There’s no doubt about it, these are tough times for small businesses. And marketing may be one of the expenses you’re thinking about cutting back on. But before you get out that red pen, think instead about giving a few of your marketing tactics some tweaks “” there are some inexpensive things you can do right now to keep your name in front of your customers.

1. Resist the urge to stop marketing
You have to be top-of-mind with your customers “” all the time. Building relationships is a long-term proposition, it doesn’t happen overnight, and customers have short attention spans. This is difficult, I know, but listen to this: one online study found that the most stated reason for purchasing a certain product or service was that it was the product or service needed at the time. This means we have to be there, in front of the customer or prospect, all the time “” or they’ll choose someone else who is.

2. Stand out from the crowd
Now may be one of the best times for you to be marketing. Why? Because so many other businesses have stopped. If you used to run eighth page ads in your industry trade publications, chances are they got lost among all the other ads. Now, publications are seeing many of their advertisers drop off, and are offering great deals on advertising “” ask to negotiate a better price. You may be able to buy a quarter or even half page ad for the same price as your old ad, and have much less competition in the book. You’ll stand out as a company still doing well, and perception really is reality in the marketing business.

3. Let your customers know they’re buying from real people
Whether you’re marketing traditionally, online, or both, it’s important to remember that people still like to buy from people. Even when purchasing from large product-driven companies, customers want to know that there are real people behind the company, and they gravitate to organizations that have values, things that they stand for, and those that go out of their way to connect with customers. Starbucks fans don’t only like the coffee, they love the fact that Starbucks is people oriented, and generous with health care for their employees. Nordstrom’s customers have long been smitten by the extraordinary personal attention given to customers. And Amazon’s customers feel close to their invisible book source, which routinely finds new ways to personalize and offer the help and products that they crave. That’s why it’s important for you to establish real relationships with your customers, too, and to continually work on building them. Now’s the time to come out from behind the counter and really be personal with your customers “” they’re not getting that everywhere, and they’ll come back to you if you give it to them.

4. Make it easy for your customers to work with you
Here’s an interesting way to look at making things easy for your customers, relayed by Bill Glazer, of direct marketing fame. He says that the old story of “give a man a fish and you’ll feed him for a day, teach him to fish and you’ll feed him for life” isn’t true when it comes to customers. Customers, he says, don’t want to learn how to fish “” they don’t want to think that your product or service will add work for them in any way. Busy customers, he says, “just want the darn fish.” They don’t want any extra work. You have to tell them exactly what you’ll do for them, how it will help them, and exactly what they need to do (hopefully not much) in order to get them to act. Make it easy. Just give them the darn fish.

Tough times can be the perfect time to step up your marketing efforts with creative approaches, including negotiating with vendors, adding personality to your relationships, and making things as easy as possible for your customers. Resist the urge to pull into your shell with hopes of riding out the storm “” your customers are watching.