In a depressed economy, cash-strapped and cautious consumers aren't an easy sell. Competition is fierce, fear is rampant and discretionary spending is ditched.

"In a recession, it's harder to gain new customers, to convince existing customers to buy more, and to win back customers who have left," says marketing expert Sharan Jagpal, author of Fusion for Profit.

"That's why there's one business function that should never get the axe in a bad economy and yet, it's all too often the first victim - marketing."

At a time when companies across Canada are looking to make cuts wherever they can, experts are warning that slashing advertising dollars could cut you right out of the market.

Peter Day

Cutting back on efforts to market your products and services when people are already reluctant to buy "is akin to corporate suicide," says Jagpal.

"It's the worst move your company could make right now ... companies often need to be spending more money (on advertising), not less."

One Canadian business that is doing just that is Vancouver-based garbage removal service 1-800-GOT-JUNK? In an effort to not only keep sales steady but also boost market share, the trash titan is increasing its marketing budget by 25 percent this year.

"We all want to keep our jobs and when you're looking at the residential or consumer market, you need to use marketing - you can't walk up to every door or every customer to get business," says marketing vice-president Bryan Mavrow.

"Marketing has always led sales and because the timeline of the economic downturn is so unclear, it really has to be something that is ongoing."

Whether a business is trying to thrive or merely survive, marketing and brand awareness are now more important than ever. And in this tight economy, business experts agree that smart advertising could make all the difference.

"Looking back to the last time we went through a recessionary trend, those companies that made sure they kept their name in the market came through the downturn because they were picking up new business because their name was out there and people remembered them," says Ian Gunn, partner and leader of PricewaterhouseCoopers' private company services practice in Calgary.

"If you're cutting yourself out of your marketing spend, people may forget you're in business. So now is not the time to slash marketing budgets - but it is the time to re-evaluate where you're spending."

1-800-GOT-JUNK? executives know a thing or two about successfully marketing their brand.

The business, which was started with $700 and a used truck in 1989 in one city, has grown to more than 300 locations across Canada, the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. Yet, sales tactics that may have worked in the past aren't necessarily the right strategy today.

"If the old adage was that '50 percent of my ad dollars work - I just don't know what 50 percent,' I think these days it's '20 percent of my ad dollars work and we don't know what 20 percent,' " says Mavrow, who also teaches marketing at the British Columbia Institute of Technology and for the Canadian Marketing Association.

"The worst thing you can do right now is put money towards something that you have no inkling as to what the return might be."

In today's economy, making sure your marketing dollars make you money is crucial.

And since not just any advertising will do, Mavrow has invested heavily in market research the last few months to make sure every dollar counts.

By conducting surveys and looking at customer make-up, needs and geography, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? has figured out how to best target its customers.

"We ran a targeted marketing campaign in December and we increased our conversion rate by about 10 percent so, even with what's going on, we've found that we can still drive people to us if we go to the right people at the right time with the right message," Mavrow says.

"It all comes down to being more direct in marketing and really tracking things to make sure what we're doing is paying off," says Mavrow.

"Instead of the broad brush, we're using a laser pointer to make sure we're spending in the right places."

Finding direct marketing to be their most effective place to spend right now, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? is also targeting potential customers online.

"It's highly trackable and because we provide online booking for our customers, we can see when someone clicks on our ad whether a booking is made as a result," says Mavrow.

With more and more businesses taking a "don't-do-it-if-you-can't-measure-it" approach, marketers are having to get a lot more creative to keep the cash rolling in.

As a result, one area that's seen a big increase in interest is experiential - or guerrilla - marketing, where offbeat strategies and creative thinking are more important than a big marketing budget.

This can include engaging consumers on a one-on-one basis at shopping malls, events and tradeshows to demonstrate products and services.

"We've landed a lot of new business in the last few months and many of our clients are allocating us a larger share of their marketing dollars," says Peter Day, president of Endo Networks, a Mississauga, Ont.-based direct marketing firm.

As the largest lessee of mall and concourse space for special events in Canada, Endo Networks is signing up major brands such as Ford, LG, Scotiabank and Sony.

"The word across the board from clients is that they have to do more with their money and they need measurements to prove that it's working," says Day.

He adds experiential marketing is often cheaper than more traditional campaigns and can have some big benefits when consumer confidence is hitting all-time lows.

"The holy grail of marketing is to tie your marketing spend as tightly as possible to making the cash register ring and most forms of advertising - like TV or sponsorship - don't take place anywhere near the cash register," Day says.

And while targeted marketing is incredibly important in down times, so too, is sending the right message.

From Boston Pizza's new $10 campaign that pokes fun at mail-in vouchers and other complicated ways to save to The Real Canadian Superstore's no-nonsense push of its No Name products, it's all about getting back to basics when it comes to selling savings.

And consumers aren't the only ones getting a deal right now. Experts say given the current climate, advertising rates can also be a real steal.

"Many businesses are cutting back or cancelling advertising, so the advertisers are experiencing losses right now and would probably be more inclined to give you a discount because they want to keep your business," says PricewaterhouseCoopers' Gunn.

"Now is a great time to see if you can get a better bang for your buck by re-arranging advertising arrangements and getting a better rate."

Other ways to maximize marketing dollars include teaming up with non-competing partners - such as washing-machine manufacturers and laundry-soap makers have done - to share advertising campaign costs.

Delivering great customer service is another great way to get some free advertising - especially considering that word-of-mouth advertising remains one of the best ways to get new customers.

From hand-written thank-you notes to introducing a new customer-loyalty program, ensuring customer satisfaction is something that 1-800-GOT-JUNK? is paying even more attention to - and it seems to be paying off.

"I think across the board we have had pockets of downturn through Canada and the U.S., but generally when we compare notes with other CEOs, we find that we're holding our own," adds Mavrow."

(Tess van Straaten can be reached at tess@businessedge.ca)