Self-storage facilities and portable storage businesses need to have a variety of differently sized storage units to offer their customers. But how does one decide what ratio is best for their business? What types of clients need small units vs. large units, and how can you determine what ratio will result in the least shortages or surpluses of any particular container variant?
Examining Your Audiences and Their Use Cases
This is, of course, the primary deciding factor in this complex decision. Some common key factors to consider: does your audience lean towards the corporate or towards the private citizen? If you find more corporate customers coming through your doors, it is a surefire bet to skew more towards medium and large size containers as these containers are better for bulk inventory management, capital management, and moving/business setup. However, if your business audience is mostly comprised of smaller local businesses, affordability may be a more attractive feature. In this case a few larger containers will be useful, but focusing on medium and smaller options will likely result in more container sales overall.
On the other side of the coin are citizen customers using containers for personal short and long term storage or moving. For these customers, large containers may not be worthwhile at all, and it very well might be more space and cost-efficient to focus entirely on small and medium-sized containers. We would recommend analyzing the frequency of moves in your area as well: if your service zone includes a highly mobile population, it is important to understand whether or not these are new families (that will likely need medium-sized containers) or individuals (who will prefer a cheaper, smaller option). Getting a sense of the demographic makeup of your audience is the best indicator for your purchasing strategy.
Mind the Space Available to You
Don’t forget: there’s only so much space in any particular self-storage portable storage container facility. Always measure your space and have a good understanding of how many containers you can store in reserve while still allowing for space to manage, move, and maintain them. This step may seem simple, but it can very quickly give you a strong estimate for the scope of the purchase you plan to make.
We’re here to help you make the your storage solution purchasing process straightforward and simple. We can’t wait to help you assess your needs and go over how Boxwell can meet and surpass them! Learn more on our products page, or give us a call at (303) 416-6280.