SmallBusinessNewz

Political leadership may have abandoned the American public to the brutal ministrations of the oil economy; it's no time for the vibrant small business engine to sputter out in response.

Columnist Steve Strauss talked about the unease in small business today, no doubt fueled by the eye-popping gas prices on every corner. Customers and business owners feel that sting deep within their wallets, with small business wondering if it's a mortal wound.

It doesn't have to be, of course. Strauss recommended some suggestions we've seen before, like the exhortation to keep on advertising even after cutting back in other areas.

"That may mean more advertising, public relations, business development, buying leads, pay-per-click, or sales training," he wrote.

Ingenuity and thriftiness were Strauss' watchwords, based on some words of positive encouragement he heard at a Warillow & Co small business seminar. Email marketing received a mention, as did postcards. We're betting email is much less expensive than postage stamps, but each method has its place.

That could mean as Strauss suggested that this is the time to experiment, whether it's time to blaze away with the broadest possible attempts to find customers, or to refine what works and what doesn't in marketing.

He also repeated a concept we think is crucial to long-term viability, especially in tough times. Take good care of the clients who have stayed with the business. It should cost far less to retain a valuable existing customer than to find a new one, even as one tries out new strategies to withstand the economic onslaught they and their customers face today.