Know-How Exchange : Other

The place of marketing in any economy is to anticipate customer needs and deliver an offering that will meet those needs in a way that achieves the organization's objective(s).

That means job #1 is to understand customers (and consumers, if appropriate) in depth. Job #2 is to ensure that the product/offering truly meets customer needs. Job #3 is to position, promote, distribute and price the offering so as to be attractive to customers and deliver a profit to the company.

It doesn't matter if the economy is depressed or not. The role of marketing is the same. (Adjust if the organization is not focused on profitability, but on some other objective.)

During a depressed economy the prospective clients needs may change. So, what worked before in your marketing may not work then. See Michael's response for Job #1, #2, and #3.

Most companies want their marketing departments to help them increase sales. If the economy is depressed, you can either increase sales by making more sales to your current targeted markets, or by expanding your target market. The more specialized your offering, the greater your ability to market it in remote cities and regions and countries. If I were in such a situation, I would probably begin by researching why my customers purchase from me as opposed to competitors, and then try to see how I can expand my range of product and service offers to current markets, as well as my sales to similar customers in new markets.