Listen to the news and the U.S. economy appears to worsen each day. Banks are tightening credit. Losses are mounting. Accounts are paying late or not at all. Your company, or the companies that make up your association, are facing difficult days ahead – and may be struggling right now.

Is this a good time to be marketing and promoting your services?

Actually, it is. While it may seem counter-intuitive to promote to customers that, in many cases, are laying off employees, reducing inventories and cutting back on spending, the benefits of actively continuing your promotional programs far outweigh the consequences of retreating from your marketplace.

There are several reasons for this, chief among them:

• Despite the economy, someone out there needs the services you offer. You need to continually remind your customers—and potential customers—that you are available to help them keep their businesses up and running.

• You don’t want to miss out on opportunities as they occur. New products will be introduced, new competitors will appear, new issues will require regulatory or code action and new opportunities will emerge. Someone will take advantage of these changes—it might as well be you.

• You’re not the only one feeling the pinch. If you can outlast your competitors, or even grow by merger or acquisition while valuations are at bargain levels, you can actually strengthen your competitive position.

• You want to be ready to capitalize on the recovery. Economies run in cycles, and as sure as day follows night, the current downturn will eventually bottom out and turn upward again. Those who are in the strongest position when it happens will be the first to gain and will lead the pack as the resulting expansion continues.

So while it may seem time to tighten your belt when it comes to marketing and public relations, in many cases the opposite is true: your customers still need goods and services and less competitive clutter blocking your message from reaching them.

Trade and Consumer Media: An Essential Mix

A well-rounded public relations program should include both consumer and trade media. Consumer publications have a larger reach and provide an opportunity to deliver your message to laypeople that may be unfamiliar with your product, service or organization. Trades, on the other hand, reach people in particular industries. In most cases, coverage in trade publications won’t do much to increase your media impressions, but in this situation, it’s quality over quantity in terms of who is actually reading about your organization.

Deciding Which is Right

It’s your job to decide whether to present a story idea to consumer or trade media. Ask yourself, “Would I care about this story if I weren’t involved in the industry?” If the answer is yes, you should pitch it to consumer media. By comparison, if the story would need to be explained in detail and incorporate a lot of industry jargon, it’s probably better suited for a trade publication.

Adjusting Your Style

A news release to consumer media should be clear enough that a general reader can easily understand it. A trade release can use industry parlance with which a general audience might not be familiar. Oftentimes, a trade publication will accept a full-length article from your organization. This provides a great opportunity to steward the message. It’s important to remember that consumer and trade media are not mutually exclusive. Most of the time, a story that’s fit for consumer media can be adjusted to interest trades. However, there will be times when a story idea is only appropriate for trade media outlets.

A comprehensive PR plan should include both consumer and trade media. Once you understand what content each category of media is seeking, it’s fairly elementary to determine which is most appropriate for your pitch.