Rich Tehrani, blogger, editor and publisher of TMCnet.com wrote a great post on his Communications and Technology Blog about what companies need to do to succeed in the current economic environment. Rich has been dealing with a challenging economic environment for years. He has managed to build a thriving business by using the Internet to innovate a new business model for his publications.

Here is an excerpt from Rich’s blog:

“In fact, more than once this past week, people have told me customers today would rather buy inferior technology from a well-known company than superior technology from a company they aren’t familiar with. This marks a big change in thinking and you need to be prepared for this change by focusing on getting your name out in front of potential customers more often.

I saw this very thing happen in 2001. I believe history has a good chance of repeating itself in the next 18 months. There is one way to combat this cycle.

Come out strong. Daily press releases help and so do customer win announcements. You need deployment stories, case studies and smart but effective marketing to show strength in the market. Now, more than ever, you need to show your company is strong and will be around for the long-haul. If the news section on your website hasn’t been updated in weeks or months, potential customers could think you are about to close the doors.”

I believe that Rich is being metaphorical about the daily press releases. The main point that he is making is correct: your customers, partners, ecosystem, etc. need to see your successes. This needs to be done consistently. Even the presentation from the famous Sequoia meeting said: “In a downturn, aggressive PR and communications strategy is key.”

Over the weekend, T-Mobile sued Starbucks over the coffee company and its new partner, AT&T offering free in-store Wifi. The details can be found at GigaOm and Rich Tehrani’s Blog

One aspect that has not been covered is the PR implications of the lawsuit. I think that T-Mobile is underestimating the PR hit that they will take if they are successful. Consider that every time a Starbucks Wi-Fi user logs in, they will be reminded T-Mobile took away their free WiFi.

The other interesting point is that if T-Mobile is successful, they would have to prove damages. In doing so, they would have to provide a public look at the profitability of the Starbucks arrangement. Since that arrangement is going away regardless of this lawsuit, the bottom line effect of the loss would become public knowledge. So winning the lawsuit would have a price.

On an unrelated issue, it definitely is cool having a blog tag on Rich Tehrani’s blog.