Right now, borrowing money is about as easy as getting blood out of a stone. We’ve all heard the reasons and it looks like 2009 is going to be a tough year as a result. But it occurs to me that this has a relevance to us in B2B marketing that goes beyond the financial. Because no one can borrow money, it means that those who have money are in a great position. They can outmanoeuvre those who have to borrow - because they, err, can’t borrow any more.

So look at your non-financial assets. In your brand, you have strengths that are priceless. Strengths that separate you from your competition. Strengths that cost you nothing because you own them already. The mantra for cost-effective B2B marketing in 2009 is “make the most of what you’ve got”.

So, this year, more than ever, B2B marketers will get best results from concentrating on brand strengths. If you haven’t done so already, take time to sit down and take a long hard look at what you have: what customers think, why they buy, what they like, what they prefer about you. This will help you to judge how to communicate with them, how to keep them spending with you rather than moving to a cheaper competitor, how to keep the order book full. This kind of analysis is so often overlooked, especially when things are busy. So what better time to do it than when things may be slowing down a little?

What I’m saying is invest this year in brand analysis, rather than short-term promotion. Lead generation may win a few customers for a while, but it’s expensive and you may find you are only borrowing them after all.