Winning in business today requires being incredibly resourceful. For those launching new ventures or who are stuck and need a little kick start to get to the next level building a more recognizable brand and getting more visibility for your brand is essential. So what about bartering your way to a better brand and ultimately bigger profits?
Perhaps the top complaint or excuse of entrepreneurs and small business owners today is not having enough resources. Though no matter how little cash you are sitting on for spending on your brand image or marketing you certainly have a wealth of other resources in one form or another.
For those just starting out with a new business developing a solid brand identity is crucial. However it is also one of the areas that far too many small business owners tend to skimp on. Then wonder why their business is not getting traction. If you don’t have the extra cash laying around for branding materials why not barter for it?
So you need a logo, vanity phone number, matching web domain name and perhaps some custom designed images for your social media and headers and footers for your website and blog. Are there any marketers or designers who need what you are offering? If you are a dentist or restaurant owner everyone needs to eat and eventually go to the dentist right? Why not exchange services? If they don’t need your service then perhaps they will be happy with a mention and back-link from your website, blog or social media profiles promoting their work. If not, consider seeking out and joining a barter exchange.
While in many barter exchanges providers do not always offer discounts you will surely find opportunities where you can great bargains on services and products, while getting a premium for yours.
Once you have crafted a winning brand identity it is time to get that brand out there, get it in front of people and claim your share of the limelight. This is where you can really use bartering in one form or another to really explode your business, not just in terms of sales volume but adding incredible value to your brand name if you do it right.
How can you achieve this through bartering? The opportunities are really endless and are only limited by your imagination. Perhaps you can offer your content for guest blogging on another company’s blog in exchange for links back to yours creating more referrals and building your businessshed.ca. Perhaps you can offer your services through an affiliate program type arrangement that others can bundle with their products and services? What about other entrepreneurs who are throwing events or are looking to add value to their offerings by including giveaways? Can you offer them your product or service to distribute alongside theirs which will position you along side another winner and give your credibility a quick boost?
