With marketing budgets under scrutiny, doing more with less is essential for creating a positive return on your investment. The fact is that marketing budgets are shrinking in today’s difficult economic climate. This is the exact opposite of what should actually happen. When times are tough, its time to start marketing.

What can you do with a reduced budget? There are quite a few techniques you can apply that are easy to implement and cost little or nothing. The key is to get viral. Have others do the selling for you. Here are a few suggestions for getting started.

Leverage all of your assets. As a business, are you leveraging every customer interaction you have? Whether it is on the phone, face-to-face, or over the Internet, how frequently do you use that opportunity to ask about other needs or pain points?

Ask for referrals. You would be surprised by the low percentage of businesses who ask for referrals. To jump start any referral campaign, offer a small benefit to those who refer a customers. At the very least, get your referral program up and running and be sure to send a thank you note for making the connection.

Focus on creating a dialogue. If you are interacting via multiple media such as fliers, letters, emails, etc, make sure that you include valuable information and promotional offers. This can keep your business moving forward and is easy to implement. Think about adding a promotional postcard to your next package with an offer your customers can’t refuse.

Test new campaigns. When budgets shrink and times are difficult, it’s common to stop testing or spending on new campaigns. But what works during good times may not be as effective when times are difficult. Dedicate a portion of your budget towards new campaigns, messaging, or offers.

Improving marketing results does not have to cost you money. In fact, some of the best, most successful marketing ideas were started with little or no money. Think viral. How can you leverage the assets you already have? By taking what you have and making it better or expanding it, your results will often scale. To many people stop short of fully riding out their marketing campaigns and enjoying the results they can achieve if only they persist.

Consider a free giveaway. A great place to leverage the power of free is with your website, store, or marketing communication. Ask yourself how you can attract more visitors or improve conversions. How can you acquire valuable information that will help you make a sale at that moment or at a later date. In today’s world, consumers understand that free doesn’t mean free. But consumers are often willing to provide a little information about themselves for something of value.