Running a small business requires entrepreneurs to wear many hats. Marketing is just one of them. To celebrate the can-do spirit of the small business owner, June is Entrepreneurs Do It Yourself Marketing Month.

When entrepreneurs think about marketing, we often get stuck on what to say…and for that reason, we never start. I believe that’s because we don’t have a clear picture of who we’re talking to.

For the first day of June, let’s start DIY Marketing Month by focusing on the most important person in your business organization: your customer.

If you don’t know who your customer is, you can’t tell if your marketing message hits the mark or not.

When you’re missing the mark by not talking to the right person, no amount of slick packaging or creativity can get you on the right track. You’re just wasting your time and money by going in the wrong direction.

It would be like taking a saltwater hook to Norris, looking to catch a tarpon.

Seek first to gain a clear understanding of your customer’s problems and frustrations. When you develop a solution that helps them, it becomes clear what to say in your marketing.

So, start from your customer’s perspective. Try to see the world how they see it. Look at your product or service from their viewpoint. Is it valuable to them? Or do you currently have a good idea that’s a solution to a problem that doesn’t really exist?

When in doubt…ask your customers for input and test market. Just because YOU think it’s a good idea, doesn’t mean your customer can’t live without it. It’s better to find that out in the planning stages than after you’ve launched. (See the recent Kendall Jenner Pepsi commercial that failed so hard!)

During Entrepreneurs DIY Marketing Month, my company, Be Media Savvy, will post a strategy, resource or tool on our Facebook page. Follow Be Media Savvy on Facebook -
https://www.facebook.com/bemediasavvy/ - to get more DIY marketing ideas every day in June. And while you’re there, comment on our posts and share how you’re growing your business.

Portions of this blog were originally published here > http://www.bemediasavvy.com/start-with-who/

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Tim Petree began his media career at WBIR in 1981. He currently directs Volunteer athletics events on the JumboTron and is co-founder of Be Media Savvy, a marketing agency that promotes growth for businesses with 10 employees or less.

Follow his blog at http://www.bemediasavvy.com/savvyblog/