The rise of mobile has revolutionized how people search, learn, make decisions, and buy self storage services. Our digitally empowered consumer force now expects to be served and assisted by brands with relevant, immediate, and hyper-personalized information. Google calls this “the age of assistance,” and it is considered the new battleground for how self storage marketers compete and convert.

Move Quickly to Keep Up with Self Storage Prospects

Self storage is the perfect model for testing out the demands that the age of assistance asks of marketers because it works with a customer base that moves quickly through the buying journey and is dependent on a fairly short list of requirements. The entire self storage buying process typically takes no more than a month. However, 11 percent of self storage customers wait to sign a lease until the day before or day of a move.

This quick process both demands and relies on how accurately and quickly you are able to meet customers with up-to-date information, targeted advertising, and a responsive web design that is easy to navigate. You can even provide answers to their questions from your digital advertisements, allowing them to self-qualify before they make a single click.

First let’s look at how to attract self storage customers in the age of assistance. Then, we’ll review a practical solution that gives the answers they need most and works to convert.

Show Up, Wise Up, Speed Up to Attract New Renters

Want to attract new self storage customers in the age of assistance? Google makes three recommendations: show up, wise up, and speed up. Searchers expect answers and assistance at every stage of the buying journey. If you aren’t there, another facility will be.

Show Up: With so much new content being created daily, consumers only pay attention to hyper-personalized, timely, and relevant information. This means you need to meet your prospects where they are and make a big impression if you want to get their attention and convert them into a lead.

Wise Up: All the the data you need to target your ideal customer is right there on your website, ad platform, and social media pages. Use it to your advantage. This data will tell you exactly which messages work with specific audiences and what actions prospects take after interacting with your brand.

Speed Up: Consumers are getting more impatient. Every day they get online and are bombarded with ads and other offers. One of best things you can do is “speed up” and improve the mobile experience your brand offers. 53 percent of online visits are abandoned if a mobile site takes longer than three seconds to load.

Assist with Real-Time Pricing and Availability Updates

Focus on providing answers before your sales team is actively involved. A prospective customer should be able to determine if your facility is the right fit from the information provided on your website. The most efficient way to accomplish this is to link your current inventory data feeds with real-time pricing and availability software and include this information on your homepage. This way, a lead knows exactly which units are available, and for how much, from the first click.

Go one step further by including real-time data in digital advertising campaigns – giving leads the information they need to self-qualify before they even click on your website link or ad. Even better? Once a unit type or parking option is full, ads are automatically disabled and a new ad is turned on for the current vacancy. This is a drastic improvement from the manual process it was before.

Be sure to also highlight unique storage solutions – RV/boat parking, climate-controlled units, biometric security systems, wine storage – on your homepage.

Learn More: The Search Process in the Age of Assistance

Download G5’s Age of Assistance infographic to learn more about how today’s consumers search and what they expect from you during their research and decision process.