5 ways to save money and still get your message heard.

Meeting payroll and covering overhead are the first orders of business when times are tough. But too many entrepreneurs and small businesses look to their marketing budgets as a way to cut costs–a big no-no when clients and customers may be that much harder to come by. Here are five simple ways to save money while still reaching as many clients and customers as possible.

1. Cheap? Let everyone know
Cost is paramount in the minds of many consumers–the less expensive a product or service, the better. If that’s your business, have your marketing materials reflect that cost-conscious focus. “Right now we’re in a price-driven environment,” says Jay Lipe, author of The Marketing Toolkit for Growing Businesses. “If you’re using marketing materials that show that price-driven personality, it really reinforces that image. Bare-bones positioning these days can really work effectively.”

That’s been the case for Monsoon Co., a Berkeley, Calif.-based software development consulting firm. While the company has long touted its low-priced services, it recently mailed out some 150 rather grungy-by-design mailers: five-by-seven pieces of cardboard, broken from a used box, with a handwritten “recession message” that read, “OK, this is a lame way to save money. Call us about smarter ways to save on design and development in 2009.”

Sandeep Sood, 32, president of the $2 million company, explains that the mailer “plays with the paranoia” that people have about the recession. “Yes, it’s bad, but it’s not as bad as many people might think,” he says. “And this message really made people chuckle.” Moreover, the results have been great. “We kept getting calls from people saying how much they liked the card. And any time a client calls is an opportunity to engage.”

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