There’s not much that gives management of professional service firms greater pain than reports of a potential recession or a prolonged unstable economy. Poor economic conditions quite often lead to uncertainty within firms, and the costs of marketing efforts are always an easy target of scrutiny. One thing is certain: the U.S. economy is in a funk. Inflation is on the horizon; the housing market has banks in turmoil; oil prices are hitting record highs; and the stock market is experiencing more ups, downs and corrections than a mountain road under repair. All of these issues only increase the fear that a recession might be around the corner and that the growing profits at professional service firms might be in danger of slipping after a long period of steady growth. As firms start preparing operational budgets for the coming year, discussions of belt-tightening are being heard in the halls once again.

Marketing 101 tells us that in times like these, the best prescription for an organization’s stability and success is to, at a minimum, stay the course. An even better course is to be aggressive and capture market share from those competitors that hunker down until the economy rebounds. Intellectually, this makes sense. However, convincing emotional shareholders not to take the conservative route in an effort to protect their cash flow is a bit more challenging.

So, what’s the answer? Although there is no survival guide for marketing during an economic downturn, there are some good remedies to help lessen the severity of recession jitters.

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