Top Marketing Challenges in 2023
As we enter 2023, self-storage operators will have many marketing challenges to overcome in a maze if they are to maintain or improve upon their past success. In recent weeks we have addressed the possibility of an impending recession, as well as a potential retraction in demand as the pandemic dust has settled.
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Let’s address three of the top challenges and how successful self-storage operators will react in the maze.
Adopting a data-driven marketing strategy
Marketing leaders have told us that adoption of more data-driven decisions will be vital to success in 2023. ZoomInfo’s CMO, Bryan Law, said, “With potentially fewer dollars to put towards campaigns, adopting a data-driven marketing strategy will ensure that every effort is as impactful as possible." Most marketing leaders are echoing his comments and contend that data-driven marketing is vital to outperforming your competition.
Top self-storage operators will lean further into the labyrinth of data-driven marketing and advertising in 2023 and its ability to help your team adapt to trends or consumer preferences shifts over time. They will use data metrics to not only understand performance but also to craft messaging and advertising that reaches the right people at the right time and place. Data should be the fuel for your marketing and advertising in 2023.
Increased competition from other operators
If we have learned anything in the past two years, number one on the list would be the amount of new capital that has entered the market-maze and the growth of self-storage across the country. In 2020, the global self-storage market was valued at $48.02 billion. It is expected to reach a value of $64.71 billion by 2026. Much of this growth was fueled by pandemic-related demand, but also by the generational shifts as Baby Boomers permanently leave the workforce, driving up the demand for storage as they downsize.
You’ve likely noticed the impact of increased competition in your markets and top operators are responding by leveraging new marketing channels, especially in social media advertising. Most have found their competitors lacking in that area and are taking full advantage of the lack of competition in the social space. Through utilization of paid advertising on social media networks, top operators are responding to intent signals and building demand in new ways while their competition lags with traditional marketing strategies.
Generating traffic and leads
While this is certainly not a new challenge, the digital puzzle of this goal is becoming increasingly difficult. Per data compiled by Rand Fishkin, the CEO of audience intelligence platform SparkToro, 65% of Google searches on mobiles and laptops ended without users clicking through to another domain. Top operators are feeling the effects of declining click-through rates (CTR) and have begun searching for new ways to generate web traffic.
One way to combat this is by ensuring your content resonates with your audience, which will require the use of tools that properly track the content and how it performs with your audience. Such insight will allow promotion of your brand in a way that stands out with your audience.
Today’s consumers are being bombarded with tangled content and don’t rely as much on search engines to find answers. With rapidly increasing attribution modeling, search engines and social networks are feeding regular content to consumers based on their interests and behaviors. To be successful in 2023, top operators will adopt data-driven strategies to outperform the increasing competition with exploration into alternative advertising strategies – like paid social media advertising – to increase brand awareness and drive occupancy rates.