be professional and convincing, making it extra easy for salespeople to make a sale for you. Fifty bucks for one minute of work is easy money; but if selling your boat storage is a hassle for them, $50 may not be enough. You may need to have a backup plan.

Across the Board

Although we used boat storage as the primary example, strategic messaging and tactical delivery principles apply to RV and mobile storage as well as any other products and services. Simply find existing hopes, dreams and fears of potential customers, and channel those emotions into your solution with a strategic message. Aim this message at your target audience and, within six to 12 months, you should be scoring boat-, RV- and mobile-storage customers across the board. 

Derek M. Naylor is president of Storage Marketing Solutions (SMS) a full-service, results-oriented marketing and advertising agency dedicated to the storage industry. For a free subscription to his valuable and insightful e-newsletter, visit www.storagemarketingsolutions.com or call 800.941.4805.