The economy is sour, consumers aren't buying, and the competitive landscape is mutating. From marketers everywhere we hear a collective "where to even begin?"

"Start with a company-wide deep breath, since it's so hard to panic during a deep breath, and it's conducive to thinking and creativity, too," suggests Tim Berry, president of Eugene, OR-based Palo Alto Software.

He and a few other industry pundits—including Seth Godin, David Meerman Scott, Bryan Eisenberg, and Jonathan Salem Baskin—recently lent their advice for marketing smarter, and for less, in the down economy.

You'll find their comments and more here in our quick list of the steps that marketers can immediately start taking to hone their programs and cut back on expenses.

Step 1: Get back to basics

When the going gets tough, the tough get down to business and figure out exactly where they are, how they got there, what it was that originally led them to their heyday, and how they might evolve those strategies to function through the current economy.

"These downturns are good for spurring us to step back away from the business and take that fresh look; it's like an artist squinting to see the landscape differently," said Berry.

His recommendations include setting aside time to do a thorough SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis and answering vital questions, such as these:

• What makes your company unique? What advantages do you have to leverage? Which challenges can be transitioned into opportunities? And is the company prepared to take on those challenges?
• Where do you make the most profit? And where are your resources being spent? To what extent do those connect?
• Are your products and promotions aligned with current market needs and expectations? What is the overall perception of your company and product in the marketplace? What are your customers saying?
• What are your competitors' strengths and weaknesses? How do competitor products and promotions compare with—and impact—your products and promotions?
• Which is your most profitable customer segment? And which customers are you most likely to retain if the economy worsens? Are there alternate market segments that might now be better positioned for your products and services?
• What are the current and foreseeable trends in your industry? Are there any emerging trends on which you may be able to capitalize? How might your value proposition be altered to reflect new trends and new consumer expectations?
• How up-to-date is your marketing plan? How valid is the rationale behind your current marketing programs and promotions? Is your marketing accountable for results?

Your SWOT analysis won't necessarily paint a pretty picture, but if you go about it honestly you'll gain a much clearer view on where you should be focusing your efforts.

Step 2: Let the data be your light

As businesses realize that this economic downturn is not some minor blip that will soon correct itself, marketers must reconcile with the fact that things have changed for the long term, and so must they.

And as we begin the process of determining what to keep and what to cut from the old "game plan," it is important to realize that this is not the time for guessing or playing favorites with campaigns of sentimental value. It's time to put our trust in cold, hard data—for real this time.

"The days of propagating brand image into the cosmos are long gone.... Marketers need to find ways to map behaviors against desired outcomes, [and figure out] what actions will lead targets to buying things," offered Jonathan Salem Baskin, marketing strategist and author of Branding Only Works on Cattle. "Think about shortening, or making more direct, the connection between marketing expenditure (or tactic) and some demonstrable behavior evidenced by the target customer or consumer."

Bryan Eisenberg, analytical-marketing consultant and author of Teaching Your Cat to Bark, said one of the biggest mistakes companies make is collecting the data but not analyzing it or leveraging it to make improvements.

"Companies need to understand not only how to get the data but also what to do with it, and that takes work," he explained. "It's a four-letter dirty word, but ultimately it is the key to being successful."

For example, women's clothing retailer Intermix (the subject of this week's premium case study), was able to increase multichannel revenue 9% from June 2008 to January 2009 by doing just that—repeatedly digging into the numbers to identify unique customer segments and the specific offers that appealed to each group individually.

"Execution is not a one-time event," Eisenberg advised. "Execution is something you have to do on a regular basis. There's always something that can be improved, and it's about finding the biggest hole, patching it, and doing that relentlessly."

In addition to demonstrating the overall advantage of ongoing testing and refinement, the Intermix campaign illustrates the need to look at not just how one marketing tactic compares with another but also how distinct customer segments respond differently to the same campaigns.

Eisenberg recommends taking the time to dissect any non-campaign components that may influence the customer experience (the company Web site, for example), and making incremental improvements that help increase conversion on a more permanent level.