Nov 12, 2021

What are you doing today to get noticed?

by Josh Parker

I was running an errand today in a town that I’m not all that familiar with. I drove down and saw a local hole-in-the-wall lunch place that a friend had told me about years ago and decided to stop in for a sandwich.

I grabbed my food to go, and headed off down the road to my ultimate destination which happened to be in the same plaza as a national and very popular chain restaurant. As I sat in the car and ate my sandwich it stuck me as kind of odd that I was eating a sandwich from a place that most of the patrons crowding into this big name spot had driven past.

I’m not kidding when I tell you that I was eating one of the most delicious sandwiches I’ve ever had. How is it that all these people could drive by the local A+ amazing sandwich shop, and settle for a mediocre chain restaurant?

Either they don’t know it exists, or they’ve decided to stick with what is familiar to them.

Whatever the reason, they are missing out.

Photo by Tim Douglas from Pexels

Here’s how you are missing out on customers- aka profits.

They don’t know you exist.

Your drive by view’s aren’t grabbing their attention.

Put out flags, banners, lawn decorations, impressive landscaping, lights, a sandwich board
Change it up often. Keeping that drive by view fresh is key.

Your online presence isn’t big enough.

Are you keeping tabs on your website, GoogleMyBusiness, and pay per click performance?
You don’t have enough 5 star reviews, or your reviews are negative.
Ask every customer, every time.
Respond to every review with a thank you. Be specific if you can.
How much social media marketing are you doing? How often to you post? Are people liking/following your page?
Link your accounts so that all posts are cross posted to different platforms

They are sticking with what is familiar.

They don't know the benefits, features, and customer service they get when they rent with you. This is your time to shine.

Prove that you are worth it (because you are!)

Take your customer service to the next level.
Ask for a referral (and review) with every customer interaction.

Be different- be the hometown self-storage

Guerrilla marketing- the boots on the ground partnering with other businesses, clubs, teams, and people in the community- that your competition isn’t doing.
Increase your efforts, time, and spend on community outreach, referrals, and partnerships.

I was at a local self storage facility last week. They were having a problem with a call box and asked me to take a look at it. I had no idea what they were talking about. Despite walking past this little box probably hundreds of times, I never paid it any attention.

As it turns out, it is a very helpful little piece of technology, but like the people driving past the local sandwich spot, I didn’t even notice it.