Look for ways to track your progress keeping end in mind. It is all about prioritizing, identifying and sorting important factors that are crucial to your success, from insignficant details.

It may feel more productive to be doing, but it is more constructive to be planning. The odds of achieving marketing success increase exponentially if you are aware of what has succeeded and failed in past. Typically 80 to 90% of efforts are well spent on identification, planning and determining success metrics, with balance on execution and assessment.

The owner of a successful business or product is often reported as saying, “It seemed to develop a life of it’s own and just take off.” It could be a lucky break, but often it’s result of years of thought, experience and a comprehensive marketing plan in action.

6. Create an R & D team. Starting your own research and development team is a great way to develop new relationships which can turn into future clients and customers. Essentially it is a group of people who you invite to give you feedback around your business, products, services, processes, or anything else you wish to run by them. To compensate them for taking time to provide valuable feedback you can use to develop and grow your business, you might consider giving them discounts on your services, free reports or articles, or other special thank-you gifts. By involving a group of people so closely with what you are doing with your business, you increase chances of converting them to customers in future.

7. Form a mastermind group. A mastermind group is a formal or informal group of people who meet on a regular basis to share ideas and to support each other in achieving personal and professional goals. Consider forming a group consisting of 7 to 10 small business owners who meet either in person or via teleconference one hour per week. Not only will you get to know about several other businesses, you’ll be educating everyone about yours. Taking time to build relationships with groups like this can lead to direct business or referrals later on.

8. Create a newsletter. An electronic newsletter or ezine is a great way to create visibility on a regular basis. The key to a successful ezine is in providing valuable content and resources, while keeping it short and to point. It should be easily read in 2 to 3 minutes max. People are busy and you want to make your contact with them count. Sending an ezine once per month is adequate; any more often and you will risk losing subscribers. Don’t forget to send your ezine only to people who specifically register or opt-in to receive it.

9. Speak up. Speaking for free or for a fee is a wonderful way to increase your visibility and credibility. On par with written word, public speaking is a great way for potential customers to experience you first hand. Offer to speak wherever and whenever you can. Call up rotary club, optimist club, chamber of commerce, and any other organizations in your local area. They are always looking for dynamic speakers to fill up their meeting schedules. It is a great way to meet people and possibly develop relationships that will lead to new business.

10. Offer a complimentary consultation. Give a little bit of your time to prospects that show interest in possibility of working with you in future. By showing them who you are, sharing a little of your expertise, and giving them a taste of your customer service orientation, you may be making their decision to buy from you a lot easier. Even if they don’t end up working with you, their positive experience may be something they share with others – possibly leading to some future referral business.