I have absolutely no clue who said it but whoever they were, they got it right when they said, "Treat every customer as if they sign your paycheck...because they do."

A business could not exist without its customers just like peanut butter can't exist without jelly; that would just be downright criminal. In these difficult economic times, everyone is feeling the pinch and is holding on tighter to their wallet. Customers are being more cautious and picky about who they do business with.

Many businesses, large and small, send out an over-abundance of e-mail and direct mail marketing content hoping to catch a prospect's eye. If your business is considering this tactic, remember these two words: bad idea.

Inundating consumers leaves a bad taste in their mouths. You don't want to give the impression of being pushy; so how do you market and get the customers' attention in a bad economy without going overboard?

Number one: Talk to your clients. Don't shove ads at them, but actually talk to them. Get their feedback. Use surveys...online surveys. No one likes getting a survey via telemarketer in the middle of dinner.

Use the social networking sites...Facebook, Twitter, etc....and pose discussion board questions to get feedback from the customers. The more creative the question, the more discussion it creates. Such sites have made getting customer feedback more successful than having a simple comment/suggestion box in the store or on the company website.

Number two: Be visible. Do things out in the community. Be a sponsor of a little league baseball team or help host a charity fund raiser. Show the consumers that you care about what goes on in the community, and what is important to them. In turn, they will start caring about you and the services you provide.

Also, participating out in the community gets your company name out there. People will constantly see it and if you,the business owner, and your employees are present at these public events, your company is given a face; not to mention that you get to talk face to face with current and prospective customers which goes back to point number one...talk to your client.

Just think "outside the box." Be creative and make things personal. People respond better to things that are done or made especially for them. And remember, just before you put a policy in place or make a decision on various marketing tactics, think to yourself: How would I respond to this tactic? If it's not good enough for you, it definitely is not good enough for your customer.