Welcome back to Self Storage Lab, the podcast where we deconstruct how operators are adapting to today’s technology-driven landscape—and what it means for the future of the industry.

This episode’s guest is Anastasia Malagisi, Vice President of Marketing at Safeguard Self Storage. With roots in the industry going back decades, Anastasia brings a rare blend of institutional knowledge, operator empathy, and modern marketing rigor. From competing head-to-head with REITs to building trust-driven brands in dense urban markets, she offers a thoughtful, grounded perspective on what actually works in storage marketing today.

In this episode, we explore:

• The marketing “hill” Anastasia would die on—and why everything starts with the customer.

• How Safeguard balances data, intuition, and storytelling to drive real results.

• The evolution of value-based pricing and CRO testing in self storage.

• What smaller and mid-sized operators can do that big REITs can’t.

• Why transparency, trust, and human connection still matter more than budgets.

• How AI fits into marketing and operations without becoming a distraction.

• Leadership lessons from mentors, family, and years in the field.

If you’ve ever wrestled with competing against larger operators, making sense of endless marketing tools, or aligning brand with real customer experience, this episode is packed with both strategic insight and practical wisdom.

Frameworks & Philosophies
Customer-first marketing
Transparency and trust as brand foundations
Value-based pricing
CRO and continuous testing
Competition as a catalyst for improvement

Tools & Practices
CRO and A/B testing programs
Digital marketing agencies and partners
Dashboard-driven decision making
AI as an operational and marketing assist

Favorite Nuggets
“Marketing starts with knowing who you’re serving.”
“You won’t win every sale, but you should always be honest.”
“Data doesn’t replace intuition—it sharpens it.”
“Small operators can win by doing what big ones can’t.”

🔗 More from Anastasia & Safeguard
https://www.safeguardit.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/anastasiamalagisi/

Welcome back to Self Storage Lab, the podcast where we deconstruct how operators are adapting to today’s technology-driven landscape and what it means for the future of the industry.

This episode features a special roundtable conversation with the leadership team at Access Self Storage, a Northeast-based operator approaching its 50th anniversary. Joining us are Andrew Rockoff (Marketing), Brian Russ (Third-Party Management), and Chris Feild (Operations), three long-tenured leaders who have helped shape Access’s reputation for hyper-local execution, people-first culture, and thoughtful adoption of technology.

In this episode, we explore how a regional operator competes and wins in REIT-heavy markets by leaning into relationships, local expertise, and disciplined systems thinking. The conversation spans marketing, operations, culture, and technology, with plenty of humor and hard-earned insight along the way.

If you’re a midsize operator wondering how to scale without losing your soul, this episode offers a candid look inside a business that’s been doing exactly that for decades.

In This Episode

• How Access Self Storage balances technology adoption with boots-on-the-ground service

• Why employee experience and retention improve when tech removes friction

• The case for hyper-local marketing in dense, competitive markets

• What most operators misunderstand about automation and unmanned facilities

• How third-party management can be a scalable growth lever

• Why integration and simplicity matter more than shiny new tools

• How Access evaluates ROI before rolling out new systems

• The internal dynamics between marketing, ops, and leadership

• Lessons from nearly 50 years of operating through industry shifts

• Pizza takes, radio DJ throwbacks, and some very honest hot takes

Key Themes

People First, Always
Access emphasizes ownership at the store level, long-term employee development, and trust as the foundation of the business. Managers are treated like operators, not order-takers.

Hyper-Local Wins
From knowing the best pizza place in town to tailoring ads by neighborhood, Access believes storage is a three-to-five mile business where local relevance beats national branding.

Technology as an Enabler, Not a Replacement
Automation and AI are embraced when they remove repetitive work and improve the customer experience, but never at the expense of human connection.

Culture Is Built on Purpose
With clearly defined fundamentals, open dialogue, and long-term careers, Access shows how intentional culture building creates durability and alignment.

• “Self storage isn’t one size fits all.”

• “Technology and people aren’t in conflict if you use tech to eliminate pain points.”

• “Hyper-local beats national every time in our markets.”

• “Unmanned facilities are overhyped.”

🔗 Learn more about Access Self Storage
https://www.accessselfstorage.com

🔗 Connect with the guests on LinkedIn
Andrew Rockoff
Brian Russ
Chris Feild

Welcome back to Self Storage Lab, the podcast where we deconstruct how operators are adapting to today’s technology-driven landscape and what it means for the future of the industry.

This episode’s guest is Susan Hovey, Director of Marketing at Strat Property Management, whose career path spans tech, wine, and now self storage. Susan is known for blending creativity with data, grounding modern marketing tactics in timeless fundamentals, and building brands that feel human in an industry often reduced to square footage. From fax blasts to AI-driven search, she’s seen every evolution, and brings a rare combination of storytelling, operational alignment, and pragmatic strategy to the table.

In this episode, we explore:
• How a background in theater, tech, and wine shaped Susan’s marketing philosophy
• Why marketing should be viewed as operational infrastructure, not a discretionary expense
• How AI search and zero-click experiences are reshaping visibility for operators
• The do’s and don’ts she wishes every owner understood—from Google habits to FAQs
• Why attribution is still the holy grail (and why most people chase it wrong)
• How brand authority and authenticity now matter more than ranking alone
• The future of storage marketing and the growing role of retention and community

If you’ve ever wondered how to elevate your brand, navigate a shifting search landscape, or align marketing with operations across dozens of properties, this episode offers a masterclass from one of the most thoughtful voices in the industry.

In this Episode

(00:00:00) Why marketing isn’t optional anymore
(00:01:03) From theater storytelling to fax blasts to AI
(00:04:23) Catching the “self storage bug”
(00:07:26) What wine, tech, and storage have in common
(00:09:52) Serving customers across personas, preferences, and channels
(00:11:28) Google's chaos, AI overviews, and the new search reality
(00:14:55) The messy truth about attribution
(00:17:19) How AI is already impacting storage rentals
(00:21:39) Brand authority as the new SEO
(00:26:11) The first things to fix when taking over a facility
(00:30:00) Storytelling as the foundation of every great brand
(00:33:30) What operators get wrong about their audience
(00:37:17) Winning internal debates and making the case for marketing
(00:42:08) Marketing don’ts: Google searches, Q&A neglect, and chasing rankings
(00:48:00) The future of storage marketing: retention and brand-led strategies
(00:50:41) Rapid fire: rituals, routines, tools, and staying grounded

Frameworks & Philosophies
• Storytelling as strategic foundation
• Brand authority over pure keyword strategy
• Meeting customers exactly where they are
• The importance of community and belonging

Tools & Practices
• Google Business Profile essentials
• Schema markup and FAQs for AI-driven search
• Brand reputation platforms
• Personal rituals for clarity and grounded leadership

Favorite Nuggets
• “Marketing is not the only cost with a price tag. We just see it more clearly.”
• “Don’t Google yourself every morning.”
• “Self storage isn’t about belongings. It’s about helping people feel like they belong.”
• “Attribution is the holy grail and no one has it fully figured out.”

🔗 Connect with Susan:
LinkedIn: Susan Hovey

Strat Property Management