| I have seen several so-called marketing articles | | | | press release; and my bank won't accept a |
| lately recommending bartering as a "creative" | | | | strategic marketing plan in lieu of my mortgage |
| solution to the economic challenges facing some | | | | payment. There is no substitute for cash. |
| businesses. The straw that broke the camel's | | | | Why the heck should you consider accepting a |
| back was when I received an invitation to join a | | | | understudy for cash in exchange for your |
| bartering group on LinkedIn! | | | | expertise? |
| A pack of famished piranhas on lunch break looks | | | | - Bartering will not help you pay your bills. |
| like dinner hour at the Shady Lane Nursing Home | | | | - Bartering devalues your skills and expertise. |
| compared to the spending and consuming frenzy | | | | - Bartering is unprofessional. |
| we have enjoyed in this country over the last | | | | - Bartering is bad for business. Period! |
| several years. It couldn't possibly go on like that | | | | Having said all that let me add that bartering is not |
| forever - just ask an economist! We are in the | | | | without value. For example, if you're good at |
| midst of a necessary correction. | | | | wallpapering and your neighbor is good at tiling, a |
| Those who were running a sloppy, | | | | home improvement skill swap might be in order - |
| underperforming, disorganized, systemless ship | | | | as long as you don't make a living as a painter |
| during the fat years were the first ones to feel | | | | and your neighbor isn't in the flooring business. |
| the pinch - and rightly so! It's economic Darwinism | | | | I agree that this is a time for creative solutions. |
| in full swing - survival of the fittest. | | | | One way to do that is by offering bonuses like; |
| That's good news for the rest of us. It means | | | | buy X and receive Y (valued at Z dollars) at no |
| less competitive noise from people who weren't | | | | extra charge! Another way it to create added |
| providing the folks who should have been your | | | | value is to bundle items: when you buy X and Y |
| customers with the kind of top-notch service that | | | | you can also get Z for just a few dollars more. |
| you can offer. Now that the din has dropped a | | | | (that's a "big dollar" value for just "small dollars") |
| few decibels, it is your opportunity to be heard! | | | | Whatever creative strategies you do select to |
| What do you want people to hear you saying? | | | | weather this economic storm, please make sure |
| "Let's do business," or "let's trade"? I don't know | | | | they pass the acid test of increasing and not |
| how it works where you live, but my grocer | | | | decreasing the perceived value and image you've |
| wants to get paid in cash, not with a well-written | | | | worked so hard to create for your business. |