California operator San Diego Self Storage (SDSS) is partnering with Recycle San Diego (RSD) to host an electronic-waste (e-waste) recycling campaign in celebration of Earth Day on April 22. The free recycling event will be open to the public from April 21-27 at San Marcos Mini Storage, 175 S. Bent Ave. in San Marcos, and North County Self Storage, 3661 Sunset Drive in Escondido, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

The following items will be accepted: computers, monitors, televisions, small printers, laptops, cell phones, copiers, fax machines and other electronic products. A full list is available on the RSD website. It is illegal in California to dispose of e-waste in the refuse because electronic devices contain hazardous and toxic substances that pose serious risks to the environment and consumer health.

In this day and age when consumers and businesses rely heavily on electronic equipment, its important to note that both state and federal hazardous-waste regulations make citizens responsible for handling the proper disposal of their used, end-of-life electronics, or they could be held liable, said J. Terry Aston, managing partner of SSDS.

Founded in 1972, SSDS has a network of 18 self-storage facilities in San Diego County, and additional facilities in Los Angeles and Orange counties. The company is locally owned and operated.

Founded in 2006, RSD provides waste-collection systems. The company recycles more than 100 items and provides drop-off locations at its San Diego headquarters and various community sites as well as the option to schedule a pickup from a business office. 

StorageBattles.com, an online-auction website serving self-storage businesses, has released Version 2 of its platform, designed to enhance services to meet increased membership, company officials said. The website currently includes more than 3,500 U.S. self-storage facilities.

StorageBattles uses an eBay-style format in which self-storage operators post pictures and videos of units up for auction, along with descriptions of unit contents. Potential buyers can bid on units via their computer, tablet or smartphone after they sign up for a free website account. The system allows bidders to participate in auctions outside of their immediate area and pick up the items in the days following the lien sale.

Our online self-storage auction platform has been embraced and accepted by the industry as a whole, said James Grant, president and CEO. As we continue to grow and stay in the forefront of our industry, our members have given us some wonderful suggestions and recommendations for improving our auctions. We have taken these ideas and implemented them into our second version of StorageBattles.com.

The companys online auctions have enabled facility operators to maximize their loss recovery from an industry average of 50 percent to more than 117 percent, Grant said. The website also offers customer service and legal support.

StorageBattles was created by storage-industry veterans with more than 30 years of experience who were frustrated by the inadequacies of onsite auctions, according to a press release. The site was designed to increase auction efficiency and alleviate frustrations experienced by operators and bidders.

USSelfStorageLocator.com, an online directory that helps consumers find storage facilities and generates rental leads for industry operators, is now publishing two new blogs, one tailored to consumers and the other targeted at facility owners and operators. The Storage Promoter blog aims to provide industry professionals with information and educational tips, while the Storage Blog is directed to consumers who want to learn more about the product.

Topics geared toward facility operators will include social media, customer retention, insurance and others, company officials said. Consumer topics include what should or should not be stored in a unit and how to choose the right unit based on storage needs.

The Storage Promoter can be accessed by clicking on the websites Add Your Facility link in the upper right corner of the home page and then clicking on the appropriate tab in the top navigation bar. The consumer blog can be accessed directly from the Blog tab in the home page top navigation bar.

Blogging plays a major role in the success of all websites, said Victor Dante, CEO. We are serving our users as well as our partners and the industry with the content they expect from us."

Headquartered in North Miami Beach, Fla., USSelfStorageLocator.com allows consumers to find, compare and reserve self-storage units online. The website features software integrations with all major property-management systems and the ability to pull data and push reservations in real time.

By Matt Jordan

Technological advances drive change all around us, affecting the way we communicate, shop, network and market our businesses. Even self-storage signage is being propelled by technology, moving in a new direction that offers distinct advantages over traditional signage. Electronic message centers offer benefits in three key areas: visibility, message content and delivered results.

Attracting Attention

Getting noticed is more challenging than it sounds. In the modern era, our senses are constantly barraged, and we've become desensitized by much of what we are meant to perceive. Traditional signage may help consumers find a business theyre actively seeking, but it serves little purpose if they aren't already looking for it.

When a person is repeatedly exposed to traditional signage, he becomes immune. The signs simply become part of the landscape. No one notices this signage anymore, and that means no one notices the business the signs were meant to promote. Getting noticed is the first step in bringing a new customer in the door.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as much as 18 percent of the population moves every year, which means old customers stop visiting a business and must be replaced. How can a self-storage operation succeed without getting public attention?

Everyone notices and reads an LED-based electronic message center. Whether animated or not, flashing or still, no one ever misses it because those bright LEDs demand to be noticed. What more can you want in a sign than an innate demand to be seen?

Dynamic Messaging

The ability to create and change message content dynamically is the second distinct advantage of electronic message centers. Messages can be created on the fly or methodically timed to appear when most advantageous. Why should commuters see the same sign on the way to work as they do on the way home when multiple messages are possible?

Traditional signage offers little in the way of flexibility. Marquis and movable-type reader boards offer some customization, but the time and labor requirements make frequent changes impractical. Weve all seen holiday messages on reader boards months after the event has passed. What better testimony could there be of their rigid nature?

Dynamic content on an electronic message center isnt just easier and more practical, its far more powerful. On average, a sign needs to be seen for seven seconds to be read. If a commuter is exposed to a static sign for 30 seconds, hell be exposed to the same message for the entire timeif he notices it at all. If that sign includes an electronic message center, the commuter could be exposed to four different seven-second messages, promotions and calls to action. Its very likely he would read each.

Results

The third distinct advantage of electronic signage is the most important: results. According to a comprehensive 11-page study from the U.S. Small Business Administration, electronic message centers deliver them. The study concluded that companies that invest in electronic message centers see an increase in business between 15 percent and 150 percent! It further indicated that no other advertising medium comes close to this medium on a return-on-investment basis.

The future of signage is led by technology and characterized by getting attention, displaying dynamic message content and achieving real results in additional customers and revenue. Find out more about electronic message centers and how they can help your self-storage facility get more business.

Matt Jordan is the director of sales for Infinite Creative Enterprises Inc. (I.C.E.), a supplier of electronic message centers. The company offers signs in 17 sizes. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected]; visit www.icesigns.com or www.glowrite.com .

Update on 4/17/13 The Memphis, Tenn., self-storage facility recently purchased by the Amsdell family of companies was acquired for $1.3 million. The property was formerly called Four-Way Self Storage. The sellers were Chickasaw Land and Investment Co. Inc., Nelson F. Freeburg Jr., Houston L. Freeburg, Emily Freeburg Kay and Philip H. Freeburg, according to the source.

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The Amsdell family of companies has purchased a self-storage facility in Memphis, Tenn. The facility has more than 52,125 net rentable square feet and will be operated by Compass Self Storage LLC. The property is located at 6780 Country Park Drive and offers drive-up access, outdoor storage, truck rental and a full line of moving supplies.

This location will be Compass sixth in the greater Memphis market. The transaction is the 19th self-storage acquisition Amsdell has completed since March 2012. The company has projected continued growth through facility acquisitions in select markets. We are glad to expand our service area in Memphis and be able to offer quality self-storage solutions to more of our neighbors, said Todd Amsdell, president.

Headquartered in Cleveland, the Amsdell Cos. draws its roots from the family-owned construction company founded in 1928. The company, which owns and operates self-storage properties in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee, has since been active in several billions of dollars worth of real estate ventures with a primary focus in self-storage.

Earlier this month, thousands of self-storage owners, operators, investors, builders and vendors gathered at the Paris Hotel & Resort in Las Vegas for the Inside Self-Storage World Expo, the industrys largest conference and tradeshow. Expressing a shift from industry recovery to enthusiasm, attendees participated in a host of activities, including education sessions, exhibits, in-depth workshops, networking events and more.

An image gallery of expo highlights was published yesterday to commemorate the event, featuring notable moments from all four days of the show. Photos include candid shots of seminars, the exhibit hall, evening receptions, special activities, attendees and ISS Best of Business award winners. The gallery can be viewed at www.insideselfstorage.com/galleries.

A full story recapping the expo was published immediately following the event. It includes a summary of show activities and reactions from self-storage operators and vendors.

For more than 20 years, ISS has provided informational resources for the self-storage industry. Its educational offerings include ISS magazine, the annual Inside Self-Storage World Expo in Las Vegas, an extensive website, the Self-Storage Training Institute, the ISS Store, and Self-Storage Talk, the industrys largest online community.

StorQuest Self Storage, an operator with facilities throughout Arizona, California, Colorado and Hawaii, will hold two charitable events this month in Los Angeles to benefit Charity Storage, a nonprofit organization that raises money for charities through self-storage auctions. Created by Lance Watkins, founder of the self-storage auction site StorageTreasures.com, Charity Storage donates the proceeds from self-storage lien sales to local and national charities.

Participating storage operators dedicate a storage unit from inventory as a collection point for donated goods. Departing and current tenants, auction buyers, and local residents and businesses can donate items to the Charity Storage unit and receive a tax-deductible receipt. When the storage facility holds a public auction, the unit is sold alongside tenant-delinquent units, and the money generated is allocated to local and national charities.

Charity Storage was created when Watkins and Barry Hoeven, founder and owner of Westport Properties and the nonprofit Kure It Cancer Research, saw the popularity of self-storage auctions grow and realized the industry could give back to society. The net proceeds from each sale are split three ways: 10 percent goes to the Self Storage Association Foundation, which provides scholarships to students with a connection to the self-storage industry; 30 percent goes to Kure It; and the remainder goes to a local or national charity chosen by the participating self-storage operator.

StorQuest has chosen to donate the remaining 60 percent of its auction proceeds to Smile Train, an international charity providing cleft palate surgery to children around the world. As a founding sponsor, StorQuest has already donated $10,000 to Charity Storage efforts. The company also recently completed a separate charity contest for Kure It that raised more than $10,000.

The auctions will be held at the following StorQuest Southern California locations:

• 12821 W. Jefferson Blvd. in Playa Vista on April 22 at 11:30 a.m.
• 3703 S. Hill St. in Los Angeles on April 24 at 12:15 a.m.

Our team is always looking for unique ways to support worthy causes. This is why we wanted to support Charity Storage by becoming founding sponsors, said Bill Hobin, President and CEO of William Warren Group (WWG), StorQuests parent company. Now every StorQuest facility is a designated Charity Storage drop-off location. We want to encourage members of the local community to make a real impact by simply donating unwanted items from around their home or from their storage units when they move out.

Local residents can donate items at any StorQuest facility during operating hours. Suggested items for these donation units include working electronics, tools, household items, toys and furniture with the exception of mattresses.

StorQuest is the operating trade name of self-storage properties owned and operated by WWG, a privately held real estate company that develops, acquires and operates income-producing real estate assets.

At this years Inside Self-Storage World Expo in Las Vegas, Storage.com officially launched its brand and grabbed attention with an eye-catching Zombie Apocalypse theme, telling potential customers they shouldn't be caught dead without Storage.com.

An aggregator website and search engine optimization tool for self-storage facilities, Storage.com helps storage businesses compete more effectively in the online marketplace and allows potential customers to search for storage in their area. The website also delivers reservations to operators and provides a complete SEO package.

Many of us offer great products, but with so much media proliferation, it can be tough to get the message across that your product will truly change someones business, said Weston Cooper, director of Storage.com. The Zombie Apocalypse campaign was our way to show storage owners that, in the same way our zombies got their attention, we can and will get the consumers attention for their facility.

Storage.com's walking dead roamed the tradeshow floor, performed zombie-style fights and dances, and directed attendees to get their personal Zombie Survival Kit by visiting the Storage.com booth.

As the culmination of the campaign, Storage.com guests were transported via semi-truck limousine to a shooting range, where they were greeted by zombies. There they had the chance to shoot AK47s, shotguns, M4s and 9mm handguns at zombie targets.

The storage industry as a whole is making leaps and bounds in its focus on becoming more tech savvy, incorporating strategic marketing plans as well as reaching generations X and Y, Cooper said. We are enthused that we were able to communicate the benefits of our product by inciting excitement.

Storage.com lists self-storage facilities on its network of online directories. Included in the company's monthly fee are reservations from its network of websites and call center, the possibility of a facility being placed on the first page of Google, Yahoo! and Bing, a geo-targeted landing page, experienced customer service and performance reports.