Self-storage operators resisted AI chatbots, convinced nobody wanted to talk to a bot. But customers actually do use web chat for instant answers, and the real challenge was convincing traditional operators that website AI could drive sales when they'd always relied on billboards and phone numbers.
Chapters
Everyone and their mom would tell me that nobody wants to talk to a bot, you know, like nobody wants to talk to these things. And so I think like that was the biggest hurdle early on was just convincing people that this was a something that was a value add in this business. Right? Like you have customers across the globe that, you know, they want instant answers. They don't care if it's slightly robotic at the time. Like they're going to go to this chat ecosystem because. And again, you know, I'm not as familiar with the UK market, but you know, at least in the States, traditionally these operators are, you know, real estate investors. We're going to put a billboard up right next to our facility or there's going to be a phone number on the, on the facility as you drive by it. And their, you know, acquisition strategy was that location based thing. They're going to, they're banking on somebody walking in or making a phone call, right? And so the idea that like, oh, they're going to go to a website and talk to this AI system on a website in order to purchase was just kind of like you had to get people over the hump there.
