With the current state of our economy many big and small businesses are forced to review budgets to determine what’s expendable. “What can we get rid of and still be OK without?”

Typically, advertising, marketing and public relations are the first to go. To some people, these might be considered business luxuries. To me, they are business necessities and while we can scale back our spending, we cannot stop these very important efforts. 

It may sound trite, but if anyone could successfully defend someone in court and get them acquitted of all charges, why would there be defense attorneys? We all have our expertise and passions that set us apart from everyone else. The trick is how we utilize each other.

Recently here at Dittoe Public Relations, I was working to develop a whole new Web site, something really eye-catching and interesting for our site visitors to browse through. Now I’m taking a step back and finding less expensive ways to share our news with folks like you. Through our blog we are enhancing SEO every day and as long as I can update our current Web site with new content on a monthly or quarterly basis, I believe we are providing current news and interesting bits of information to current and prospective clients (at a lower cost).

Currently, we are all facing tough times in one form or another, some worse than others, but regardless – we’re all in the same boat. We’re all trying to muddle through this mess of an economy. It’s imperative we realize the strengths of those around us and either utilize them more efficiently or let them go if they are no longer needed.

If you are a business owner or a businessperson considering cutting your advertising, marketing and public relations efforts back – I urge you to rethink that decision. Without effective advertising and PR, your prospective customers won’t know who you are – and without marketing, how will your sales team be effective?