IT’S tough times in the economy and tough times for marketing managers or those responsible for their company’s 2009 marketing budget.

Representing what is traditionally one of the first departments to feel the pinch, marketing managers will no doubt be having difficulty convincing those holding the purse strings they will need additional resources in the New Year.

So what approach should the managing directors and financial directors be taking when it comes to allocating marketing resources for the supposedly dark economic days ahead?

You’re probably expecting me to say companies should invest heavily in marketing activity whatever the economic climate; however, I would recommend some caution.

While all companies need to do everything they can to ensure they stay as close as possible to their customers and prospective customers, sometimes a change of approach, rather than a simple chop of the budget, can bring additional benefits as well as saving money.

For instance, we have recently advised a number of firms to alter the balance of their marketing spend – saving on the budget, yet achieving targeted results for their business. But – at the risk of stating the obvious – you can't tinker with the mix if you don't know what works and what doesn't.

Thinking creatively about your marketing spend is made a lot easier if you have an idea of which ingredients are working and which are not. Companies which don’t run regular marketing audits should make sure that finding out what works and what doesn’t becomes a priority next year, so that all spend is focused on the activity that is getting the results.

I said it was obvious, but it’s amazing how often this basic principle isn’t followed and how frequently companies don’t even have a method of analysing what marketing activity is working and what isn’t.

RICHARD KENYON is the managing director of Kenyon Fraser Marketing Communications.