When times are tough, companies tighten the belt buckle (thank you, Captain Obvious). This generally entails companies cutting or severely limiting their expenditures on non-essential projects to free up money for important things…like executive bonuses (ZING!). While businesses are cutting down expenditures across the board, many proactive companies are making concentrated efforts to grow and enhance their digital presence.

Before I write any further, let me address my somewhat biased opinion on the matter. Yes, I am the New Business & Marketing Manager of a firm that sells clients digital services and that would serve to reduce my impartiality. With that said, I am merely pointing out what others have chosen to do with their limited budgets. I just happen to think that they are right.

A great first example is the recent launch by The New York Times of its TimesReader 2.0 . Here is an industry that is, by all accounts, dying. It seems that every month there is news of yet another prominent newspaper going bankrupt, and while the Times will no doubt survive this print holocaust, it has not been immune to the pitfalls that plague its industry contemporaries (see Reuters' article "S&P cuts New York Times rating deeper into junk status" ). Realizing that in order to survive and remain an industry-leader, the Times has chosen to invest in developing the first truly "digital newspaper".

Competitive advantages are all the more important in today's tough marketplace. One of the best advantages a business can leverage in a recession is customer service which, when executed correctly, builds consumer loyalty and can distinguish a business from its competitors. The web provides businesses the opportunity to interact and engage customers in an expedited and convenient manner, provided that they embrace emerging technologies and digital trends (note to cellular companies, your online chats are even more infuriating than your 800 lines). Domino's Pizza recently committed to improving dialogue with consumers by hiring a consulting agency to assist them in strengthening their relationships with consumers through online communities. As stated in their press release, Domino's seeks to "continue to incorporate social media into their overall communications plan, expand consumer trust, and build excitement in new services and products."

But investing in digital doesn't have to mean investing large amounts of capital. For example, take what some small businesses are doing with the free service Twitter . New Orleans based Naked Pizza, recently launched a Twitter-specific marketing campaign that proved to be rather successful. In a test run April 23, an exclusive-to-Twitter promotion brought in 15% of the day's business. And while Twitter has yet to offer a comprehensive analytics tool, the simple daily tracking of how many users you are attracting shows at a macro-level how your outreach via the service is fairing.

Does bolstering your digital presence make your company "recession-proof"…probably not. It isn't a cure-all and it can certainly require some investment when funding is tight. However, going digital (as it pertains to your specific industry and audience) arms your company with a proven means of communication in a time when traditional methods are proving ineffective.

Or you can always think of it like this: In this economy, it couldn't hurt to try.