Media Relations for a Connected World

ITEX Article - Does Your Business Need Holiday Incentives and Gifts But Is Short on Cash?
28.12.2012 18:53
Here is How to Use Barter to Trade your Business's Products and/or Services for the Stuff You Need for the Holidays
It is easy to use a business bartering to transform extra inventory and unused services into holiday goodies for your customers and for your employees, as well as for your friends and family. Here are numerous business bartering organizations throughout the US and Canada.
Many business end up "trading" several thousands of dollars of services and products every month. This is not MLM - this is not a get rich quick scheme. Bartering is a time proven business/marketing channel to improve overall sales volume for a small to medium size business. This is a legit business - closely regulated.
Most business that use barter report about a 15% increase in sales without paying extra for advertising or marketing. I recently started using barter for my company and have nearly doubled my client base in the last three months!
You don't need to directly research or contact a specific business in order to your services or products for a service or product you want. These barter clearinghouses provide an "alternative" currency that makes it easy to sell your stuff for the stuff you want and need.
Many businesses have extra inventory that for one reason or not is not moving. However, by offering it up for barter on a major barter network, it exposes your service and products to a much larger pool of potential customers, without having to pay for advertising. In addition, there might be a bunch of companies that want to buy your products but don't have cash. However, they do have products to trade.
Here is how it works.
A business "sells" their services and/or products and receives "barter dollars" in return. They then use the barter money to "buy" a wide range of products and services. This can include promotions, restaurant gift certificates, floral arrangements, artwork and gifts, travel & trips, sports and entertainment, car repair, business supplies and services, etc. In addition to being effective for local & regional business, by using a large bartering community, such as ITEX (the world's largest), they can buy and sell with anyone on the network, anywhere in North America.
"Business bartering offers an effective, affordable and fun way to buy gifts and goodies for the upcoming holiday season," says Michael Muzzin, President & CEO, ITEX Toronto. "I have used the network to buy an incredible variety of incentives for my staff as well as for my business partners."
Why use barter for your business? According to Art Kaliel, Partnership Director, San Diego ITEX, "Barter increases your market share and brings in new business you would almost never get otherwise. Barter helps to conserve your cash. Barter members go out of their way to do business with you. Barter accelerates accounts receivable and Barter protects you from business recessions."
"From when my organization first opened an account, the value was prominent and immediate. We started seeing new customers and increasing our sales, more than before we were members. We started saving money on expenses, from the simple to the costly and complex. Last year we generated over $60,000 in sales and saved thousands on renovations, advertising, employee benefits/incentives and printing brochures and sales kits."
"Before using barter, I had never stayed on a private island in Belize. When I joined and started bartering, I finally did. My company sold various product lines and with that revenue I took my wife to Belize for our anniversary. We never had been that extravagant with our vacation before, but bartering made it possible without spending cash - and I increased my sales."
For more information about ITEX - contact ITEX Toronto at http://www.creativebarter.ca and ITEX San Diego at http://www.itexinsandiego.com/