In today’s world of penny-pinchers, it’s not too uncommon to spend Sunday afternoons with your family cutting coupons instead of swiping your credit card at high-end department stores. From families to business owners, everyone is looking to save a few bucks.

Most people don’t need to be reminded that we’re in a recession. The media does a great job of supplying daily reminders. And if the media weren’t enough, many have experienced the recession’s effects firsthand, whether standing in long lines at the unemployment office or trading in gas-guzzling trucks in favor of fewer gas station trips. Although the events surrounding the economic crisis have largely affected society, many people – including me – have thought, “Is it really that bad?”

Yes, it is that bad, but it could be a lot worse. During the Great Depression, one of the longest, most devastating events in history, the world experienced hardships way beyond what we’re seeing today:

• Named after President Herbert Hoover, “Hoovervilles,” or shantytowns were all too common. So were “Hoover stew,” food served in soup kitchens, “Hoover blankets,” newspapers used as blankets, and “Hoover wagons,” broken cars pulled by mules.
• In early 1933, the unemployment rate peaked at 25 percent, leaving one out of four Americans without a job.
• It is estimated that nearly 50 percent of children living during the Great Depression did not have adequate food, shelter or medical care.
• After the initial stock market crash, New York’s financial district saw a rise in suicides. It’s said that hotel clerks began asking new guests if they needed a room for sleeping…or jumping.
• In the mountain communities of Appalachia, families were reduced to a basic diet of dandelions and berries. Some children were so hungry, they chewed on their own hands.

Compared to the Great Depression, we’re doing all right. Steve Krodman agrees. In “The Dog Food Economic Index,” Krodman puts a positive spin on the economy using something extraordinarily unexpected: dog food.

The Krodman Dog-Food Index argues that we’ll be in a depression when people stop buying dog food.

For now, grocery stores have aisles devoted to nothing more than dog food. What’s more, many pet owners aren’t simply buying regular dog food…they’re investing in fancy-pants dog food that doesn’t contain genetically modified organisms, is grain-free and is made of grass-fed buffalo. Hey…you get the point.

Krodman makes one final statement: “When the economy gets really bad, not only do we no longer buy food for dogs, we start buying dogs for food.”

Now that’s a recession.

During this time when using social media for marketing seems to be all the rage, it’s sometimes easy to forget e-mail marketing. Email marketing typically takes a backseat to social networking. Nielson stats say that people have been spending less time using e-mail and more time on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. With this knowledge, it would be easy to discontinue use of e-mail marketing altogether. However, e-mail will not be lost.

According to an eConsultancy study, almost half of the 1,400 U.S. consumers surveyed (42 percent to be exact) said they prefer to receive ads to their e-mails, versus the 4 percent who desire to get ads from social media.

Many  marketers see the opportunity in not choosing one marketing medium over the other, but utilizing all together for maximum benefit. E-mail marketing has turned more social, with new “social CRM” tools that combine all platforms effectively. Below are a few examples that integrate social media and e-mail marketing in attempt to achieve higher profitability.

Constant Contact: gives companies access to manage social networking via e-mail. Constant Contact acquired Nutshellmail in May, which offers an array of plug-ins for various sites. One such plug-in gives the opportunity to set up e-newsletters on Facebook.

Rapportive: provides information to Gmail and Google Apps users about company information for their contacts. Some other products generate similar information, such as Xobni (which connects with Blackberrys) and Microsoft Outlook Connector.

MailChimp: an e-mail newsletter program that will soon integrate Facebook “like” buttons to specific campaigns. It also analyzes if this eventually led to a sale, which gives marketers more specific and direct responses to campaigns.

Let’s face it: going green is here to stay.

Most have joined the eco-bandwagon, somehow incorporating green living into their ultra busy lives. Whether it’s a simple change like composting or an extreme decision like installing solar panels on their roofs, people are obsessed with reducing their carbon footprint. Unlike most fads, green living has been incorporated into everything from music to packaging to cars. What’s not to love about organic food packaged in a recycled box, an electric car or using recycled energy from the sun to power a house? There are millions of products out there devoted to giving new life to any endeavor. You don’t have an excuse not to go green.

Eco-friendly living isn’t just to enhance your personal life. In today’s economy, companies need more substantial initiatives that both explain their business objectives perfectly and connect with a broader audience – one that will notice green practices. Well, businesses are in luck. Tradeshows have gone green…in a big way.

In the music industry, band tours have continued to be eco-unfriendly because of the amount of energy and resources needed to transport entourages cross-country. Tradeshows – thankfully – are starting to encourage responsible practices as they pertain to the event.Think about what goes into exhibiting at and attending one of these events:

Materials for booths and supporting graphics are shipped across the country.
Business executives may fly first class, stay in expensive hotels and eat extravagant meals.
Thousands of promotional items are ordered and given away at tradeshows – most of which are thrown away once attendees return home.
Brochures and business cards are printed on expensive paper.

This all adds up to a ridiculous amount of energy…and your business may still go unnoticed.

Things have changed. Going green during tradeshows is becoming more common. (And Greenbuild isn’t the only event supporting best eco-friendly practices.) Put a skip in your company’s step by following these eco-friendly suggestions to marketing home products:

• Go digital. You most likely travel with your computer. Utilize it at the tradeshow by pairing with a flat screen TV. Display information about your company, collect e-mail addresses, run contests and gather information. You’ll not only save paper, but your booth goers will have less to haul around.

• Recycle differently. Offer people a way to offset their carbon footprint by strategically placing both a trashcan and a recycling bin at your booth. Your booth will be the talk of the convention, and you may even save a tree or two.

• Eco-section your booth. Devote a section of your booth to environmental education. Outline the ways your company has gone green by offering a fun quiz that engages potential clients.

• Carpooling. Offer carpooling to the friends, family and clients you know will be attending and visiting your booth.

• Biodiesel Fueling Coordination. Work with a production team and drivers to arrange biodiesel fueling from local and sustainable stock.

• Catering. Coordinate eco-friendly food choices, including locally-sourced organic food, green cleaning supplies and more.

• Green Swag. Purchase green giveaways such as grocery store bags, pens made from recycled materials, or even seed packets for gardening. Even if the items get thrown away, they won’t spend years in a landfill.

If your business is practicing sustainability, reinforce it by showcasing green messages at your booth this year. Going green will get your company noticed by painting a brighter picture of your business objectives. Hey…you may even gain a few unexpected clients.