May 2, 2019

The Importance of Digital Marketing in the Self Storage Industry

self storage marketing services

This goes without being said – marketing is the backbone of any successful company. There are many reasons why a comprehensive marketing plan and marketing professionals are worth their weight in gold – and today, we’ll talk about them all.

The Evolution of Traditional Marketing

Now, I am sure you have many questions as to how marketing is even close to being the backbone of your company – but let me explain. After this, you’ll either want to give your marketing team a raise or hire a marketing company. Don’t worry, I have all the facts to back this up! Before we go any further, let’s start with the basics. Marketing has been around forever – ok, maybe not forever but certainly since the early twentieth century. According to historycooperative, marketing began in the early 1940s with beauty products, home goods, and food services.

Marketing in 2019 is certainly not what it was in the 1940s. There is no longer a need to vacillate options of using the newspaper or local billboards to advertise. Today’s market requires an in-depth knowledge of online pay-per-click ads, SEO, and marketing research. As time does, it has changed the way people market their companies.

According to everything-pr, Phillip Kotler was referred to as “the father of marketing”, he believed marketing was an essential part of economics and saw demand as influenced not only by price but also by advertising, promotions, sales forces, and various middlemen. Although time changes everything, many of Philip Kotler’s marketing tactics were a catalyst for strategies we still use today.   

Why digital marketing is your defense against competitors

Think of your digital marketing plan as a way to get behind enemy lines –  a strategy that you can use when you feel as though you have no understanding of what move to make next. Let’s discuss why a “marketing plan” is an actual defense. A marketing plan is broken down by strategies. Strategies include market segments, SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats) analysis, cost, quality, research, potential outcomes, budgets, growth and competitor analysis. Every war has been started with a plan, and if you want to win every battle your company needs a plan too. As Maya Angelou once said, “If you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going.” A marketing strategy is your laser beam of focus!

Why deep market/marketing research helps you understand it all

Would you ever go to another country without researching the area you’d want to visit first? No, you wouldn’t. Why would you create a marketing campaign without looking into demographics first? You need to be doing market research on a continual basis if you’re looking to keep up on the latest trends, gain a competitive edge, and understand your market. The following is a list of the top three reasons you need to keep up with market research:

  1. Market research helps you identify your target market
  2. Market research helps your company find new opportunities for growth  
  3. Market research helps you set attainable goals and maintain a competitive advantage

Now, I am sure at this stage you’re thinking “Wow! Market research is extremely important – how do I begin market research with my own company so I can achieve all of my goals?” Remember when I told you marketing professionals are worth their weight in gold? This is why. Marketing professionals have years of experience, education and industry knowledge to back up their plan of actions. With that being said, I’d leave the SWOT analysis to the professionals and call your nearest digital marketing firm, attempting to do market analysis alone will just leave you with frustration and a lack of useful information.

Why Online Marketing Drives Business

“I’ll have my family member do my marketing – they know all about social media” is probably a line I hear more times in a year than I would like to. Now, let’s talk about why this is a bad thing – remember why I talked about analytics, market research and identifying target markets? This is the time that comes into play. With that being said, if you are looking into only have a few social media platforms, no website, no Pay-Per-Click, or SEO, then yes, your family member can certainly take care of your marketing needs.

However, if you want to see true growth hiring a marketing team is vital. Marketing companies that specialize in actualizing self storage company goals with due diligence can help drive sales and close deals left and right! Brand awareness is key, if people do not know who you are, they cannot benefit from your products or services. Utilizing SEO and Pay-Per-Click is an effective way to get your brand out to your customers.

marketing storage products

Prior to the crisis

Undoubtedly, marketing is beyond important for any company to be successful. The results of that statement lie in the numbers. It can be intimidating to know where to start when it comes to marketing, just remember that a marketing plan is your best friend as it will provide you with the tactics, strategies, and steps you need to take to increase revenue and brand awareness. If all else fails, call the professionals for help!