Why Now Storage moved 20 sites to Stora

20 sites | One central sales team | Connected through the API

“We did a really in-depth process comparing all of our options for a PMS system, even looking at things that weren’t self storage products. But ultimately, the moment came where we realised that this pretty much ticked every box that we wanted, and we’d be silly not to go with Stora.”

— Mark Drummond, Director

Who are Now Storage?

Now Storage runs 20 self storage sites across the UK, with a mix of container and indoor sites, from a head office in Ross-on-Wye. When we filmed with them during onboarding, they had just under 4,000 customers and about 380,000 square feet, with occupancy just over 80%.

Director Mark Drummond says the business was built to run lean from the start. Enquiries for every site go to one centralised sales team, which works out of HubSpot.

“We see the real value in having a sales-led business, embracing that principle of remote management, and having a centralised sales team is really important.”

The Challenge

As Now Storage grew, the tools it ran on did not talk to each other. CRM, access control and payments each held their own copy of the data, and the team kept them in line by hand.

“Our main pain points over the years have been duplicate entry, which does cause errors when having to cross-reference two systems. We’ve been battling with weekly and monthly audits to make sure that all of our data is accurate.”

— Holly, Business Support Coordinator

Price increases worked the same way. Holly ran them from a spreadsheet and sent every customer email by hand.

Mark’s view was that the setup worked, and that was the trap:

“Sometimes you get very used to the sticky-plaster nature of the way that you operate and think, well, it does work.”

Now Storage needed a system that could:

• Connect to the CRM, access control and payments tools they already used
• Give the central sales team one place to look for information
• Remove duplicate data entry, and the audits that came with it
• Run price increases without a spreadsheet

Why they chose Stora

Mark first spoke to Gavin Shields six years before the switch, after reading a LinkedIn post Gavin wrote about payments and technology in storage. Gavin visited the Ross-on-Wye office, and launched Stora soon after.

When Now Storage came to replace its system, the API decided it. The sales team lives in HubSpot, so the new system had to feed HubSpot directly.

“What we needed was an API-ready product that could link into that seamlessly, so that we’re making real efficiencies on staff training, and staff members are just looking in one place for information.”

“The API is crucial for linking everything within our ecosystem, stopping that duplication of effort and making sure that all the data is correct. It saves staff time to work on what’s important, and that’s having the time to engage with our customers, not tapping away at a keyboard constantly.”

In the team’s own write-up for us at onboarding:

“What stood out with Stora was the strength of the revenue management tools, the simplicity of the platform and the continued development and improvements being made. The strong API was also a big factor for us, as it gives us the flexibility to integrate with our existing software and workflows.”

— Now Storage

And Mark’s answer on what made Stora stand out:

“I think people ultimately buy from people, and all of our interactions with everyone at Stora have been fantastic.”

What they wanted from the move

Mark and Holly named three things they expected Stora to change.

A website that takes bookings around the clock. Online booking and the customer portal let customers rent without waiting for the sales team.

“Things that we’re really looking forward to engaging with would be your customer portal and online booking system, to get our website working for us 24 hours a day.”

Price increases at the click of a button. Revenue management applies the new price and emails the customer automatically, replacing Holly’s spreadsheet.

“Being able to do that at the click of a button, where the customer gets an email automatically and the price increase is applied automatically, I’m really, really excited about that feature in particular.”

An end to the audits. With every system connected through the API, the data stays correct without weekly and monthly checks.

“We won’t have to worry about data being inaccurate, we won’t have to carry out the weekly and monthly audits, and we’ll save ourselves plenty of time to be able to focus on the customer journey.”

Moving to Stora

Holly led the move from head office.

“The onboarding process was really smooth. We didn’t run into any issues, and Brian and Steve were always there to answer our questions. A big part of switching systems is the team behind everything, and that’s what gave us confidence in Stora.”

— Holly, Business Support Coordinator, Now Storage

Thinking of moving your sites? See how switching to Stora works, or book a free demo.