If you want to understand the difference in first impressions, there are several easy ways to develop an attitude about how your guests are treated and what their first impressions may be.
The first is to visit one of those retailers that specialize in selling everything for a dollar. You will find narrow aisles, overstocked merchandise, and checkout clerks who do not participate very well in the sales process.
On the other hand, you can visit a department store, such as Macy's or Nordstrom's, and see the difference. You will find their merchandise to be displayed attractively, even using psychological color grouping in order to attract your attention, and eventually make the sale. Look at the difference in how high the gondolas are that display merchandise.
At the dollar store you are not likely to see from aisle to aisle, or to the back and front of the store, and you may even have to run a maze to get to the checkout counters.
At the higher end department stores, those gondolas are rarely over 4 feet in height so that when populated with merchandise total height very rarely exceeds 5 feet.
The feeling is much different. There are often more clerks on the sales floor who have the time to assist you in your purchasing decision. They will likely be making recommendations that will help you to select the merchandise that carry their highest profit margins.
This does not necessarily mean that they are the most expensive items, although sometimes they are, but the sales clerks are trained to sell the merchandise which makes the most difference to the bottom line.
When you reach the checkout counter you are more than likely to receive another soft sales pitch. Do you think is a mistake that they just happened to recommend a coordinated belt to match those new shoes in your basket?
The second easy way to understand the difference in first impressions and the marketing approach is to visit a budget motel, and to compare that motel with the Ritz Carlton.
I can assure you the check-in process is markedly different. So you say, I don't operate a Ritz Carlton self-storage property! "Ah hah", point well made!
However you will find that most luxury hotel chains such as Hiltons and Marriott's also have business hotel brands, for the Hiltons it is the Hampton Inn, and for the Marriott's it is the Fairfield Inn.
Most of the time you'll find extremely well-trained, helpful and sales and marketing oriented front desk help. While there may not be a concierge or a bellman, and there may not be 30 foot high ceilings in the lobby, you are very likely to find a very well-managed, marketing oriented staff to serve you even in the business brand of these high end hospitality operations.
So you can see, that like the old Chinese saying ," if we do not change our course we will end up where we are heading", and that it may be time for either subtle, or radical changes in the way we do business to match the challenges of our economic conditions.
You can choose to put your head in the sand and not recognize that this is a different world from just three years ago. You will be compelled if you open your eyes and look around, to find new and better ways to attract visitors and to convert them to long term guests.
When done properly, not only will these visitors rent the space they are looking for, but they will also spend money on ancillary goods and services you have to offer, and hopefully these will be on items that carry the highest profit margins in your store.
RK Kliebenstein is a consultant in the self-storage industry, and author of three best-selling self-storage books including How To Invest In Self-Storage, How To Make Money In Self-Storage, and How To Make MORE Money In Self-Storage. In his how to make money books you will find strategies such as this discussion on Internet marketing which will hold the keys to increasing your bottom-line profits. If you agree with Albert Einstein, and you are trying to keep your self-storage sanity, then you know the value of reaching beyond your comfort zone and trying new things. Please contact RK at 561 -- 963 -- 4004 and feel free to discuss money making strategies.
