10 Apr
When someone in your area searches for “self storage near me,” what do they see? If your Google Business Profile isn’t shining with recent, glowing reviews, you might be losing potential tenants to the facility down the road. In the self storage industry, trust and convenience are everything.
Remember – people are leaving their valuable personal possessions (sometimes their whole lives!) in your hands. Reviews act as the ultimate social proof that your facility is clean, secure, and well-managed.
But how do you actually get customers to leave those reviews? The secret isn’t begging; it’s timing and automation. Here is a straightforward guide to building a review-generation engine for your self storage business.
Step 1: Identify the “Magic Moment” to Ask
Timing is the most critical factor when asking for a testimonial or a Google Review. If you ask too early, they haven’t experienced your service yet. If you ask months after they’ve moved in, they’ve likely forgotten about you. For self storage, the absolute best time to ask is immediately after they move out. Think about the psychology of a move-out:
- Their stressful life transition (moving house, downsizing, renovating) is usually over.
- They are relieved to be getting their belongings back in good condition.
- They are happy to be stopping a recurring monthly payment.
They are in a positive state of mind, making it the perfect opportunity to ask for a favour.
Step 2: ‘Automate the Ask’ with Your Management Software
You and your facility managers are busy. If you rely on remembering to manually email every customer who moves out, it simply won’t happen. This is where your self storage management software (like Storman Cloud) becomes your best friend. Most modern management platforms allow you to set up automated communication triggers.
How to set it up:
- Create the Trigger: Set an automation rule in your software to fire when a storer’s status changes to “Moved Out” and their balance is zero.
- Choose Your Channel: Decide whether you want to send an Email, an SMS, or both. (Tip: SMS often has a much higher open rate, but email allows for a slightly longer, warmer message)
- Set the Delay: Set the message to send 24 to 48 hours after the move-out is processed. This gives them time to unpack without feeling pestered immediately at the gate.
Step 3: Keep the Message Short and Frictionless
When your automated message goes out, it needs to be incredibly easy for the customer to take action. Do not ask them to go to Google and search for your business. Give them the direct link. You can generate a direct Google Review link right from your Google Business Profile dashboard (see our guide on how to find it).
Here are two templates you can plug directly into your self storage management software:
The SMS Template
Hi [Customer Name], thanks for storing with us at [Facility Name]! We hope your move went smoothly. If you were happy with your storage experience, we’d be incredibly grateful if you could take 30 seconds to leave us a quick Google review here: [Insert Direct Google Review Link]. Thank you!
The Email Template
Subject: Thank you for choosing [Facility Name]! 📦
Hi [Customer Name],
Thank you so much for trusting us with your belongings. We know that needing storage often comes during busy life transitions, and we hope we made the process as easy and stress-free as possible for you. As a local business, we rely heavily on feedback from great customers like you. If you have a quick minute, would you mind leaving us a review on Google? [Insert Direct Google Review Link].
It only takes a minute, and it helps other people in our community find a safe place to store their items.
Wishing you all the best,
The Team at [Facility Name]
Step 4: Handle Feedback Professionally
Once you turn on your automated system, the reviews will start trickling in. Here are some tips on handling these…
- For the 5-Star reviews: Always reply! A simple, “Thanks for the great review, [Name]! We were happy to help during your move,” shows prospective customers that you are attentive and care about your tenants.
- For the negative reviews: Don’t panic. Reply professionally, apologise for their experience and invite them to call the office to resolve the issue offline. A politely handled bad review can sometimes look better to a prospective customer than a page of perfectly sterile 5-star reviews.
The Bottom Line
Your customers are willing to leave reviews; they just need a timely, frictionless reminder. By leveraging the move-out phase and automating the request through your self storage software, you can build a steady stream of glowing testimonials without adding a single task to your daily to-do list.
Take Social Proof to the Next Level
While text reviews are fantastic for boosting your local search ranking, video testimonials are the undisputed gold standard for building deep, immediate trust. A written review can be quickly skimmed, but a video allows prospective customers to see real human emotion, hear the sincerity in a voice, and read genuine body language. It transforms a faceless five-star rating into a relatable, compelling story, proving to your audience that real people are seeing tangible success with your business. It is the closest thing you can get to a word-of-mouth recommendation online.
Asking for a video testimonial requires a slightly more personal touch than an automated CRM workflow. Identify your “superfans” (the customers who consistently sing your praises & have sent you referrals). Reach out to them directly, ideally over the phone or in person, and let them know how much you value the relationship. Keep the pressure low by framing it as a casual chat rather than a rigid presentation, and assure them that the process will be quick and painless. The interview can also be conducted online from anywhere!
Of course, capturing high-quality video takes a bit more effort than sending a review link, which is exactly where we can help. We provide professional videography and video editing services designed to make your business (and your customers!) look and sound incredible. If the logistics of filming or the thought of asking the questions feels daunting, we can handle the entire process from start to finish. We can even conduct the interviews on your behalf, online or in-person, asking the right questions to naturally draw out authentic, persuasive stories that will convert your next viewers into your next customers. Please get in touch if you’re interested!
