Small Business Marketing Training in Massachusetts

Most small businesses don’t have a marketing problem so much as a marketing plan problem. Posts go out when someone has time, the website hasn’t changed in years, and nobody can say which efforts actually bring in customers. Marketing training gives the team a strategy to work from and the skills to carry it out.

What marketing training covers

• Differentiation and positioning: why a customer should choose you over the alternatives. (See Sharpening Your Unique Selling Proposition.)
• Customer personas and the decision journey: who you serve and how they decide to buy.
• Storytelling: messaging that makes the customer the hero and your business the guide who helps them succeed.
• The marketing plan: a balanced mix of paid, owned and earned media, and a calendar to run it.
• Lead generation: a website built to convert, search and paid strategy, email, social media and retargeting.

Training vs. hiring an agency

An agency does your marketing. Training teaches your team to do it, so the capability stays in the business. Many owners use both: training to set the strategy and build internal skills, and specialists for execution. For funding purposes the difference is important, because the Workforce Training Fund pays for training, not services.

Marketing training options in Massachusetts

• Massachusetts SBDC and SCORE offer free advising and workshops on marketing basics.
• Community colleges offer courses in digital marketing and social media.
• Platform training from companies such as Google and Meta covers their own tools for free.
• Private cohort programs, such as SCALE UP, teach marketing strategy and lead generation applied to your own business, and can be reimbursed through the Workforce Training Fund.

How to choose marketing training

Start with strategy before tactics. A course on social media won’t help if the business hasn’t decided who it serves and why it’s different. Look for training that produces a written marketing plan for your business, not just tips.

Marketing training inside SCALE UP

Two SCALE UP modules focus on marketing. Module 03, Marketing Strategy, covers developing your marketing strategy, differentiating your brand, becoming customer-centric, mapping McKinsey’s Customer Decision Journey, the paid, owned and earned media framework, and building a comprehensive marketing plan. Module 04, Lead Generation, covers conversion-ready websites, SEO and paid strategies, retargeting, email marketing, social media for lead generation and sales enablement. Participants build each piece on their own business during the sessions, with personalized 1:1 support from Chris Ciunci.

Frequently asked questions