Storage facilities are becoming increasingly popular across America. There are around 50,000 storage facilities in the USA and it seems to grow by about 2,000 a year. So, if you own your own self storage business or facility you’ll see increasing competition as the years go by. You’ll need to provide a better service to your customers both within the security and ease of access fronts to stay competitive. If you don’t, other businesses will take the opportunity and you’ll lose custom. Here are some tips to improve your access control for your self storage facility and to upgrade your storage business.
Storage Facility Access Control: Why You Need Better
If you run or own a storage facility then you’ll know why people use your services. They need somewhere safe to store valuables because they no longer have space at home. Some people store furniture and other bulky items while others will store valuables like jewelry. Customers will put a lot of trust in your access control, they need to know their valuables are safe 24/7.
If you can instill confidence in your customers by having a foolproof access control system then they’re more likely to choose you as their storage provider, as well as stay with you long term. People like to know the items they’re storing are safe, one of the best ways to do this is to give them digital access while also being able to see who else has access.
Nimbio’s access control system is controlled via an app. It means your customers can use the app to unlock the relevant gates and doors to access their property with ease. This can include the electric gate system which blocks off the premises in general, right the way through to the individual electronic door behind which the customers’ items are stored.
It’s an innovative and modern way to provide access control. Keys are a thing of the past in this regard. If you give a customer a key they have no idea who else has a key, such as your staff, previous occupants, tradespersons etc. Whereas with an app, they can see who else has access at any given time.
Storage Facility Upgrade: Ease Of Access
It’s not only about security as far as storage facility access control is concerned. You also need to pay attention to the ease of access. Luckily, by using the aforementioned cellular smart system, you can tick both boxes.
Using a cellular app access system casts your business in a modern light. Remember, you want customers to not only choose you, but to stay with you long term. When Americans decide to use a storage facility, on average, they use it for 14 months. That’s a long time and if their property isn’t fairly easy to gain access to they may decide to go elsewhere. Almost 10% of US households rent storage space, and you don’t want to miss out on the market due to dated ease of access controls.
Remember, there are usually three layers of security in a storage unit
External Electric Gate
Not all storage facilities have these, some just use an easy to access car lot. However, they’re a must for those storing valuable possessions. The external electric gate can be set up to only allow customers through it, meaning only customers can park. It ensures there is space to park too. The electric gate can be easily upgraded to a cellular electric gate system, giving you a quick upgrade and easy win. In fact, any electric gate can be upgraded to a cellular access system with nimbio. The external electric gate is a vital security measure, but it can be frustrating having to check and buzz customers in. With a cellular system, you can set it up so that current customers have access and let them buzz themselves in. The customers are happier as they don’t have to wait, and you get more time to be productive: everyones a winner.
The Front Desk
The next layer of security is usually the manned front desk where a porter or receptionist checks customer credentials and shows them to the relevant storage unit. Again, it can be time consuming for both your staff, and the customer. With electric gate and door systems, you can omit this entirely and just let them go straight to their unit knowing they have the right app access control.
Storage Unit Door
The last layer of security is usually the door to the relevant storage unit itself. This is where the beauty of app access control really shines through. You can grant every customer access to the main electric gate out front, but only access to one storage unit so that they can access their own properly but not anyone else’s. It’s also really easy to grant access to further storage units if they purchase more, or to revoke access if they decide to either downsize their holdings or if they don’t need storage anymore. By making the storage door electric you can easily monitor access and keep customers happy by providing safe access.
Lessen Customer Hassle: Get Rid Of The Padlock
A popular tactic of storage facilities is to ask customers to bring their own padlock and key to use on the door. It does give customers peace of mind in knowing that no one else will have the key. However, a lot of customers bring cheap or inefficient locks and it also gives them something else they have to worry about.
Get rid of this dated system and make your doors electric. They can easily access all of your security doors and gates via their app and they won’t need to worry about a padlock.
No More 4 Digit Codes
Most of the time customers won’t be going in and out of storage every day. Customers use storage units for long term solutions. It means four digit access codes are often misplaced, leading to potential bouts of criminality. It’s also a hassle when the customer turns up unable to access their unit. It leads to frustration and annoyance and it’s always better to do away with them entirely in favor of smart access control methods.
Our blog is full of helpful and useful articles for those who own or are considering investing in cellular access control technology. Check out our features page to see exactly what Nimbio can do and our testimonials page to see how cellular technology has helped people. For any key questions have a look at the FAQ’s page, or reach out to us directly.
