Want to outmaneuver the competition? Use these KPIs.

Like any sensible business owner, you want to grow your company, make it more profitable and increase sales. As a sensible business owner, you will be monitoring many relevant and important metrics, such as your occupancy rate, your return on ad spend, return on investment, pricing, and many others. The KPIs that you focus on will dictate the results you can expect. If you focus on cost efficiency, this is what you will achieve. If your goal is to sign up more customers – there are a few KPIs to measure your success rate.  

Leads and Lead Source 

Everything starts with leads. Your leads can convert to paying customers, so gather information about them diligently. Optimizations to your funnel at this stage can translate into positive results. The more inquiries about your business you receive, the more contracts you will sign with paying customers. One way to increase your chances that an interested customer contacts you is by providing as many channels as possible. Research shows that many potential customers interact with a business across at least two channels (e.g., visiting social media page and google search result page) before initiating contact. Modern customers are picky and prefer to have several options to choose from when messaging a business. Email, phone, and contact forms are the bare minimum. More and more companies add a chat on their page (with or without chatbot) and include social networks and messenger applications, such as Line or WhatsApp, among their contact channels. The smaller the effort to contact the business, the higher the likelihood of getting in touch. By monitoring your channels and evaluating the conversion rates, you will get an indication of where to focus your time and investments.  

Web Visits 

One of the best ways to increase the absolute number of leads is by investing in your website. First of all, you need to have one. There is no way around it. Modern web design is user-friendly, so even less tech-savvy people can easily set up an appealing online presence. In 2021 there is no excuse not to have a website. Your website is your digital business card. This is where you can show off your self-storage and all the features you have on offer. An excellent way to convert a potential client into a paying one is a visit to the facility. Many self-storage operators offer a virtual or video tour on their website to give prospective customers a clear idea of the facility and units. In our experience, a visit is a steep hurdle in the customer acquisition journey, but once you reach this step, the rest is a smooth ride. Therefore, adding such a feature to your website can significantly improve your conversions.  

You need to ensure that your website has a constant stream of traffic. There are many tools in the arsenal that you can use: search engine optimization SEO, search engine marketing SEM, display ads, etc. You can supplement your digital advertising efforts with more traditional offline advertising, such as flyers, signboards, print media, television or radio advertisements. Don’t underestimate referrals and word of mouth, either. Both in digital and non-digital marketing, you can use a mix of paid and free marketing tools to generate more visits to your website, which you can convert into leads and paying customers. 

Contract Period & Lifetime Value 

It is essential to monitor how long your clients stay with you. Acquiring new customers is expensive – due to marketing expenses and fees associated with contract signing. Retaining existing clients should always be a priority. An existing customer no longer costs you marketing costs. However, if your customer turnover is too quick, their low lifetime value will not outweigh the marketing investment. Let’s assume it costs you 30,000 JPY to acquire a new customer. The longer they stay and rent from you, the more income that customer generates. Do not be a ‘take their money and run’ kind of business; it is not sustainable. Caring for existing customers, checking in with them occasionally, and other simple gestures can show that you care about the relationship.  

Monitoring Frequency 

The next question is – reporting and reporting frequency. We recommend weekly or daily. You can generate the report manually if your raw data is manageable. Otherwise, a reporting tool can help you quickly turn data into visually appealing insights. Whichever you opt for, This will help you make decisions about your business and future strategies, such as deciding on new locations or facility expansions. the important takeaway is – look at your data and make data-based decisions. Your business will become stronger from it.