Is your company in a recession rut?    Is your company operating from a place of fear or a place of power?  So many companies have retreated their marketing efforts because of fear of the unknown.  Granted we are living in unprecedented economic times but instead of fear why not move into a place of power?

When I speak of power what I really mean is are you taking control or your marketing efforts or are you allowing the current economic climate  to dictate your marketing efforts?  Now is the time to look at your marketing programs and people.  You need to ask are your programs delivering the ROI you expected?  What is motivating your customers to continue to work with you?  Are you truly delighting your customers, or is it just a “comfortable” relationship?  How can you capitalize on your successes?  Have you also asked yourself do you really have the right marketing team in place?

Too many companies are not asking themselves the tough questions beyond the “how are we going to survive the recession?”  Instead of “just surviving” you need to find a way to thrive.   Business models are changing daily, are you working to understand them?    Are your marketing people doing all they can to educate themselves on new marketing opportunities?  Are you being challenged by your marketing people with new ideas on how to best communicate to your customers and your internal employees- or are they just doing the same old thing?  How about social media- do you really understand what is available?

Great companies are asking those questions and more.  They are positioning themselves for the future by getting their resources in place, investing in their people and their product or service offering.  Take advantage of the recession and be proactive.  Your competition most likely has cut their marketing efforts back too.  Don’t be shy now– BE BOLD!

It may not be as expensive as you think to continue your marketing efforts.  Shift from expensive advertising to more public relations activities, speak at conferences, write compelling success stories featuring great or unique customer applications, update your website with new content, support a local charity, expand your presence into social media – all of this is just the tip of the iceberg!  Take time now to meet with your customers and have an honest discussion on what marketing programs are really working for them and/or what changes need to be implemented.  Have someone outside your industry take a good look at your website and give you feedback to ensure the message you want to send is getting received as you intended.  Now is the time to truly be open to honest feedback and ideas that are probably outside your comfort zone if you want to position your company to thrive.  

The fact is we are in a recession and times are tough- but if you ignore your marketing efforts now you will not have the power to capitalize on growth opportunities as soon as the recession begins fade.

“Any fact facing us is not as important as our attitude toward it, for that determines our success or failure.” —Norman Vincent Peale