We have opted not to participate in this recession. There I said it, or wrote it, for all the world to see. Feels good. Kevin Eikenberry had a great post about this a few weeks back. And then I came across this post, by Jeff Cornwall, about the recession -

Even though budget cutting is part of getting ready, do not cut back on marketing efforts. Now more than ever you need to stay front and center in the minds of your customers. Competition is going to get even tougher, so you need to keep your competitive edge by reminding the customers that you want their business. Many of your competitors will slash marketing budgets to save money. That will give you an advantage if you keep getting your message out there.

During the last recession, in which we participated fully (thus allowing us to pass this time), the first thing to get cut was the marketing budget. Slash, cut, pummel. I think some lessons were learned and people realized that may not be the smartest tactic in maintaining revenue. You can only cut overhead so much folks. At some point, you have got to focus on growing revenue. That takes targeted marketing, effective sales people, great customer service and delivering what you promise.  If we all keep focused on those issues, instead of the bad news, we can get through this recession thing without too many bumps or bruises.