Whether you're just setting up shop or already have your business off the ground, you need marketing strategies that get new customers in your door and keep them coming back. The following eight marketing milestones will help your business not merely survive-but thrive.

1. Profile Your Customers. Who are your most valuable customers? Can you describe them succinctly, in 50 words or less? Profiles are descriptions of your customers' values, beliefs and decision-making processes. While it's important that you understand the products and services that you offer customers, it's even more significant to understand what your customers value and why so you can fulfill their needs. Don't assume you know, ask them.

2. Be Prepared to Play 20 Questions With Your Clients. Imagine that your five most important customers are sitting in a room with you. Are you ready to take advantage of this opportunity? Do you know what questions you would you ask them about their purchases, their needs and interests, and the factors that influence their decision-making processes? In order to create the Profile described in Milestone One, compile a list of 20 questions that will help you define your customers' needs. If you're lucky, you'll be able to ask them in person but chances are you'll need to have a methodology in place to uncover their needs such as a survey, one-on-one interviews, or focus groups.

3. Remember to Keep Your Friends Close but Your Enemies (i.e., Competitors) Closer. Identify several companies that offer competitive products or services. Discover their benefits to potential or current customers. Now compare your message, value proposition, and target audiences. Make sure you can answer the question, "What sets you apart?"

4. Identify Partners That Support Win-Win Relationships. What do you expect from a business partner and how can they contribute to your growth? Can their strengths be leveraged to empower your business and vice-versa? What does your 'must have' list look like in order for your partnership to succeed? When choosing a partner look for a business that targets similar companies while not competing with you and one whose strengths and weaknesses complement and balance your own. A strong marketing alliance offers many benefits, including reducing risk, sharing costs and improving time to market, so choose your partners carefully.

5. Find Out If Perception Is Reality. How do your customers and prospects perceive you? Branding is the impression you leave through every customer touch point and involves more than a nice logo or cool tagline. Everything you do has to incorporate your message, because if you dilute it in any way, you won't be sending a clear definition of the value you offer.  As the saying goes, "Perception is reality," so in order to ensure that your brand is strong, your message must be clear, focused and on target at every touch point. Confirm this by asking your customers "What's the first thought that comes to mind when you think of our company?" or "mystery shop" your own company (i.e., have a trusted advisor become a customer and find out what their experience is).

6. Prepare a Strong Elevator Pitch. Ever find yourself in a room with a key prospect and you couldn't succinctly explain your business to her? Perhaps you rambled on, never getting to the point, or you froze up. Elevator pitches will help whet their appetite and get them interested in learning more.

7. Align Marketing Programs to Meet Sales Goals. Sales and marketing have to work together to support growth. Even if the same person wears the sales and marketing hats in your company, you must plan your marketing program based on how many sales leads you need to generate to land the client and how long that process will take. For example, if you need 1,000 leads over the next six-month period of time to attain the number of new customers required for business growth, proactively plan your marketing programs so that it generates these critical, bottom-line sales results.

8. Harness Your Passion as a Strategy. Even the most successful companies have their share of ups and downs. How will you use your passion to get through the rough patches? List 10 reasons why you feel passionately about your business. Post this where you'll see it every day to remind yourself why you're going to work each day (even if that's just down the hall). These 10 reasons will keep you motivated on the good days as well as the bad ones!

Beth Goldstein - President and CEO, Marketing Edge Consulting Group. Consultant, educator and author of The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Toolkit, Beth has empowered hundreds of entrepreneurs and companies to create successful marketing and sales programs for their businesses.  In addition to running her consulting practice, Beth oversees Boston University's Online Certificate in Entrepreneurship (recently recognized by Fortune Small Business Magazine as one of the best e-learning entrepreneurship programs in the US), teaches Entrepreneurial Sales and Marketing at the Boston University School of Management and is the Instructor for the InnerCity Entrepreneurs business growth program in Massachusetts. Beth can be reached by email at bethg@m-edge.com, by phone: 508-893-0976 or visit Marketing Edge Consulting Group.