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Marketing a Barter Services Business
Small and medium size barter services can compete and even outperform larger competitors. All it takes is the right marketing plan.
For every barter service success story, there many more barter services that never got off the ground.
What to know the characteristics that distinguish leading barter services from other businesses in the industry? Surprisingly, the ability to create clear brand messages often outweighs product quality and other considerations.
Directories
Directories are a common tool for finding a barter service. When all of your competitors are listed in a directory, you have no choice in the matter. To keep pace, competitive businesses must include the same directories in their plans for marketing barter services in a region or territory. Premium directories may or may not deliver the ROI you expect to receive from paid marketing vehicles. Do your research and make sure any directory in which you list your business is capable of reaching enough likely customers to make it worth the effort. Some directories may also let you list more than your name and contact information, so be sure to ask whether your listing can include a logo and other information about your business.
Email Campaigns
Today's consumers are extremely tech-savvy. They rely on social media and email to both receive and transmit brand messages. That's why email campaigns are gaining popularity among small and medium-size business owners throughout the industry. In many barter services, the real challenge is compiling a substantive quantity of qualified email addresses. Premium mailing list providers can mitigate the cost and hassle of in-house list generation. More importantly, providers typically give business owner an assurance that their lists are accurate and up-to-date.
Customer Awareness
Many of the highest performing barter services identify customer awareness as one of the hallmarks of their success. Since disconnection with the marketplace isn't an option, it's important to create mechanisms to monitor market trends. Why? Because without a thorough understanding of buyer mindsets, it is impossible to accurately predict which tactics will deliver results. By improving market awareness, small companies can often establish more meaningful customer connections than their competitors.
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