As the markets fluctuate widely, the credit crisis continues and buyers begin to hunker down, you know you're going to be okay. You've got a great product that's both affordable and has the necessary return on investment to help your clients.

Your company is already beginning to hunker down. Bonuses are being suspended, hiring has stopped, and raises are frozen. Meetings at your company have now turned to controlling expenses and reducing any waste.

A month from now your marketing budget is under scrutiny. Every dollar spent must be documented and proven to have the return needed to maintain the company growth - or at minimum - reduce the risk of loss. The market continues to slide.

It's been a few months now. Your company begins an aggressive cost cutting strategy - advertising and marketing cuts will have an immediate impact on cashflow so they are high on the chopping block. It's time for tough decisions.

You're left scratching your head. Six months ago, your company was kicking butt. The creative and imaginative campaigns, though expensive, worked and your company grew at a rate higher than your main competitor. While you released one winning campaign after another, your competitor started blogging... your team joked about them at the company celebrations.

After all, blogging was what your kids were doing. The mainstream ridiculed blogging and tore it apart. Your marketing team dismissed it as a fad.

The marketing team you had to lay off.

Your ads are now gone and your staff is gone, and your boss is expecting results. You're out of ideas and out of money... and the lead generation funnel is dry.

Every time you search the net, you find your competitor in the top search results. The blogs they started and the posts they had written are everywhere. You find your competitor has built a following in the industry and has authority in your space. Every conference has one of their 'bloggers' speaking at it. You don't even get an invitation.

Looks like they're hiring... but they're asking for blogging experience. Bummer.