Apparently the recession officially ended in June 2009, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. It doesn’t seem like the media got wind of the news. I’m not sure business owners have, either.

As I’m out and about, talking to business leaders, I hear a lot of “when things pick back up, we’re going to …” or “as soon as the orders start coming back in …” and then they fill in the blank with some marketing tactic or new sales effort they’re going to kick off.

Guess what, folks – this is it. Though the recession may be in the history books, people’s behaviors don’t shift quite so quickly. It’s time to stop waiting and start doing. Much like the period of time right after 9/11, this is our new normal.

Odds are you’re not going to get your staff to the same size it was a few years ago. But truth be told, you’re producing goods or serving your clients just fine with the trimmed-down team. Your marketing budget might not go back to the 2006 all-time high. So get busy with what you’ve got. The deafening silence needs to end.

You’re sitting there waiting for your clients to return. They’re sitting back, waiting to see if you’re stable, healthy and have survived the past few years. Someone has to make the first move. Someone has to stand up and demonstrate that we’re back to business as usual (just the new usual!).

That someone is you.

Want to kick-start the final quarter of 2010? Reach out to dormant customers who’ve been too strapped, scared or busy to pull the trigger. Remind them of your value and your past relationship.

Ask for their business and their trust. And then re-earn both.

Drew McLellan is Top Dog at McLellan Marketing Group and blogs at www.drewsmarketingminute.com. He can be reached at Drew@MclellanMarketing.com. © 2010 Drew McLellan