How to effectively use trade to grow your business
Did you know that if you use trade effectively that you can propel your business to even higher levels of success? If you effectively manage your trade transactions you’ll find you can draw in more customers, make more sales, use your trade dollars to purchase goods and services for your business and free up cash for those items which are not on trade. With the state of the economy today, savvy business owners need to think outside of the box to keep their businesses viable.
Connect with new markets through your membership in a trade group. Trade/barter is growing in popularity but the pool is still small. What this means for you, as a business owner, is that you may be one of only a few in your industry to be a member of a trade group – a potential captive audience to grow your business.
Move inventory through trade. Do you have a warehouse full of perfectly good stock, but simply too much of it? Move it through trade. Use trade to find a new market for your inventory, move it out of the warehouse and free up space. Once you’ve received your trade dollars for the inventory you can purchase goods or services that you need right now.
Competitive pricing. Just because you’re a member of a trade group doesn’t mean you will have to raise your prices – or lower them – in order to be viable. If you sell your widgets retail for $20, you will sell them for that price through trade as well. You don’t want to undercut your profits or charge higher prices to trade members than you would to cash customers.
Increase your bottom line cash flow. If you can save cash on items such as printing, restaurant meals, accounting or other goods and services you free up the cash you would have spent on those and can use that to help pay the rent and utilities.
Offer employee incentives. You may have had to cut back on employee raises and other perks as a cost cutting measure but with trade you can offer incentives such as certificates to salons, pest control, restaurant scrip and more. Implement an employee recognition program as a way to help build morale and use your trade dollars to offer the gifts.
If you’ve been hesitant to make the leap into trade, now could be the time to do your research and utilize this business-growing opportunity.
