Was starting to look at taxes for this year. Looking back at 2022, one of our largest line items was marketing expense for our new location. It will go down by 50% as we get closer to full. When we get close to 100% will turn off most of our marketing, other than Google ads and our SEO. But wanted to look at where our customers are at. This is based on the address they give us on the contracts.

The maps below are 1 mile, 2 mile, 5 mile, 10 mile, 50 mile. Shows both current customers and past customers. You mostly hear about Self Storage and the 1 to 3 mile radius.
We are on the East side of a 1mm metro city area. There are over 130 Self Storage locations within 10 miles of us. Mainly to the left of us. We rank in the top 3 on Google and the top 3 on Sparefoot for this 10 mile area.

Marketing:
1. Google ads. We ramped up to $1,000 per month for April thru August. Will move back to $300 over the winter.
2. Bus seats about $20,000 per year.
3. Medium Billboard (8 x 16) out front along 17,000 vehicle per day road. Cost $18,000 when installed.
4. Website.
5. SEO Search Engine Optimization manager, $1,500 per month. We are in the top three Map rankings on google.
6. Sparefoot- Top rank in our area. We do this for the busy season, then allow to trail off late in the year. We don't pay extra.
7. Pricing, we are about $10 to $20 below market, even though we are a brand new facility. Will raise prices as we get near 85% full or by size, as we run out of units of that specific size. For Example: We have very few 10x10 left so they are priced the same as our 10x15's. We only do Drive up Access, non climate controlled.

I ask customers how they found us. Most say through Google ads, drive by, and our top ranking in searches. Also, we are one of the few (owners) who pick up the phone, especially after hours and weekends.

Google search and ads are our main pull. Along with the location 17,000 vehicles per day (55 MPH).

So what?
Market demand- We have locations to the south. That area is all full and our competition continues to build. In our town, we have the land and plan to build a 350 unit location about 2 miles north of this location. Demand is still present.

Customers- This is their mailing address. Why would you rent a place 5 to 10 miles away when there are locations near you. Could be all locations are 100% full. See note above. Or you moved or you're helping a relative who lives in the area of the storage location.

Summary:
Although most discussions surround a 1 to 3 mile radius. Our customer base is larger than that based on other locations being full. Or change in living location.

What do you see in your customer base? Realize this is not a standalone town of say 10,000 people, but part of a metro area market.

Start small and Make Your Big Mistakes Early.

Getting close to dinner time. Have to figure out what to cook. Lobster rolls and Lobster Ceviche. Can't wait till this weekend in Belize (Lobster festival).