Like most cities, Derby has been impacted by the recession in one way or another. Usually a city with a high level of employment, Derby's working population has decreased significantly over the past year or so as a result of the economic downturn. Figures for the end of march show that the number of people out of work has risen 82% year on year in Derby to 7,235 and for Derbyshire as a whole it is a similar story with 17,403 people claiming unemployment benefit compared to 8,253 the same time last year.

Traditionally, manufacturing has been the integral part of the city's economy, particularly in the areas of aerospace, chinaware production and train building, with some of Derby's most notable firms being Roll Royce, Toyota, Delta Rail and Royal Crown Derby Porcelain Co Ltd. This sector has been one of the hardest hit with Rolls Royce having shed 140 jobs and Toyota, it is rumoured, could be making as many as 800 redundancies across its sites in Wales and Derby. The situation has been even worse for some companies such as the iconic Wedgewood who have folded completely as a result of the crunch.

It's not all doom and gloom though – in recent years the industry trend has shifted a lot towards the service sector which now is responsible for over 60% of all employment in Derbyshire. Much of this can be attributed to the tourist industry and the attraction of the Peak district, which although has always been there, has been much more heavily publicised by various organisations including the tourist board. This in turn has seen the emergence and increased popularity of hotels, restaurants, and campsites in the region.

The service sector, and in particular the tourist industry has seen less of a negative effect from the recession than the manufacturing sector in Derby. Much of this is due to the fact that since the economic downturn many Britons are electing to stay at home and holiday in this country instead of flying off abroad. In fact one particular holiday company based in Derby – Don Arnott Parks – reported an increase of nearly 50% in its Easter trade over last year with all five of it's caravan and camping parks full.

Irrespective of whether or not a company is seeing adverse effects from the credit-crunch, one thing that they must continue to do is advertise their business, product or service. A common mistake made by companies who are feeling the pinch is to cut their advertising spend when in fact they should be increasing or at least maintaining it to help ensure their survival in tougher times.

There are many media that can be used to advertise a business but one of those that sometimes gets overlooked is online advertising. Whether it is a lack of knowledge or a fear of technology, many companies have tended to stick to more traditional media such as newspapers, TV and radio. However recent studies into online advertising show that it is actually a very powerful tool in reaching a company's target audience and since it is still relatively cheap, also a very cost effective one. Websites such as www.activderby.com will list your business in it's directory for free and, for a minimal outlay will give you featured listings and homepage exposure for your product or service. S

ince it is part of a much larger network of local websites, the exposure that a company can receive is increased greatly. Compare this to the cost and circulation of, for example, an advert in a local newspaper and it soon becomes clear why internet advertising is becoming so important. In fact a recent study into the effectiveness of online advertising concluded that it is at least important as offline advertising always has been.

The bottom line is that if companies want to give themselves every chance of survival in this difficult economic climate, they can't afford to ignore the internet as an integral part of their marketing strategy.