My guest on North San Diego Business @Large today was Dianna Arreola, Core Specialties, discussion marketing for your business. We especially focused on relationship marketing.

Also on our call was Nathan McBride, YammerYak, who was able to ask Dianna many questions about marketing a new enterprise. Cathie Dodd, Tears For Joy Video, was also able to ask about a special contest she’s running to bring more opportunities to her business.

Dianna made a generous offer to North San Diego Business listenersoffering the listeners, a FREE trial of any one of the 3 key relationship tools I provide by calling or emailing using the offer code: NSDB CORE01.

Let me know what you’d like to hear about, or share an interesting business with me for future shows. I’d like to share with the world, the wonderful businesses in North San Diego County. Use the contact form, or leave a comment below.

The San Diego Special Edition is a collection of posts from San Diego Bloggers. Visiting the site, you’ll find posts on business (my interview with Sheila McDonnell), the economy, lifestyle…some great St. Patrick’s Day posts, and of course, sports.

Carol Lane published the Special Edition the 15th of each month. If you are a San Diego Blogger, then you should check Carol’s site. This is what we call, spreading the link love.

A lot of people have asked me, “How do I break into the competitive market in San Diego?” I have to admit, after just moving my company out here a short year ago; I was extremely intimidated and anxious about how to market my company in this overly competitive, overly communicated market. It seems as though businesses here are extremely set in routine, extremely busy, and don’t really want to hear what you have to say. But, as with anything, where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Over the past year, while working with clients, friends, colleagues, and with my own business, I have developed a list of five things to do to effectively and efficiently get your business in front of your target market here in the San Diego business arena. They are:

1. Know exactly what your brand image and message is.
   What is it that you are really selling? Use benefit terminology instead of functional terminology. For example, Kodak doesn’t sell pictures, they sell memories. If you don’t have this information, the business owners in San Diego won’t give you the time of day and look at you as a nuisance in their busy life.
2. Know exactly who your target customer is.
   Here it is again. Know your target. This will save an extreme amount of time and energy. Knowing the following information, you will be able to identify and empathize with your prospects. This will help you build rapport and understand exactly what they want.
   1. Demographic – What your target looks like?
   2. Geographic – Where your target lives, works, and plays?
   3. Psychographic- Why and How your target purchases?
   4. Lifestyle – What does their day-to-day life look like?
   5. Seasonality – This is key for the San Diego Business culture. You must know when your prospect will be available and looking for your product or service. The key season’s to watch out for is Summer and Holiday Season.
3. Identify and Understand how your customer communicates.
   This information will be helpful in putting together your marketing mix. The more you understand this, the more cost-effective your marketing strategy will be. Simply ask your prospect where they gather information, what types of publications they read, etc.
4. Have a plan for every aspect of your Marketing Mix. 
   A great marketing plan doesn’t have to be a long 40-page document with everything written out. But you must have a plan. You must know what you are going to do in every aspect of your marketing mix (advertising, PR, Guerilla, Networking, Sales, etc.) each month. In your marketing plan, you also must outline an execution and accountability plan to ensure it gets implemented. Without a plan, there is no action. Without action, there is no marketing.
5. Test and Evaluate.
   The key to any marketing success is to know what works and what doesn’t. This is especially true in the San Diego business market. To stay competitive, you must be extremely cost effective with your marketing dollars, to ensure growth and sustainability.

All-in-all, the San Diego business market is full of possibility and wonder for any business big or small. Follow these five steps and you will soon realize your potential in the precious San Diego market. 

Enjoy!

Paul Miser is the President of Miser Advertising and Marketing, an International Marketing Strategy and Branding Agency in San Diego County. Miser Advertising is a full-service marketing agency that acts as a complete marketing department for small businesses in the San Diego area and the World. You can reach Paul Miser by emailing him at pmiser@miserad.com.