Business grows and slows, but steady-online-marketing wins in the long run.

Hitting the panic button when markets slow down is a big mistake. The idea of dumping more dollars into aggressive online marketing efforts when business slows is no guarantee of an upward curve. In fact, you might have better luck at the casino.

With a strategic online marketing plan (and partner), and consistent steps, you can build not only healthier business growth but also stronger brand awareness. Devoting focused time to your online marketing business or service is the only way to get there. When starting your business out you spent time building a solid client base, finetuning your website, sending out email campaigns and networking every chance you got.

Then as your business grew, a shift took place. The time you once spent marketing yourself turns more toward servicing your clients, too important to overlook.

So how do you know when to increase your marketing efforts?

Some online marketing gurus recommend broad online advertising spend, daily tweets, posts to blogs, emails and visits to social media sites morning, noon and night. Other approaches prefer less aggressive tactics, taking a more casual approach, reaching out to primary markets twice a month and then touching the remaining base less frequently. Secondary markets may only need a reminder once a month, whereas those on the periphery get touched, so to speak, every three to four months.

No matter how often you choose to engage your target audience or prospects, it is an important part of your marketing strategy, along with a plan built on consistency, that keeps you clear of that panic button. It’s okay to have advertising campaigns that can be throttled as needs evolve.

Also, stay clear of those ‘prepackaged’ offers. Get what you need, not a ‘promise of possibilities’. To best accomplish that make sure you have a skilled online marketing partner who will take the time to understand what you need and what will work best for you.

Remember, even when you have more business than you can handle, it’s still important to keep your online marketing efforts moving along, steady as she goes. It pays off in the long run.