Build Business Value Through Barter

Too often, business owners get caught up in daily operations and overlook opportunities to strengthen their most important asset—the business itself. Building value should always be a priority, especially if you hope to sell, scale, or step back.

Now is the best time to invest in strategies that make your company more valuable, sustainable, and appealing to future buyers or investors. Below are 12 strategies to build your company’s value, and how IMS barter is integrated into each one:

Cut Costs Using Barter. Lower your overhead by acquiring products and services through IMS at your marginal cost of doing business. Every purchase made with trade dollars helps you conserve cash.

Expand Your Customer Base. Barter brings new customers who pay in trade, expanding your reach beyond your typical cash market and helping you diversify income streams.

Boost Efficiency with the Right Tools. Trade for tech and services that streamline operations with tools such as multi-function printers, point-of-sale systems, and outsourced support. IMS vendors offer a range of options to make your business run smoother.

Increase Resilience with Ongoing Promotion. Use trade dollars to sustain consistent marketing and advertising, which builds long-term visibility and helps protect your business in slower economic cycles.

Preserve Working Capital. When you use trade instead of cash, you free up working capital for other key expenses. Barter helps stretch your budget without compromising growth.

Reward and Retain Employees. Recognize team members with trade-funded perks: restaurant gift cards, salon services, event tickets, travel, or bonuses—all available through IMS. A great way to boost morale without touching payroll cash.

Increase Profit Margins. Because you earn trade at your cost of goods or services, purchases made in trade improve your effective profit margin. It’s a strategic financial edge.

Fuel Innovation. Use increased revenue from barter sales to fund R&D, try new offerings, or test-market new products and services without affecting your core cash flow.

Grow Market Share. Every trade customer is a new buyer, and one more touchpoint in your competitive landscape. More trade sales = more visibility = more share.

Strengthen Your Brand Presence. IMS helps you regularly advertise your business through print, digital, direct mail, and sponsorship opportunities. Your name is kept in front of both barter and cash buyers.

Build a Counter-Cyclical Strategy. Barter allows you to keep doing business when the cash economy slows. Adding trade into your toolkit gives you a built-in hedge against downturns.

Educate and Empower Your Team. Train key staff on how to identify, use, and suggest IMS trade opportunities. A team that understands barter is better equipped to drive growth and value.

By fully integrating IMS barter into your business strategy, you’re not just saving cash, you’re building long-term value.
Think of barter as more than a tool. It’s an asset-building engine that can enhance your company’s worth today and in the future.