Juggling the demands of an independent business is an all-consuming task for the small entrepreneur.

Obviously, there’s the day-to-day of running the business itself, and the goods and services being offered. 

Then there’s customer care and relationship building. 

There’s time and schedule management, deadlines, and balancing supply and demand. There’s a team to manage, not to mention all of the other professional relationships that come with the territory.

And of course, on top of it all, there’s that indispensable aspect, that one thing that makes or breaks any business: its marketing plan.

With all of those moving parts, what business owner has time to pay close attention to cultural trends? If they can even find a half-hour a week to sit down and watch Netflix, that often feels like a miracle.

But popular culture, trends and modern influence all go hand in hand with fantastic marketing. 

Sure, not every type of small business is going to find an opportunity to take advantage of every new trend. And typically, a lot of busy, small entrepreneurs get comfortable thinking, “Why should I?”

Fair enough. What does a plumber or a homemade pet supply creator care what the latest trend on Instagram is, right?

The point isn’t what the business owner cares about. It’s about their potential audience. And convincing the entrepreneur of that should be easy for any marketing pro who deserves the title. 

Because the end game for any marketing initiative is to draw attention and win new clients - not to shrug off opportunity in the name of comfort! 

Think of it this way: if the difference between a potential customer choosing between 10 different plumbers comes down to the way that one plumber, in particular, distinguishes themselves by being relevant - whether through messaging, brand tone, accessiblility  or any other means of communicating individuality that adds a human touch the client experience - doesn’t it make sense to try to be that plumber? 

Empower has the benefit of working so tightly within the tech and marketing sectors that keeping up with cultural shifts and trends is just part and parcel of an average day for nearly every person across our teams. 

From our success managers to our content creators and designers to our own internal tech infrastructure pros, collectively the Empower team keeps its hand on the pulse of the cultural heartbeat of great marketing:

1. What’s hot now?
2. Why is it hot now?
3. What type of client can benefit from hitching their wagon to it? 

Culture is in a constant state of change and small businesses have more opportunities than they realize both to participate in the cultural conversation and to drive it a little further forward - all while attracting the marketing attention they seek!

Empower team members are working on dozens of projects for hundreds of clients on any given day of the week. So how do we keep up? 

Here are three best practice principles valued by Empower that help our clients get the most from our expertise on an ongoing basis.