Pegasus Group, a real estate investment and management company that owns and operates self-storage facilities under the Central Self-Storage brand, is partnering with Charity Storage Inc. to raise money for The Michael J. Fox Foundation and other causes. Pegasus will collect and store household and other goods donated by customers and the general public, and later sell all the items via online auction at StorageTreasures.com, according to a press release.

Sixty percent of the proceeds will benefit The Michael J. Fox Foundation, while 20 percent will be donated to Kure-It Cancer Research, a nonprofit dedicated to funding kidney and other cancer research. The remaining funds will be split between Charity Storage, to cover operating costs, and the Self Storage Association Foundation Scholarship Program.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease through funded research and ensuring the development of improved therapies for those living with the ailment.

Charity Storage is a nonprofit that has established a national network of participating storage facilities to serve as collection points for goods donated by tenants and community members. Contributions are stored and later sold during the facilities’ public auctions.

Based in Walnut Creek, Calif., and founded in 1988, Pegasus specializes in self-storage. It owns and operates approximately 50 properties through individual ownership structures in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, New York and Oregon.

Public Storage Inc., a self-storage real estate investment trust (REIT), opened a new facility last month in Plano, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The property at 7950 Ohio Drive, the company’s ninth in the city, is part of an ongoing effort to expand in the region, according to a press release.

“It’s easy to see the economy in the North Dallas area is booming,” said Brett Vick, the district manager who’ll oversee the site.

The three-story, climate-controlled building contains 890 units and will serve residents of the rapidly growing neighborhoods around Plano, which has continued to expand and attract big-name companies including J.C. Penney, Pizza Hut and Toyota, the release stated. “There’s been a lot of growth all over,” said Nate Armistead, facility manager. “People keep moving in for jobs, which is why we stay busy.”

The city’s population has grown more than 10 percent within five years, outpacing growth in Dallas and Houston during the same period, according to the U.S. Census. “The growth in Plano, specifically West Plano, is incredible,” said Evan Stewart, a realtor with Rueckert + Stewart Group in North Texas. “Plano used to be the embodiment of suburbia: quiet neighborhoods, chain-family restaurants and a slower lifestyle. The urbanization over the last 10 years has brought new life not only to the housing communities and neighborhood structure, but also to the amenities Plano has to offer residents and visitors.”

Public Storage also recently opened a new facility in Humble, Texas. The three-story property at 8717 N. Sam Houston Parkway E. comprises 140,000 square feet in 1,183 units.

Based in Glendale, Calif., Public Storage has interests in 2,358 self-storage facilities in 38 states, with approximately 156 million net rentable square feet. Operating under the Shurgard brand name, the company also has 220 facilities in seven European countries, with approximately 12 million net rentable square feet.

By Bessie Haddaway

The extensive use of mobile devices is changing the self-storage tenant experience from every angle. Mobile is at the core of how customers now find storage facilities. According to Google, more than half of all online searches come from mobile devices. With the use of phones to find local businesses on the rise, mobile use is also influencing website design, search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click advertising (PPC) and local search.

Website Design

Your facility website is one of the first places to start when implementing your mobile-marketing strategy. A responsive website can help you reach most potential tenants who are using smartphones to find self-storage. It’ll adjust in size and format according to the device the customer is using, whether it’s a smartphone, tablet or computer.

Convenience is especially important to today’s customers. Tenants want to find storage facilities, rent or reserve a unit, pay their bill, and perform other tasks directly from their mobile device when it fits their schedule. With a responsive website, you can reach these customers when they’re on the go.

Mobile SEO

Two years ago, keyword searches including the words “near me” or “nearby” were among the most popular terms for organic search. However, Google reports a decrease in these types of searches. Most people now realize that GPS is used to determine the most appropriate search results on a mobile device. Search engines understand how important local businesses are and will display the closest and most relevant results based on a user’s location.

For this reason, it’s imperative that your website is regularly optimized for location-based keyword phrases. Monthly SEO updates are essential if your property is in a populated area or you have several competitors.

Monthly ranking reports display the keyword phrases for which your facility ranks and your website’s position on the search engine results pages (SERPs). Google Analytics reports allow you to track the devices your potential tenants are using to view your website as well as the sources of your website traffic.

Mobile-First Indexing

Google will soon use a business’ mobile website, rather than its desktop version, to determine its organic search engine ranking. This algorithm change reiterates the importance of having a responsive website that can display and function fully on mobile devices. Facilities with a responsive website will rank better in the Google SERPs. This change in indexing doesn’t have a hard launch date, but it’s expected to happen in 2018.

Mobile PPC

PPC ads appear in the ad sections at the top and bottom of the Google SERPs. A storage operator only pays when a potential tenant clicks on the ad to visit the website. Most clicks from these campaigns come from people on smartphones.

There are some unique PPC strategies to increase your facility’s click-through rate and calls. For example, the click-to-call feature will display your facility’s phone number within your ad. Smartphone users can simply click the phone number to call you directly.

PPC campaigns can also be customized to include special offers, and increasing your campaign bids can result in improved ad placement where your ad converts the most. For example, if most of your PPC clicks come from mobile users, you can increase your bids by a certain percentage so that when someone views your ad on a mobile device, the bid automatically increases and the ad has better placement.

Since self-storage is a local-focused industry, targeting potential tenants within a specific mile radius will help you maximize your PPC budget. Location targeting allows you to only reach people searching for self-storage in your target market.

Local Search

According to Google, 76 percent of the people who perform a local search on their smartphone visit a related business within a day, and 28 percent of those searches result in a purchase. Mobile searches help generate in-person actions and increased sales. Claiming your facility’s local listings and increasing your visibility on Google Maps will help your facility entice potential tenants through local search. Adding your contact information, office hours, business description, services and more will boost your local and organic rankings.

Google states that 50 percent of all on-the-go searches have local intent. Searches that include the terms “open now” are increasing. This demonstrates there’s intent to visit the business in person after the user finds the information he seeks. Online maps and directories also use the location of the mobile device when determining the best search results.

Key Takeaways

In summary, as you plan your mobile marketing, consider the following:

• Having a responsive website will allow potential tenants on mobile devices to view your website and learn about your facility. It’ll also help your website rank better as Google moves to mobile-first indexing.
• Most search engine users now know that mobile devices will take their location into account when displaying search results.
• Using the click-to-call function in mobile PPC ads allows searchers to easily call your facility.
• You can customize mobile PPC ads with incentives and special offers.
• Consider increasing your bids so mobile PPC ads have better placement in the SERPs.
• Implement location targeting to strategically use your PPC budget.
• Claim your facility’s listings on online directories and maps to improve local-search presence.
• Optimize your local listings by adding more information about your facility.

Incorporating these strategies will help your facility attract the growing number of potential tenants who use their smartphones to find local businesses.

Bessie Haddaway is the marketing coordinator for The Storage Group, which specializes in online marketing including website design, search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, local-listing management and more. She has extensive experience in blogs, social media posts and e-mail newsletters, and is proficient in a variety of social media platforms and marketing. For more information, call 407.392.2328; visit www.storageinternetmarketing.com.

We’ve all heard the stories from our parents or grandparents about how service was much better “back in the day.” I remember tales of full-service gas stations where the attendants would not only pump the gas for you but clean your windshield and check your oil and tire pressure—all with a smile on their face. Or the bag boys at the local supermarket who’d pack your order and help you to your vehicle.

With today’s “want it now” mentality, service has fallen by the wayside. We now have the Internet, self-service kiosks and self-checkouts. But I still believe there’s a place in this world for good old-fashioned service.

Here’s an example to ponder: You take your family to a restaurant and the food is OK, but you wait longer than expected for your meal or a refill of your beverage. The cost is cheap vs. going to another restaurant where the server is attentive, glasses are never less than half full, and the food is promptly delivered hot and fresh. Which would you visit again? To which would you refer a friend? The answer should be obvious—the second one, right?

Now think about the self-storage industry. In the early days, we hired retired couples to be caretakers of our facilities. The wife usually handled all the paperwork, and the husband took care of minor maintenance. The site might have sold locks and boxes, but for the most part, it was a small, bare-bones office.

Fast forward to current times. We spend a lot of money and time focusing on marketing to drive business to our doors. Why wouldn’t we want to have the best sales-oriented person answering the phone or standing in the doorway when a potential customer walks through it? We’ve all heard about storage facilities where it seems the customer is bothering the person behind the desk. Yours shouldn’t be one of them.

Customer service is vital to our daily business. Whether it’s showing units, collecting rent, or selling boxes and packing supplies, service is key. Unfortunately, some operators have lost this aspect of their business. Here’s how to get it back.

An Easy Decision

A self-storage facility should be staffed with salespeople who are ready and willing to help potential new tenants make a smart storage decision. No one wakes up one morning and says, “You know, I think I want to rent a storage unit today.” People who come to us have a real need and, often, it’s not the best time for them. Whether this necessity stems from a divorce, adult kids moving back home, in-laws moving in due to health, etc., it should be our job to make their choice as easy as possible.

Every facility should have the right people available to guide customers through rough waters and get them the best possible unit at the best possible price. You earn a customer and, more important, an advocate for your brand if you can accomplish this simple task!

You can often see the worry and frustration leave customers’ faces when you, the storage professional, give them guidance based on your experience. By asking a few relevant questions and listening, you can do a great deal of good. There are many managers who do this every day, and there’s nothing more rewarding than helping someone solve a problem or concern.

A Positive Attitude

Service is what sets you apart from your competitor down the street. Let’s face it, we’re all selling space in a metal box. Some facilities are fancier than others, but at the end of the day, every 10-by-10 serves the same function.

When shopping for storage online, most people are looking for a convenient site at a competitive price. But they usually follow that search with a visit to the facility to make their final decision. Industry research shows women make most of the decisions when choosing a storage facility. While bathrooms and cleanliness are key to this demographic, equally important is the initial interaction with the person behind the counter.

Our facial expressions are our inner façade being shown to the world. Some operators have a mirror on their counter to remind managers to smile when talking on the phone or to a live visitor. You've likely been told that it takes fewer muscles to smile than it does to frown. This alone should make you want to smile more often! People can also detect your mood by your body language and demeanor. Most would rather not interact with someone who projects a negative attitude.

We’ve all heard the success stories of customer-focused companies such as Chick-fil-A, Disney and Southwest Airlines. Who wouldn’t want a reputation like that in the storage world? There are many fascinating articles about these companies and others online. Take a moment to read how they’ve stepped up their service efforts. We don’t need to recreate the wheel. We just need to follow the examples that have been set before us.

The Platinum Rule

Customer service means different things to different people. Many live by the Golden Rule, but it’s not the always the best or only solution. The problem is it assumes everyone wants to be treated the same way. Instead, consider the Platinum Rule, which allows us to think about how others want to be treated instead of how we want to be treated. Once we make the switch in our mind, we begin to understand we must offer options to our customers based on their needs, not our own.

No matter how you think about it, customer service is the key to self-storage survival in today’s fast-paced environment. The next time the phone rings or the door opens, make sure you have a smile on your face and your ears are open to your future customer!

Jim Mooney Jr. is vice president of operations for Devon Self Storage, which operates 47 facilities. Known as a modernizer of industry processes, he leverages his 15 years of experience to improve the performance of the Devon portfolio. He’s the lead contact for the company’s vendor relationships and has spearheaded several management takeovers for its acquisitions. He’s a frequent contributor to industry publications and conferences, and is a member of the Maryland Self Storage Association Board of Directors. To reach him, call 717.767.2735; e-mail [email protected]; visit www.devonselfstorage.com.

SmartStop Asset Management LLC, a diversified real estate company that manages 108 self-storage facilities in Canada and the United States, has appointed Ken Morrison to chief operations officer for self-storage. Morrison has been with SmartStop since 2011 and was promoted from his role as senior vice president of operations, according to a press release.

“Ken is a consummate professional with two decades of experience in managing, operating and maximizing revenue for self-storage portfolios,” said H. Michael Schwartz, founder, chairman and CEO. “He is an exceptional leader and a key member of our executive management, who will continue to play a key role in our ongoing growth.”

Prior to SmartStop, Morrison spent 14 years with self-storage real estate investment trust Public Storage Inc., rising to senior vice president of Northeast operations. In this role, he was responsible for more than 300 facilities in 11 states that generated more than $335 million in annual revenue.

Morrison attended West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif., as well as the Center for Creative Leadership in San Diego.

SmartStop has approximately $1.3 billion of real estate under management. Its self-storage portfolio comprises about 7.9 million rentable square feet. It’s also the sponsor of Strategic Storage Growth Trust Inc., Strategic Storage Trust II Inc. and Strategic Storage Trust IV Inc., all public non-traded REITs focused on self-storage assets.

Officials at Jernigan Capital Inc., a merchant bank and advisory firm serving the self-storage industry, believe the current rate of new facility supply coming to market has been largely overstated in terms of projects expected to follow through to completion this year and in 2018. The company forecasts development activity will peak between this year and the end of next year, followed by declines in 2019 and 2020, according to a press release.

“After months of talking to developers, analyzing data, monitoring activity, underwriting investments and challenging the conclusions of many commentators, we are projecting that the development cycle is in a two-year crest, with 2017 and 2018 deliveries projected to be roughly equal,” said John Good, president and chief operating officer. “We believe fewer projects are going into planning than in the past three years and a significant percentage of planned projects have a strong likelihood of being abandoned. Moreover, we project that deliveries will decline significantly in 2019. We believe the market will absorb the 2016, 2017 and 2018 deliveries in an orderly way, with a relatively short-term pressure on rates.

“In short, if the sector continues the current trajectory of new starts, we are expecting this development cycle to end with a soft landing in 2019 and 2020,” he continued. “In our view, this is good news for the entire sector and should generate a renewed optimism about longer-term returns on investments in self-storage, which returns have on average led the real estate industry over the past 23 years.”

In a lengthy statement, Good discussed development activity in relation to population growth in major markets, outlined Jernigan’s view of industry dynamics during the last few years and was critical of “industry professionals” who’ve projected “as many as 900 deliveries nationwide in 2017 alone.” Jernigan scrutinized data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Yardi Matrix, the self-storage data-services platform of management-software provider Yardi Systems Inc., to make its development forecast for the top 50 U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs).

The company estimates 27 million net rentable square feet from 337 new storage facilities will come online in the top 50 MSAs this year, a 2.9 percent increase over total supply in 2016. It expects a slight increase in 2018, forecasting about 28.5 million net rentable square feet from between 350 and 362 new facilities, which would be a 3 percent increase. In contrast, 438 facilities comprising 29.7 million net rentable square feet began serving the top 50 markets between January 2015 and December 2016, the release stated.

“The data indicates that rumors of the demise of the self-storage sector due to excessive new supply are wildly exaggerated on a national level,” Good said. “Our analysis indicates that estimates of new supply suggested by some within the sector could be as much as 80 percent overstated. In addition, we believe the development cycle began in 2015, with pent-up demand from the 2010-2014 period, when population growth and people leaving single-family housing significantly exceeded new self-storage deliveries.”

The Argus Self Storage Sales Network, a national network of real estate brokers who specialize in self-storage, and CBRE Group Inc., a commercial real estate services and investment firm, recently released separate reports examining the state of self-storage development and supply across the United States. The data from both publications was amassed from CBRE research, Argus accounts and several other sources, according to officials from both companies.

Though their statistics slightly differ, both reports conclude there’s been a large increase in new self-storage development this year. Argus estimates 750 storage facilities were built in the U.S. last year and expects 953 “new starts” in 2017. The Valuation & Advisory Services Division of CBRE estimates 947 new projects are scheduled this year compared to about 600 last year. About one-third of planned projects come to fruition within a three- to seven-year development cycle, according to both reports.

It’s unclear if Good was referencing these projections in his criticism of recent industry forecasts.

In its analysis, Jernigan placed eight MSAs on its “danger list” of markets believed to “present a higher risk of longer-term absorption issues and softened rates.” It also identified 17 MSAs for a “watch list” of markets believed to have “a higher risk of short-term absorption issues and rate pressure resulting from the cumulative effect of new supply being delivered in a compressed time period (2016 through 2017), but that we believe have plenty of depth and population growth to absorb this supply over a relatively normal stabilization period,” the release stated.

MSAs on the “danger list” are Austin, Texas; Charleston, S.C.; Charlotte, N.C.; Denver; Miami; Nashville, Tenn.; Portland, Ore.; and Raleigh, N.C. Those on the “watch list” include Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Milwaukee, New York, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Antonio, Seattle, St. Louis and Washington, D.C.

“Despite these markets being on either of [our] two lists, we continue to believe that self-storage development is a submarket-specific art within the science of measuring supply in broader markets, and we have invested in, and continue to find, compelling projects in certain submarkets in some of the MSAs on our danger and watch lists,” Good said.

Since Jan. 1, Jernigan has closed 25 self-storage investments totaling $321 million. The lender typically holds a 49.9 percent profit interest in its joint-venture transactions, according to company officials. Those projects include an $11.2 million investment in Denver, $14.7 million in Miami and $8.9 million in Raleigh. Development co-investments in “watch-list” markets include $8 million in Jacksonville, Fla., and $9.9 million in Louisville, Ky.

Jernigan Capital is a commercial real estate finance company that provides financing to private developers, operators and owners of self-storage facilities. It offers financing for acquisition, ground-up construction, major redevelopment or refinancing. The firm intends to be taxed as a real estate investment trust and is externally managed by JCap Advisors LLC.

Bel Air Crest LLC, a company tied to real estate firm Knickpoint Ventures, plans to develop a mixed-use property in Miami’s Upper East Side that will include self-storage and retail. The property at 7865 N.E. 10th Ave. is in the MiMo District, an art and entertainment area that has become a target for developers in recent months, according to the source.

The five-story facility will comprise 120,000 square feet of storage as well as 3,000 square feet of retail space. Bel Air secured a $13.75 million loan from Florida Community Bank. The company paid $840,000 for the 29,000-square-foot lot in 2003, the source reported.

New York-based Knickpoint Ventures was founded this year by Matt Sprayregen and Zain Koita. Sprayregen is CEO of real estate firm Rising Development Co. LLC and Tuck It Away Associates LP, which owns and operates 17 self-storage facilities in New York City. He was formerly with BBH Capital Partners, a private-equity fund based in New York. Koita is a former development executive with Related Cos.

StorageMart, which operates more than 190 self-storage properties across Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, has inducted two employees from its Colchester, England, facility to its “Wall of Fame,” which recognizes staff who exemplify the company's core values of “easy, clean, service.” James Dale and Rhys Peck were each awarded a service pin, and their signatures will be hung on the “Wall of Fame” board at the company’s headquarters in Columbia, Mo., according to a press release.

"Both Rhys and James have a strong sense of pride and ownership over store cleanliness and performance, and manage to have a lot of fun along the way,” said Debbie Robinson, regional manager for StorageMart in the U.K.

StorageMart expanded its footprint in the U.K. last year with the acquisition of Big Box Storage Centres for £100 million. The portfolio includes 15 locations in Southern England comprising 674,756 square feet in 9,655 units.

Peck has worked for the Colchester location since it opened. Dale joined the company in January. Together, the team has played a key role in transforming the facility under the rebranding and embraced its pledge to provide excellent service, the release stated.

"StorageMart asked a lot of our U.K. team when we purchased Big Box Storage Centres and raised the bar for customer service and cleanliness. By and large, our team members have embraced our commitment to service,” said Cris Burnam, president of StorageMart. “Rhys and James stood out as having gone the extra mile, turning the Colchester storage facility into a top-notch property. It's my pleasure to recognize and thank them for the hard work they've done."

Founded in 1999 and based in Columbia, Mo., StorageMart is privately owned and operated by the Burnam family, which has been in the storage industry for three generations. Its portfolio consists of more than 12 million square feet of storage. It serves more than 75,000 self-storage customers, and operates in Chinese, English, Punjabi, Quebecois French and Spanish.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has allocated $350 million toward the Canyon Catalyst Fund (CCF), a discretionary account managed by real estate investment firm Canyon Partners Real Estate LLC (CPRE). Though the CCF currently invests in industrial, mixed-use, multi-family, office and retail projects in urban markets within California, the fund intends to expand investments to Phoenix and Seattle and add self-storage and student housing as sectors of interest, according to a press release.

CalPERS is the pension fund for state, school and public-agency members in California. The CCF is the system’s “real estate emerging-manager program” designed to “generate appropriate risk-adjusted investment returns by identifying early stage funds with strong potential for success,” the release stated. As fund manager, CPRE facilitates investment by identifying “real estate emerging managers with niche strategies.”

CalPERS has committed $1 billion to the fund since 2012. The CCF currently has investments in 27 assets statewide, with the platform partnering with five managers: BKM Capital Partners LP, Pacshore Partners LLC, Paragon Commercial Group LLC, Rubicon Point Partners LLC and Sack Properties Inc.

“We are extremely pleased with the success of the Canyon Catalyst Fund,” said Paul Mouchakkaa, managing investment director for real assets for CalPERS. “Our partnership with Canyon Partners Real Estate is off to a strong start and has added value to CalPERS’ real estate portfolio. CalPERS’ longstanding commitment to emerging managers is reflected in our expanded investment with Canyon.”

CPRE is the real estate direct-investing arm of Canyon Properties LLC. As manager of the CCF, it “sources, selects and manages talent, while also maintaining oversight of all platform investments,” according to the release. Founded in 1990, Canyon Properties is a Los Angeles-based investment-management firm with approximately $23 billion of assets under management.

CalPERS has served public employees in California for more than eight decades. Its pension fund serves more than 1.9 million members in the retirement system and administers benefits for more than 1.4 million members and their families. Its total fund market value is currently about $339 billion.