A few questions for marketers: Is your angst over dropping sales and reduced marketing budgets preventing you from focusing on what your customers are looking for right now? Are you paralyzed by fear and uncertainty? Have you decided to play it “safe” and stay in a “holding pattern” until the economy improves? Or have you opted to show leadership and courage? Are you steering your brands to maintain share now and grow in the future?

Strong brand managers anticipate where the marketplace is headed. Of course, that is more easily said than done these days. Recent events have set off a chain reaction of unprecedented economic downturns all at once. Consumers, however, are delivering a clear message that should clue us all in. There is a way to become more proactive now that the initial recessionary shock wave has been absorbed.

Marketers of consumer products or services need to “get real” now. Show the customer where the true value of your brand lies. News flash: This isn’t just about price. This is about stripping away the fluff. It’s about communicating real brand assets openly and honestly. Consumers aren’t in the mood for any pretentiousness. That means brands have to deliver real—not contrived—perceptions of value.

“Getting back to basics” and “doing more with less” are old ideas that have come home to roost. Given today’s consumer mindset after years of over-consuming, this mentality might be here to stay for quite some time. Does that mean they won’t buy more than basic necessities when the economy turns around? Does it mean they won’t splurge on a few luxuries? Probably not. But it does mean that consumers will likely be more discerning when spending their discretionary dollars.

The more severe any downturn is, and the longer it lasts, the more consumers are forced to reexamine their attitudes toward spending and consumption. The economic meltdown of September 2008 forced a gut check for many consumers. As our culture undergoes a major shift, “excess” and “bling” have quickly become dirty words. Gone are easy credit and easy-spending ways.

McDonald’s Café and Dunkin’ Donuts marketers have great insight about offering real value. Their marketing message? Consumers don’t have to spend a lot of money to get quality café beverages. They can walk into McDonald’s or Dunkin’ Donuts and purchase a quality coffee, latte or cappuccino at reasonable prices. And no, lattes do not have to cost more than four bucks! McDonald’s, albeit somewhat snidely, informed Starbucks, pricey coffee emporiums and their consumers that the little luxuries can be purchased at a real value.

So, conversely, what are luxury brands to do as sales slide? Remember that less is more. Buy fewer items but purchase quality or lasting craftsmanship. Forget status and over-consumption. Use advertising and every other consumer touch point as a vehicle to communicate the kinds of cultural values that will resonate now and into the future.

Also, add value in additional ways. Consumers are yearning for transparency, so pledge to be transparent in every way. Tell consumers everything about your products in a forthright manner. Be up front about where your products come from. Pledge that safety and the traceability of every component of every product are being tracked by the company—and make that information readily available for the world to see.

When/if customer problems crop up—whether it involves safety or product quality issues—communicate right away and take steps to correct them. Customers respect companies more if they receive prompt attention and resolution to potentially serious problems. Trying to hide problems is the worst decision any company can make.

Reach out to disgruntled customers via phone, email, sales personnel and the company blog, if there is one in place. Solving customer problems of every kind and answering questions promptly ought to be a top priority. Customer dissatisfaction is an opportunity to find out what’s really on their minds and what you can do to improve your brand.

Lastly, push for a total integration of customer data—often fragmented across the company—to become less reactive and more proactive regarding customer needs. Give your consumers a brand they can believe in. They want to be able to trust—especially if their trust has been repeatedly violated by many high profile brands. If your company takes the lead in being honest and transparent, brand loyalty among disillusioned consumers will ensue.

Innovations, large and small, win the day in troubled economic times. A couple of easily implemented innovations may not be that costly but could make a world of difference to your customers. Your own customers will give you ideas if you just ask them. Soliciting input from them can be very helpful and cost effective. That, in turn, leads to brand loyalty. Prudent spending on innovations now could lead to handsome returns in the future. Brands that demonstrate leadership pick up more market share than brands that cower during difficult times.

Some may claim these ideas are partially or totally off limits to brand managers in larger companies because of corporate divisions of responsibility and those infamous silos. Nonsense. It is time for brand managers to take charge and build tighter relationships with their counterparts than ever before. Acquire the support of top management and move integration forward. The right to demand total cooperation from everyone in the company is every brand manager’s prerogative.

Even with limited budgets, brand managers can meaningfully build and communicate real value in their brands and consumer-facing touch points, if they make this their focus. That, in turn, will help maintain current customers and likely woo new ones who are less than satisfied with the companies they’re doing business with now. All of this enables marketers to position their brands for future growth, especially when the economy turns around.

So, are you going to wait or seize the day?