How This Hybrid Model is Transforming the Self-Storage Industry!

During the recent ISS Las Vegas World Expo, we had the opportunity to engage with industry experts, gaining insights into the current self-storage landscape. James Speaks with Brett Copper of Copper Storage Management. Brett discusses their new hybrid model for managing self-storage facilities, which combines remote management with on-site managers, particularly beneficial for larger facilities. This approach ensures a human presence to assist tenants without the need for full-time, highly qualified staff. Additionally, Brett introduces a new marketing system designed to help smaller self-storage owners achieve high-quality, REIT-level marketing without the high costs or need for full third-party management.

James: Brett, what a pleasure it is to see you here, man. Always awesome talking with you. So we just heard news of your new hybrid model, where you have sort of managers on-site three days a week while still ostensibly being remote managed, but you don't miss out on the human element and you still have a presence, especially at larger facilities. Can you tell me a little bit more about that?

Brett: Yeah, of course. So really what we looked at was what kind of size and need does a facility have? And so we had a lot of owners that are just scared to go fully remote, and at the end of the day, we want to meet owners where they want to be met, and so some facilities have different needs. So really when you get over 500 units, you start looking at more hybrid, and what we mean by that is more than one or two days a week. So some sites could be 20 hours, giant sites could be all the way up to 40 hours, but it's a difference in responsibility. So we call them storage concierge. Some other companies, I think they're going to start doing something similar, but instead of just working in that office, even if it was a full-time person with 1,000 units, they can focus on keeping the property clean. If people do walk in, they can take them to a unit, show it. It kind of gives you a feel that someone is there, even though they're not sitting in the office, and you can even have an iPad, have them go through, show the person how to rent, but they're not having to take payments, they're not having to do collection calls and auctions, and so you need a lot less qualified person that is really focused on the most simple parts of the business instead of trying to have a jack-of-all-trades, which doesn't work very well.

James: Got it. So you specialize just to have that human presence, helping the renter throughout the process while also narrowing down what they need to be trained on.

Brett: That's exactly right. That's a great way to say it.

James: But Brett, I love what you said about meeting the owners halfway, sort of meeting them where they're comfortable, and that was where I wanted to go next with your new marketing system, your new marketing product, which helps create a rental funnel while still allowing the owners and operators to maintain autonomy over their operations. Can you tell me a little bit more about that?

Brett: Of course. Man, that was a great segue. That was incredible. So yes, it's kind of in the exact same vein. There are so many owners who just don't want full third-party management, or they can't afford management, or they do everything else well, but the problem is with good marketing, it costs a lot of money, or you have to have a huge scale to make it effective. And so instead of having this really cheap $100 website that really doesn't work very well or trying to make their own, we get all these people asking, can we have the high-quality, REIT-level marketing scheme, but just for one-off owners? There's just no way to make the finances work. So in our case, because we have the 200 stores, we're now allowing owners to come on and just have an individual store basis. And because of our scale, the cost is so low and affordable that now anyone can have that level of marketing. And the more facilities you have on a website, the better it's going to rank globally, individually. Your traffic overall is great, conversion rates are great, and it really kind of fosters this professional-level exposure that you just can't get on your own.

James: No, you're helping leverage your brand to help create a rental funnel for smaller operators. Brett, thank you for what you're doing in the industry. This is a great service to help owners and operators transition into modern systems to a point where they're comfortable.

Brett: Yeah. Awesome, man. Thank you guys, as always. You're one of the best groups that we work with.

James: Thank you so much, Brett.