So my wife, Babe, sulks into my office frustrated. (Her name is Kay, but I call her Babe. Sometimes I call her Sweetie. Sometimes other names. But I don’t call her Kay. Do you call your spouse by his or her first name?)

Anyway, Babe is frustrated, so I supportively ask what’s upsetting her?

"I just got off the phone with a guy who says he’s going to sign up through me for Send Out Cards, but not right now. The reason? Because business is too slow! He’s not signing up for this killer marketing/communication/relationship building tool because he doesn’t have any business! Does that make sense to you?"

And of course, it doesn’t make any sense to me. But that’s the standard attitude of too many businesses, small and large. When business gets tough, the default panic reaction is, "Let’s cut marketing!" The thinking of these brain-dead idiots is that marketing is discretionary money and they don’t need to invest in generating any new customers or maintain relationships with the customers they already have.

But then, I suspect they’re also the people who thought subprime mortgages were a great idea, selling their stocks when the market is way down is rational, and Bill Gates/Microsoft/AOL are giving away cash and merchandise to those who forward an email message.

OK, so let’s clear up any confusion regarding marketing and timing:

Q: Should I market my products and services when I’m not busy?

    A: Only if you want to be busy.

Q: Should I market my products and services when I am busy?

    A: Only if you want to stay busy.

Q: When is the best time to market my products and services?

    A: When you are busy or not busy, but mainly when you are awake.

I hope the guy Babe talked to reads this.