“Should I cut back my marketing in a poor economy?” That’s one question that owners of growing businesses ask often as they look for ways to trim costs. The answer, according to Michael Masterson and MaryEllen Tribby, coauthors of Changing the Channel (available at amazon.com), is to resist the fear-driven urge to chop your marketing budget down to the bone. People still need to buy goods and services. Your challenge, the authors say, is finding those who are motivated, financially capable, and prepared to buy. And that means you’ve got to aggressively reach out to them through many different niche marketing channels — combining new concepts, such as search engine marketing and social media, with tried-and-true methods like direct email marketing, online public relations, and print media.

Fortunately, many of the available channels cost little and are easy to test. Masterson and Tribby offer these three ways to cultivate your business in a slow economy:

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1. Choose tactics that help you pick the low-hanging fruit. Never forget to market most often and most strongly to those loyal customers who buy almost any product you offer them. Direct email, well written and based on compelling offers, is the key. It’s easy to implement, cheap, and gives you the ability to test your offers, see what’s working, and quickly make changes to generate more sales.

2. Don’t overlook social media. You can create online buzz about your product or service through social media. This can take many forms, from online forums, message boards, and blogs to social networks and comment sections on Web sites. Use social media methods to stimulate conversation about your business and your products by publishing special reports or sending out surveys or questionnaires. The secret is to be genuine.

3. Take the leftovers. Whenever possible, try to purchase remnant ad space — space in print media that has not been sold to advertisers in time for deadline. Buying remnant space can be a huge money saver. Here’s how it works: Make sure you are aware of the publication’s deadline; then call right before that deadline and start your negotiations.

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