Recent world news reports in combination with client meetings to discuss 2012 marketing plans got me thinking about a story that was shared with me during a previous period of economic uncertainty.

There was a man who lived by the side of the road and sold hot dogs. He was hard of hearing, so he had no radio. He had trouble with his eyes, so he read no newspapers.

But he sold good hot dogs. He put signs on the highway telling how good they were. He stood by the side of the road and cried: "Buy a hot dog!"

And people bought. He increased his meat and bun orders. He bought a bigger stove to take care of his trade.

He finally got his son home from college to help him out. But then something happened. His son said, "Father, haven't you been listening to the radio?

Haven't you been reading the newspapers? There's a big depression. The European situation is worse."

Whereupon the father thought, "Well, my son's been to college he reads the papers and he listens to the radio, and he ought to know."

So the father cut down on his meat and bun orders, took down his advertising signs, and no longer bothered to stand out on the highway to sell his hot dogs. And his hot dog sales fell almost overnight. "You're right," the father said to his son "We certainly are in the middle of a great depression."

Have you taken down your signs and stopped bothering to tell the market about your products and services? Past history of recessions tells us that the marketers that continued to communicate with their customers, their prospects and the market in general during a recessionary period came out on the other end better than those that had stopped bothering to communicate.

As you plan for 2012 think about this story. Now is the time to create your own stimulus program by reconnecting with your audience. Your recovery plan should start by acknowledging how the B2B marketing communications landscape has shifted. The media options available to engage in these conversations have expanded in your favor. Although they still have a role to play, you no longer have to rely solely on paid media to access the market. With your web site and its content you now own your own media outlet. Make sure the content is rich and the site is optimized so that searchers can find you. Your CRM system’s database is your circulation list, it and your e-mail marketing software can be used to drive traffic to your website. You also need to embrace social media for what it is, your customers and prospects having a 24/7 conversation about the issues and problems they face in their work life and looking for others to help them. If you haven’t conducted an audit to find the blogs, forums and communities that are pertinent to your market, you should. Once identified, start monitoring the conversations and prepare yourself to participate.

Want more ideas on creating you recovery plan? Check out our whitepaper entitled Prepare for the Recovery – A B2B Checklist