Consumers flocked to stores on Black Friday, retreated to their computers on Cyber Monday and knocked it out of the park on Small Business Saturday - combining their efforts to increase holiday sales by 4.2% over last year’s totals. But it was Small Business Saturday (the Saturday after Thanksgiving) that stole the show this weekend – and when the dust settled and the virtual shelves restocked – they had millennials to thank.

While it’s obvious that the speed of technology affects businesses, allowing for faster product to market, there is another emerging influence that can affect businesses equally much. With social media, the feedback loop between consumers and business works faster, too. Now, responses by consumers are immediate, requiring equally fast responses by businesses. More than ever, it is critical for business owners to constantly keep their finger on the pulse of the market.

Demand for ad agencies have increased year over year as companies opt to have agencies create content. Either employees don’t have the bandwidth to take on more work or a business doesn’t have enough capital to hire employees as needed. Whatever the reason is, ad agencies can help an organization from the planning stage all of the way to execution – staying on brand and within budget.

As an entrepreneur, you don’t have the time for trial-and-error; you need things to work right the first time. This goes for all aspects of your business across the board, but more so for your marketing. Don’t waste time on schemes and small-time ads. Utilize technology to make the most of your marketing campaigns by using Big Data.