These are difficult and unsettling times.
The economy is certainly in poor shape compared to almost any period in the last 65 years.
No one can promise how it will go, though most signs suggest a slow recovery over the next few years.
Events such as the Gulf oil well leak are not only a problem for the environment. It has severely affected tourism along the Gulf Coast.
We continue to see wild swings in consumer buying moods. One month traffic to websites drops across the boards. The next, traffic takes a big jump but conversion ratios (percentage of contacts, signups or purchases from a site) drop. Then contacts suddenly go out the roof.
At the same time, vendors such as Google are changing more rapidly than ever.
What is a marketer to do?
There is only one answer: Good sound marketing. Continuing to work at improving it. And enough of a marketing budget to matter.
Now is not the time to skimp on marketing, on time, effort or budget.