Self Storage Lab

By swivlBusiness

Self Storage Lab episodes

January 13, 2023ChatGPT & Generative AI
We spend a majority of the today’s show nerding out about ChatGPT’s technology in general, discuss some philosophical questions, use cases, and it’s limitations.
If you want to get right to the meat of how this affects the self storage industry - fast forward to 50m30s
The rest of the following show notes were *** WRITTEN BY ChatGPT ***
Introduction:
In this episode, we will be discussing the latest breakthrough in language technology, GPT-3, and its impact on the self-storage industry. GPT-3, which stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3, is an autoregressive language model developed by OpenAI that uses deep learning to produce human-like text. The model was launched in November 2022 and reached 1 million users just five days after its initial launch.
Segment 1: What the heck is GPT-3?
GPT-3 is a large language model that predicts the probable sequence of words. It was trained on a massive corpus of text with more than 175 billion parameters and was taught how to pick up on writing patterns by analyzing millions of conversations.

The model has an input layer, where the user inputs a prompt, and an output layer, where the model generates a response that sounds "human-like."

GPT-3 is based on the GPT-3.5 architecture, which includes three models: text-davinci-002, trained by supervised fine-tuning on human-written demonstration, and samples rated 7/7 by human labelers on overall quality scores, and the most recent text-davinci-003, which includes reinforcement learning with human feedback (RLHF), a reward-based model trained on comparisons by humans.
Segment 2: How did GPT-3 get so smart?
GPT-3 is the latest iteration in a series of models, including GPT and GPT-2.

The model's intelligence is derived from a massive corpus of text with more than 175 billion parameters.

Beyond GPT-3, what does the future hold?
Segment 3: Use cases
Some examples of GPT-3's capabilities include sending and responding to emails, writing cover letters, building Excel formulas, and creating creative projects such as poems and short stories.
Segment 4: Limitations
GPT-3's limitations include its inability to distinguish between bullshit and reality, its lack of understanding of math, and the fact that the code it generates may not always run correctly.
Segment 5: Impact on the Self-Storage Industry
GPT-3's advancements may affect technologies and processes such as Property Management Systems (PMS), the analysis of BI databases, and call centers/customer support.

Specific use cases in the self-storage industry include generating emails and messages, sales pitches, and responses to Google reviews.

It can be eerie as to how human-like GPT-3's responses can sound, but it still has errors.
***END CHAT GPT***
Resources:
Tips and Tricks to using chatGPT:
@JustinFineberg
@thatroblennon
@danshipper
ChatGPT Limitations
OpenAI Blog
OpenAI Alignment Research
OpenAI Moderation Tool
The AI Revolution | Wait But Why
1 hr 11 min
January 09, 2023Reputation Management
In today’s business landscape, your online presence and reputation is mission critical to helping you stand out in the sea of competitors. Reviews are one such way to stand out. If you give an unparalleled customer experience, your customer’s won’t keep it a secret. They will share it! Reviews are a Transfer of Trust, the Modern Referral mechanism.
Your brand is your business. And your online reputation is a huge part of your brand.
We explore:
What is Reputation Management and why does it matter?

The value of a reputation management strategy

Examples of brands doing it right

Innovative ways to Collect Reviews
Show Notes
Nerdy Numbers Corner - Why Does It Matter?
Defining Reputation Management

Mason and Rodolfo relay some of the numbers they found researching Reputation Management.
Reviews IRL
Amazon and Yelp reliance on reviews

Wirecutter buying advice

Twitter verification

Google Maps orders Rodolfo’s dinner
Brands to live by
Apple and Nike - High Quality and Aspirational

Southwest - Loyalty and Freedom

Costco - Quality and Affordability

Disney - Feel Good Stories

Subaru - AWD and Mountains
Self Storage Operators build their reputation
Google is King

Getting involved in your community

Brand trust is the long term investment
How To: Reputation Management 101
WHY? Reviews lead to more sales

Pillars of Reputation Management

Build
Maintain
Recover

Using sentiment throughout the customer journey to optimize for positive reviews

Gold Standard: Net Promoter Scoring

Turning detractors into promoters: Acknowledge, Align, Assure

Incentives and strategy for more reviews
Put that review to work
Social Proof and the Trust Economy

Just Reply!

Showcase them on your website

Turn that frown upside down. Handling negative reviews

Review gating discussion
Decision Time
Google My Business

Does it integrate?

Does it support multiple locations?

Can I manage my listings?

Insights and Analytics offerings?

Other features to make the job easier?
Other Misc Links
Wendy’s Twitter

Wendy’s best tweets

Reputation.com

Typeform

Qualitrics

Uberall
1 hr 2 min
November 30, 2022Email Marketing
Even with facility occupancy at all-time highs this year, operators should be exploring fresh ways to market their facilities. Even in a booming market, you can build momentum and capitalize on the steady demand.
By embracing new Email Marketing concepts, you can stay ahead of the curve, engage new tenants, and educate customers on your facility amenities and company news.
We breakdown how it affects Operators and Customers alike, what to look for when making a decision, and discuss some tools you can use to streamline your Email Marketing.
We explore:
The benefits of Email Marketing

Email Marketing Best Practices

List Building

What to track and what not to track

Segmentation and Personalization at scale

Community Building

Email Reputation

Email Marketing Pet Peeves
Show Notes:
What is Email Marketing

Overview of the Best Practices for Email Marketing
The importance of a checklist before sending a campaign
Designing your Email and Leveraging Templates

Audience and List Building

Is it worth buying a list?
Criteria operators should identify to meaningfully segment their audience
Leveraging Email Marketing to test content
Your secret weapon: Facility waitlists!!
List Health tools: Litmus and Sender Score

Transactional vs Marketing Emails

Content Segmentation
The importance of having a campaign goal
Example email campaigns
Don’t be afraid of the Unsubscribe button!

What to Measure

Top KPIs every operator should measure
A/B Testing as a tool
It is critical to understand your main driver
UTM parameters and link tracking

Best times to engage your list

Using data and parallel industry benchmarks to help inform you

Top Email Marketing Players

SBOA’s newsletter template
StoragePug’s shareable content
Learns from Extra Space and Public Storage
Superhuman and Sketch as Case Studies

Tools and recommendations

An Operator’s decision and purchase checklist
Top features to look out for when purchasing
swivl’s email marketing tech stack: Mandrill/Mailchimp, Sendgrid, FMS integrations
E-commerce as a case study: Klaviyo, Active Campaign
Generative AI tools: Copy.ai
57 min
November 08, 2022Business Intelligence & Analytics
Today, we dive into the numbers that make your business run. We will dive into the new buzzword every operator is talking about, Business Intelligence (BI), why attribution is so important, data privacy, and how to setup an infrastructure to measure the right data.
What we cover:
BI is becoming more prevalent

Attribution piece

It’s not just about measuring, it’s about the questions you are asking

Analytics should help you tell a story

Data Privacy + Stats being collected

Tools and resources Operators should be aware of
Defining BI
What is BI? IBM “What is Business Intelligence?”

The biggest misconception
A Self-Storage industry in transition
Brick & Mortar toward a digital experience

Why it’s important?

Ask the question and measure the process

KPIs and OKRs
What should I measure?
Website Analytics → Google Analytics

Where do they come from?

How do they navigate my website?
So many data silos
How do my different data sources all talk to each other?

Microsoft BI
Attribution
The why?

Know where your revenue is coming from

Understanding what is driving the business decisions
Where did they go?
Understanding bounce rates

What is an “exit event” and what can you do about it?
Your contact center
The players

Average time to pick up

Average chat time
Other things to measure
Ratings and reviews

Auto-payment enrollment
Data Privacy & Data Bias
Bad actor examples of inappropriate tracking

Brave browser

Duck-duck-go

Safari Privacy

Best practices to get customers to opt-in

Shake my hand and say hello before you ask for my information
Making a data tool decision
Google suite (GA4 and Tag Manager)

Ability to integrate into current software stack

Intuitive interface

Make sure it’s secure

Mason’s favorite BI tool - Microsoft Excel & Apple’s Numbers
Other resources
Use Youtube

LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda)

Coursera
45 min
October 13, 2022Websites - Your Digital Storefront
As the first tru episode of our podcast, we wanted to dive into one of the most, maybe even THE MOST important tool an operator can use to ensure they have an Online Presence. Your Website.
Your digital Storefront.
The rise of digital marketing has created different touch-points for customers to engage with your brand. The goalposts have shifted and prospects are now further down the marketing funnel when they eventually talk to your store team.
Today we talk about how to think about your website customer journey, must have components and tools, and what the decision process look like.
----------------------------------------------
Start thinking about your audience
Who and how do customers get to your digital storefront?

Consumer shopping habits Chinese v American Shoppers. AI Super Powers https://www.aisuperpowers.com/

4 second impressions “above the fold”
Components of a website
Logo, Title, Why Should I care

Don’t make me read
Click Funnels
SEO

Mind the Google
A look at the digital customer journey
Brochure and e-commerce

The world of Apple

3 clicks to what I want
The non obvious
“What time do you open?”

Confused about how to pay
A/B Optimization
What converts better

What things to test

Offers

Tools:

Google Optimize
Unbounce
Optimizely

Using Google Analytics as your North Star 🌟
Mobile Design
Meet your customers where they are

62% of website traffic comes from mobile

4.3B mobile users
No one-size fits all solution
Technology Stack
“CMS” or your Content Management System

Wordpress is massive

Kyle’s starry eyes: Webflow

Self Storage options
Questions to Ask
What does it cost?

Can I customize it?

Do you know your brand?

When should I use paid acquisitions?

How do you help my SEO?
Other Resources
StoragePug

ReadWrite

StartupNation
https://readwrite.com/website-that-converts/
https://startupnation.com/start-your-business/build-website-converts-day-one/
https://www.tryswivl.com/blueprint
48 min
September 19, 2022 Who we are, what this is, and why we're doing it
Welcome to the first episode of The Self Storage Lab. Today we dive into who we are, what this podcast is about, and why we're doing this.
For more information about what we do at swivl, check out our website: tryswivl.com
Also, be sure to check out the Operator's Blueprint: tryswivl.com/blueprint
14 min
September 01, 2022 Introducing The Self Storage Lab
Join us for our brand new show, The Self Storage Lab–a new podcast deconstructing how operators are adapting to today’s technology-driven landscape and how it might impact your business.
In the age of hyper-informed, store-anywhere customers, your business needs to be always on, data-driven, and customer-centered.
Wether you’re a thousand location operator or looking to get into self storage with your first property, nerd out with us as we help you decide what’s best for your business.
2 min

About Self Storage Lab

From the publisher's feed

Join us for our brand new show, The Self Storage Lab–a new podcast deconstructing how operators are adapting to today’s technology-driven landscape and how it might impact your business.