The application lets customers at any one of the company’s Uncle Bob’s Self Storage locations manage their storage facility. The app is available for free download in Google’s Android Market.

“The strategy is, in a word, convenience,” said Chris Laczi, advertising director at Sovran Self Storage, Williamsville, NY. “We want potential and existing customers to be able to find us and navigate to our stores quickly and easily.

“We want to anchor our business to their mobile phones,” he said. “Search can be a clumsy process on a mobile browser, where bookmarks can be lost and addresses mistyped.

“The app serves as a convenient platform for repeat visits, which we know are common – both in the process of the storage rental decision, and for our current customers who want to make rental payments and manage their storage account. Forget the bookmarks – start up your app.”

Sovran Self Storage Inc. is a self-administered and self-managed equity REIT that is in the business of acquiring and managing self storage facilities.

Setting store by mobile
Consumers can browse mobile coupons and redeem them at any location by just showing the cashier their mobile device.

Additionally, customers can make a reservation and connect directly to a customer care representative via their handset.

The app also lets consumers manage their storage account and make payments, set payment reminders, update credit card information and change contact and mailing information.

“Eleven percent of our Web traffic is mobile, a rate which has doubled every four months for the past year,” Mr. Laczi said. “We believe the app better serves the mobile customer.

“Primarily, we will be promoting the app on our own Web sites and at the counter,” he said. “We’re adding features to our Web sites which allow visitors to download the app instantly using a QR code, or to text the download link to their phone.

“At the counter, we will display a QR code as well. We expect this will be very beneficial to reduce counter traffic at the first of the month when rental payments are due, saving time for our customers.”

Mobile features
The company also plans to experiment with mobile ad placement to see if there is a return.

Additional features of its new app include the ability to find and navigate to the closest Uncle Bob’s location using the phone’s built-in GPS system.

Consumers can also keep track of the items that they have in storage via the My Space icon.

“We are adding job openings to the app shortly,” Mr. Laczi said. “Also, we will be launching an iPhone app in the coming months.”