Unemployment stood at 8.5 percent for December 2011, continuing a declining trend: Americans faced 8.7 percent unemployment in November and 9 percent unemployment in October. In fact December marks the fourth month in a row that unemployment numbers dropped. They haven’t been lower since February 2009.

But we can’t afford to be complacent. Historically, the businesses (or) products that continued to be marketed (or even had an increase in their marketing) during a down economy have come out of it as the “winners”. Look at it from a broad perspective.  In a down economy, the first reaction for most organizations will be to reduce their marketing efforts.  That, people, is the very reason to increase yours.  Repetition breeds retention.  If your competitor is reducing their marketing efforts, and you are increasing yours, whom do you think the client is more likely to remember, and contact, during the recession itself as well as the upswing?

McGraw-Hill Research, in a study of US recessions, showed that business-to-business firms that maintained or increased their marketing efforts during the recession back in the early 80′s averaged significantly higher sales growth, both during that recession, and for the following three years, than those that eliminated or decreased their efforts.  By that mid-decade, sales of companies that were aggressive recession marketers had risen 256% over those that didn’t put forth aggressive efforts.

How are some companies actually positioning themselves in the market?  Some are relying on their online efforts, some are utilizing face-to-face tactics, and some are diversifying their portfolios.  I would suggest a combination. Just take a look at today’s Fortune 500 list and compare it to the same list 10 years ago, and not notice a significant face-lift.  It’s a completely different list.  Those who were not proactive, those who didn’t listen to their customers, and those who didn’t remain flexible to fluid market conditions, are gone.

Look for and try new, creative ways to drive your message home.  Social networking is one example.  Turn your customers into your greatest advocate.  Used properly, social marketing has the ability to amplify the conversation surrounding your brand like no marketing tool before.

Marketing does not have to be costly either, with today’s technology and options, we can increase our marketing efforts with a lessor budget. For example: Improve SEO, Email Marketing, Networking Events, or even bring you customer into conversations regarding your product of service.

The real bottom line is “Do Something” and do it now. Although the improvement of the economy is slow and minimal, action must be taken. This action should have begun and continued from the beginning of this recession. If you think all of this is too difficult, think of the consequences, which is the risk of going out of business.  At the very least all of the branding efforts you have put into your company, product, and service have been minimized.  That’s an investment you must protect.  Do not let the pace of today’s economy hinder your marketing efforts, your creative processes, and your attitudes.  Now is the right time to lay the groundwork for your future movements.

Consider it a Law of Process. You don’t build a house in one day. First you lay the foundation and then you build on top of that, brick by brick. The same can be said of many goals you are planning to achieve. By breaking tasks down into manageable steps, you don’t have to wait for success till you have reached your goal. This way you create a series of small successes along the way. Few things are certain in this world, but people rarely ever fail; they only stop trying. It may be fine to set goals for a distant future, but the best goals may be those you can handle in the next week, the next day or the next hour. Create a process that yields many small successes. It’s a process, much like cultivating a relationship with a client that is sure to be around for years to come.