he ways businesses can use mobile self-storage are endless, but many operators find that getting the right message out to the right businesses can be tricky. The percentage of commercial customers among operators generally ranges from 10 percent to 40 percent, with those that offer portable only boasting the largest percent. No matter the percentage, bringing in new commercial customers ranks near the top of virtually all aspirations. Meaningful Messages Jim Wayman, president of Woburn, Mass.-based Store to Door, says his company currently has a 35 to 40 percent commercial customer base with plans to bring that total to 50 percent this year. Although getting businesses to think inside the box is on virtually every mobile storage agenda, many are still experimenting with the best ways to bring these prized clients into the fold. Wayman says his company has pinpointed certain markets, adopted a specific strategy, and is marketing these segments An Oct. 12 article on btbonline.com asserts that, in crowded market, an acutely on-target message is the best way to bring business customers in. The article also suggests utilizing a campaign that reaches people where they are and makes it easy for them to talk back to you. This means ongoing revisions of your strategy as the best ways to reach people and the feedback methods continuously evolve. The article also points out that the relevance of the message counts as well, citing an American Express ad unit that targeted small business owners with video, webinars, and other behaviorally targeted content. The video was placed strategically on sites such as fortune.com, nytimes.com, and wsj. com. A huge success, it steered six times the amount of expected traffic to the American Express site. First Quarter 2010 Mobile Self-Storage Magazine