Ask ten different people if we are in a recession and most likely you will get ten different answers. However, one thing is certain, very few businesses are experiencing the same growth and profitability that they were eighteen months ago.

What can your business do in a period of high costs and shrinking sales activity to ensure that it survives?

Perhaps the answer rests in how well you promote your business and communicate with your markets. You might answer…“Great, how do I know how well well is?” While we are picking on you, let us throw out another question …“Are you communicating with your markets as effectively and as cost efficiently as your competition?” Don’t know the answer to these questions then your company might be losing ground in this extremely competitive marketplace.

If you want to gain control of your businesses marketing and communication activities and have them work successfully for you during this period … here are a few more questions to ask within your organization:

• What percent of gross sales do you invest in marketing and communications each year?
• Has that percentage gone up or down recently?
• Do you target dollars invested for maximum return?
• How do you measure the results of this investment?
• Do you plan and budget for marketing and communication activities?
• Do you set a goal and list objectives for each phase of your marketing and communications process?
• Do you realize a real dollar return on your marketing and communications investment?

These are questions that businesses that will remain successful will have to ask themselves. Today’s customers have a multiplicity of choices when it comes to their purchase of goods and services. In this marketplace it takes more than quality, price, and service. The successful business must communicate its uniqueness in terms that benefit the customer. Additionally, these businesses must convince the customer that they offer the greatest reward for their investment of time and money.

One-shot marketing and communication extravaganzas will not accomplish the job and trying to overpower competition no longer works. Your businesses message must reach the customer often lest they forget you. It takes strategic thinking, an effective message, and a consistent marketing and communication process that is more targeted and cost efficient than your competitors.