A Worthwhile Journey
It’s been quite a journey. In 2015, after providing Life Storage (formerly Uncle Bob’s Self Storage) and StorageMart with state-of-the-art Pricing and Revenue Management systems, Veritec launched Veritec Revenue Management System (VRMS), a cloud-based subscription service for self-storage owners and operators. We never could have predicted what was to come.
By mid-2018, VRMS was serving approximately 35 brands, and our client base is growing each month. Veritec’s pricing analytics are now being used to manage web-rates and customer rents at more than 2,000 self-storage stores worldwide (as of this writing). We attribute this explosive growth to the low risk, effectiveness and easy-to-use sophistication of our software. (As always, though, we would be interested to hear your feedback.)
Low Risk: Not only do we always look at our customers’ pricing, but we also looked at our own pricing model: thus, we began a subscription-based service. This substantially reduced any perceived financial risk for our customers. Typically, within 3 – 4 months, self-storage customers are ROI positive and by the end of the first year have earned incremental revenues that are at least 2 – 3 times their configuration and monthly operating fees and the ROI becomes even greater after that. For Lease-Up stores, the ROI ramps up much faster.
Effectiveness: We have been happy to see that VRMS has shown, time and again, revenue increases in the typical range of 9% to 12%. Such benefits are simple, clear, and compelling. Coupled with our low-risk pricing model, there is only upside for our customers.
Easy-to-Use: For many self-storage companies, VRMS can be up and running in a matter of weeks, not months. We integrate with some of the most popular property management systems (PMS), such as SiteLink and Yardi Store Enterprise (previously Centershift). Your data is transferred seamlessly and automatically between the PMS and VRMS.
The second easy-to-use aspect is the carefully thought-out graphical user interface. We strove to provide a highly intuitive way to set and manage more profitable starting rates as well as guidance for rent increases, that would ultimately generate greater revenues.
Sophistication: Even though VRMS is easy-to-use, it is driven by state-of-the-art technologies. We have been careful to use a balance of predictive analytics and our Multiple Signaling technology to help guide you confidently to the best price for your situation.
Our journey in Self Storage goes back nearly twenty years and we now offer our fourth-generation self-storage pricing analytics. Over that time, we have developed deep expertise in the industry with a specific focus on pricing. That means our software not only utilizes smart technology, but it also codifies industry best practices that we have gained over the years. As pricing experts across many industries, we can even provide best practices guidance. We are excited to see our list of Self Storage customers grow…Indeed, it’s been a journey worth taking and we look very forward to what the future holds.