Expert ADVISING

Marketing & Sales



Being the best at what you do doesn’t matter if no one knows you are doing it. You need a strong marketing strategy to attract, retain and grow your customer base.

Your customers are your lifeblood, and you need a strong marketing strategy to attract, retain and grow your potential customer base. Your sales strategy makes sure you convert them to buying, repeat, and loyal customers.

Whether you are starting a food truck or buying a manufacturing company, the SBDC can help you power-up your marketing efforts to grow your business.

We’ll walk you through the fundamentals of marketing your business in a competitive marketplace and provide your business with a strong foundation for continued growth.

Expert Advising: Marketing



Work with an advisor to cover the aspects of marketing you need, online and traditional marketing, from content through to analysis and improvement.

Branding

We’ll help you establish a strong, memorable connection with your customers and create a communications strategy for deepening relationships between your customers, whether B2B or B2C.

Market Research

Market research is an effective tool to assist your business planning and help refine your marketing approach. Effective market research helps businesses make insight-driven, informed decisions when planning, launching, managing, or growing your business by helping you identify and learn more about:

  • Your ideal customer and  potential new customers
  • Existing customers so you can improve your marketing efforts
  • Opportunities for new products or services
  • Changes in the competitive landscape
  • Industry trends
  • Local market conditions
  • Testing new markets

Marketing Strategy

Grow your small business today by developing a solid marketing strategy to gain more customers, increase sales, and remain competitive in your industry. The Solano-Napa SBDC offers specialized guidance and resources to help you position your business and create your marketing plan.

Online Marketing Strategy

Your online marketing strategy typically includes a range of digital marketing tools and your strategy pulls it all together. Tools that may be part of your online marketing strategy may include: 

  • Website
  • Email marketing
  • Social media
  • Search engine optimization and search engine marketing
  • Content development
  • Online advertising
  • Online events
  • Video 
  • Managing online reviews, influencer marketing and more 

Social Media

We can help you shape a social media strategy and choose the right social media platforms to use to create an effective online presence, entice and maintain customers, and advertise your brand. 

Additionally, our advisors can assist you in constructing a social media strategy that grasps your client’s marketing objectives and identifies customer feedback to improve social engagement.

Examples of social media platforms for business to business (B2B) and business to customer (B2C) target markets include:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • TripAdvisor
  • Snapchat
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • Podcasts

Traditional Marketing

This marketing includes offline methods, such as print materials, mailers, outreach and networking, signage and in-store materials, print advertising, and encouraging word-of-mouth. 

Website Marketing

Your website represents your business on the Internet and it’s one of the most important digital marketing channels you can use to get more traffic or make more sales. 

We will help you navigate the process of building and designing a website, arming you with the tools you need to build your best website either on your own or with the help of professional designers.  

If you already have a website, we can work with you to create an action plan to launch and/or improve your web presence.  We also offer a Website Rx, a diagnostic assessment of the overall functionality and efficacy of your website.

Web eCommerce

Our marketing advising services include one-to-one consulting sessions with digital marketing expertise. Our online marketing expertise can help you choose the right eCommerce platform and understand the fundamentals of marketing your business in a competitive marketplace and provide your business with a strong foundation for continued growth.

Expert Advising: Sales



Closely aligned with marketing, selling is about converting prospects into customers. Many businesses have excellent products and/or services and there is a strong demand for them in the marketplace… yet they do not achieve their full potential due simply to the inability of their owners and their staff to make effective person-to-person sales.

Client Engagement

Understand your sales process, develop a targeting plan, and improve your close rates.

Corporate Contracts

If you’re pitching large/corporate contracts, we can help you hone your strategy and approach.

Government Contracting

If you want to sell your products or services to government agencies, SBDC Procurement Training Assistance Center (PTAC) is available to help you. You can also get certified with federal, state, and local certifications that will give you an advantage.

Learn more about PTAC