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Google is experimenting with showing third-party endorsement content directly within Search ads. The test places short endorsements from external publishers under the ad description, including the third party’s name, logo, and favicon. What’s showing up. The test was first spotted by Sarah Blocksidge, Marketing Director at Sixth City Marketing, who shared a screenshot on Mastodon. In the example, a Search ad included the line “Best for Frequent Travelers,” attributed to PCMag, complete with the publication’s favicon. The endorsement appears directly beneath the ad copy, visually separating it from standard advertiser-written text. Why we care. If rolled out more broadly, the change could make Search ads feel more like product reviews — and potentially give advertisers with strong third-party validation a new advantage in crowded auctions. What Google says. A Google Ads spokesperson confirmed the test, calling it “a small experiment” – “This is a small experiment we are currently running that explores placing third-party endorsement content on Search ads.” Google did not provide details on eligibility, sourcing, advertiser controls, or how endorsements are selected. What we don’t know yet. It’s unclear whether advertisers can opt into the feature, request specific endorsements, or influence which third-party sources appear. Google also hasn’t said whether the test is tied to existing review extensions, publisher partnerships, or broader trust and safety initiatives. What to watch. If Google expands the experiment, third-party credibility could become a more visible factor in ad performance — shifting emphasis from advertiser claims to external validation at the point of search. For now, the test appears limited, but it offers a glimpse at how Google may continue blending ads, trust signals, and editorial-style context in search results. Dig Deeper. Screenshot shared on Mastadon. View the full article

Google's Eleanor Stribling reveals GA4's roadmap: full-funnel measurement platform within a year, then evolving into an AI-powered business decision platform. The post Google Analytics To Become A Growth Engine For Business appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

The reverse mortgage companies squeezed thousands of dollars out of aging homeowners through various illegal fees, according to a new class action suit. View the full article

The judge said Nexa CEO Mike Kortas' testimony lacked credibility, ruling that $350,000 transferred to Platinum One was an investment, not loan. View the full article

We analyzed nearly two million LLM sessions across nine industries from January through December 2025. We started with a simple assumption: ChatGPT dominates, usage patterns are uniform, and the volume is small and inconsequential. The data proved us wrong. ChatGPT commands 84.1% of trackable AI discovery traffic, but it functions primarily as the default tool for broad-market discovery. That reality changes the strategy. Brands can no longer rely on a single, discovery-first approach. You need a multi-platform strategy that aligns with how users expect to be productive at different moments. Success now depends on knowing which platforms actively enable user productivity and which simply support early discovery. Different LLMs are winning in different industries, often by wide margins. The takeaway for 2026 is more nuanced than “focus on ChatGPT.” Here’s what the data reveals. The growth rate divergence: ChatGPT vs. everyone else From January to December 2025, the major LLM platforms grew at very different rates: ChatGPT: 3x growth Copilot: 25x growth Claude: 13x growth Perplexity: 1x growth Gemini: 1x growth ChatGPT grew, but Copilot and Claude grew eight to 10 times faster. Perplexity and Gemini effectively flatlined, or, more accurately, reinforced usage within tightly defined knowledge workflows. These aggregate numbers reflect deeper strategic priorities. Satya Nadella publicly highlighted Copilot reaching 100 million monthly users. Dario Amodei announced that Anthropic’s revenue grew from $100 million to $8–10 billion in under two years. Aravind Srinivas posted that he’s “really encouraged by the interest in Perplexity Finance,” even positioning it as an alternative to Bloomberg Terminal. These CEOs are focused on growth because growth signals real user value: Copilot wins by serving Microsoft ecosystem users. Claude wins with developers. Perplexity wins with finance professionals. Different LLMs are winning different industries at dramatically different rates. Pattern 1: Copilot dominates where work happens Copilot’s 25x aggregate growth is striking, but the industry breakdown makes the pattern obvious. Copilot wins in B2B verticals where work already happens inside the Microsoft ecosystem. SaaS ChatGPT: 2x growth Copilot: 21x growth Copilot adoption mirrors how modern SaaS teams operate. Companies embed LLMs directly into workflows to extract insights from proprietary and third-party data, driving efficiency, personalization, and product innovation inside Microsoft tools. Education ChatGPT: 6x growth Copilot: 27x growth Copilot benefits from a culture of knowledge sharing and research synthesis. Institutions and publishers cite, expand, and contextualize existing material, making LLM-assisted discovery a natural extension of how educational content is created and consumed. Finance ChatGPT: 4.2x growth Copilot: 23x growth Finance aligns strongly with Copilot because many tasks are automated and context-dependent. Analysts need models that can source, reconcile, and reason across authoritative reports, filings, and datasets inside trusted environments. The key insight isn’t just Copilot’s growth. It’s where that growth occurs. Copilot accelerates fastest in industries where professionals already depend on Microsoft tools to analyze data, synthesize knowledge, and complete tasks. A finance analyst doesn’t leave Excel to “search.” They ask Copilot to interpret, compare, and contextualize data in place. A content or product strategist doesn’t open a new tab to research competitors. They prompt Copilot inside their working environment. What it means If your audience lives within enterprise workflows — SaaS teams, financial professionals, educators, and B2B decision-makers — AI discovery is moving into LLMs as work happens. Visibility is no longer won during early research. It’s won during execution, when intent is highest and decisions are already forming. Pattern 2: Perplexity only survives in finance Perplexity’s overall growth sits at 1.15x, effectively flat. But when you isolate finance, a different picture emerges. In finance, Perplexity holds a 24% market share. This is the only industry where Perplexity maintains meaningful, sustained traffic. Everywhere else, its share has collapsed: SaaS: down from 14.9% to 7.3% E-commerce: down from 13.9% to 3.4% Education: down from 28.5% to 5.2% Publishers: down from 41.5% to 3.6% Finance behaves differently because financial decisions demand verification. When users compare investment platforms, evaluate loan terms, or research compliance requirements, a single synthesized answer isn’t enough. They need citations they can trace directly back to source documents. Perplexity is built for this use case. Through partnerships with Benzinga, FactSet, Morningstar, and Quartr, it provides direct access to earnings transcripts, SEC filings, analyst ratings, and real-time market data. Its Enterprise Finance product adds scheduled market updates, custom answer engines, and live data visualizations. These features serve professionals who require auditable, institutional-grade information, not just fast answers. Every answer includes visible sources that users can click to verify each claim. In most categories, convenience wins. In finance, trust and verifiability are non-negotiable. What it means Success in AI discovery means choosing the right platform for your users and being present in the sources and citations the models themselves trust. Financial responses rely on networks of licensed data, institutional partners, and authoritative third-party references. If your brand isn’t visible, cited, and validated inside those ecosystems, you won’t surface, no matter how strong your content is. Optimization now means earning relevance across the full web of sources each model draws from, not just ranking in a single interface. Pattern 3: Claude dominates standalone analysis Claude represents just 0.6% of total AI discovery traffic, which makes it easy to dismiss. But where that 0.6% concentrates is revealing. Claude wins with professionals who research, write, and analyze, not consumers who shop. Publishers: 49x growth Education: 25x growth Finance: 38x growth SaaS: 10.3x growth Why does Claude win in these verticals when Copilot already dominates knowledge work? The difference is the type of work. Copilot lives inside operational tools like Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, helping professionals execute tasks within existing workflows. Claude is where professionals go for standalone strategic thinking. A publisher uploads an 80,000-word manuscript and asks, “Is this argument coherent across chapters three through seven?” A finance analyst uploads three years of earnings transcripts and asks, “How has management’s language around capital allocation changed?” A developer pastes an entire legacy codebase and asks, “Map the data flow and identify architectural bottlenecks.” Claude’s 200,000-token context window enables this. The value isn’t efficiency inside a workflow. It’s having a reasoning partner for work that requires synthesis, critique, and strategic judgment. What it means If you target technical audiences or strategic decision-makers, Claude optimization demands analysis-grade content. Publish deep case studies with clear methodology and detailed implementation paths, not 500-word summaries. Structure content for reasoning. Use explicit frameworks and comparative analysis. The audience is smaller, but the influence is higher. A developer who uses Claude to deeply analyze your API documentation becomes an internal champion. Pattern 4: The Gemini measurement crisis Gemini’s tracked traffic tells a confusing story: Education: −67% tracked traffic SaaS: +1.4x growth Finance: +1.3x growth E-commerce: +2.7x growth This likely isn’t a user decline. It’s an attribution collapse. Over the past 13 months, Gemini has increasingly kept users inside its interface. It delivers AI-generated answers without prominent, clickable source links. Users research, absorb the answer, and either convert directly or search brand names later. That journey never shows up as AI discovery. Google still controls the largest search distribution network in the world, and Gemini is deeply embedded in it. It’s unlikely Gemini users are abandoning AI discovery while ChatGPT grows 3x and Copilot grows 25x. What’s more plausible is that Gemini-driven discovery still exists, but it’s becoming invisible. Unlike Perplexity, which surfaces sources, or Copilot, which operates inside traceable workflows, Gemini synthesizes answers and retains users in Google’s ecosystem. A user asks Gemini about project management software, gets a complete answer, then searches “[your brand]” days later. Analytics record branded search, not AI influence. This creates a real strategic risk. The commonly cited “0.13% AI penetration” metric is almost certainly understated. If even 30% to 40% of Gemini-assisted discovery goes untracked, true AI-driven research volume could be two to three times higher than what we can measure. What it means Monitor branded search lift alongside AI optimization efforts. Build measurement models that account for multi-session, cross-platform journeys. Invest in brand strength and recall, not just clicks. Track time-lagged conversions as research and conversion drift further apart. Last-click attribution is breaking. AI-assisted conversions — where users research in one system, synthesize in another, and convert through branded or direct search — are becoming the default. Flat or declining Gemini traffic likely signals measurement failure, not user absence. How to choose your LLM strategy based on your audience AI discovery isn’t consolidating around a single platform. It’s fragmenting by industry, use case, and user intent. If your audience works in enterprise environments: Copilot is where discovery happens. SaaS buyers, financial analysts, educators, and B2B decision-makers research inside Microsoft tools like Excel, Outlook, and Teams. Discovery occurs at the moment decisions form, not during separate “research” sessions. If your audience makes high-stakes decisions: Perplexity matters. Finance is the only industry where a secondary platform holds a 24% share alongside ChatGPT. These users need citations, not synthesis. Optimization means earning visibility inside institutional data networks such as FactSet, Morningstar, and financial news, not just ranking in the interface. If your audience includes technical evaluators: Claude’s 0.6% share understates its influence. Developers, strategists, and researchers use it for deep analysis by uploading full documents and datasets. They are fewer, but they shape buying committees. Content must go deep: detailed case studies, clear methodology, and analysis-grade research. If you’re in an emerging category: Legal, events, and insurance show 15x to 90x growth because AI discovery just arrived. Start with ChatGPT’s broad reach, then watch for platform migration as your audience matures. If measurement is breaking: Gemini’s declining tracked traffic likely reflects attribution collapse, not user loss. Monitor branded search lift. Track time-lagged conversions. Build models that account for multi-session, cross-platform journeys. Across all categories: Expect attribution gaps. Traditional last-click attribution is breaking as AI-assisted conversions become the norm. The future of AI discovery isn’t about ranking on ChatGPT alone. It’s about understanding where your audience discovers and which platforms actually serve their needs. The full study. 2025 State of AI Discovery Report: What 1.96 Million LLM Sessions Tell Us About the Future of Search View the full article

Melania The President is capping her first year back as first lady with the global release of a documentary she produced about the 20 days leading up to husband Donald The President’s return to the White House. A private person, Melania The President remains a bit of a mystery to the public in her husband’s second term. “Melania” premiered Thursday at the Kennedy Center before it is released on Friday in more than 1,500 theaters in the U.S. and around the world. “I want to show the audience my life, what it takes to be a first lady again and (the) transition from private citizen back to the White House,” Melania The President told reporters as she and the president moved along a charcoal-colored walkway at the event attended by Cabinet members, members of Congress and conservative commentators. She said viewers will see how she conducts her businesses and philanthropy, cares for her family and builds her White House team. “It’s beautiful, it’s emotional, it’s fashionable, it’s cinematic and I’m very proud of it,” she said. The documentary was produced by AmazonMGM Studios and is said to have cost $40 million. It will stream exclusively on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service after its theatrical run. Director Brett Ratner said his measure of success would not be box-office performance. “It’s a documentary and documentaries historically have not been huge box office smashes,” he told reporters on his way into the premiere. “You can’t expect a documentary to play in theaters.” The Republican president saw the nearly two-hour film for the first time at a private White House screening over the weekend. He said Thursday that he thought it was “really great.” “It really brings back a glamour that you just don’t see anymore,” The President said. “Our country can use a little bit of that, right?” ‘Melania’ more than a year in the making It was unclear how much money Melania The President stands to earn or what her plans are for any film proceeds. Experts said it was unusual for a first lady to pursue a project of this kind from the White House — but not unusual for the The Presidents. “As far as I know, she’s the first first lady to be paid a lot of money to have a documentary made about her and it is unprecedented in terms of the The Presidents because they are always breaking precedent,” said Katherine Jellison, professor emerita of history at Ohio University. Asked about the sum, The President mentioned the book deal for Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, that the publisher announced in 2017, shortly after he left office. Presidents and first ladies generally refrain from pursuing outside business ventures while in office to avoid potential conflicts of interest or raising ethical concerns. Both The Presidents participate in numerous business ventures, selling everything from watches, fragrances and Bibles for him to jewelry, Christmas ornaments and digital collectibles for her. Marc Beckman, the first lady’s longtime senior adviser, defended the financial arrangement, which Amazon has declined to comment on. He noted that she was a private citizen when Amazon announced the film in January 2025 and that she is unelected and receives no salary as first lady. “So why should we limit her?” he said Thursday. The movie also marks another link between the The Presidents and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who has worked to improve a once-tense relationship with the president. Melania The President said Thursday that a bidding process was conducted and that Amazon “was the best because they agreed to do theatrical releases.” The movie is the first project by Ratner since he was accused of sexual misconduct in the early days of the #MeToo reckoning. Ratner’s lawyer has denied the allegations. ‘Here we go again’ In a scene from a teaser for the movie, it is Inauguration Day and Melania The President is inside the Capitol, waiting to be escorted into the Rotunda for the ceremony. She turns her head, looks directly into the camera and says, “Here we go again.” She wrote in her self-titled memoir published in 2024 about how much she values her privacy. She is not seen or heard from as often as some of her recent predecessors, which may be influencing the public’s perceptions of her. But she also likes to do things her way. She said she did the film to show people what goes into becoming first lady. The U.S. public is divided on their views of her, but a significant number — about 4 in 10 adults — had no opinion or had not heard of her, according to a CNN poll from January 2025. About 3 in 10 adults saw her favorably while roughly the same share had an unfavorable opinion. Her standing among Republicans was higher, with about 7 in 10 saying in the poll that they viewed her favorably, but around one-quarter had no opinion. “I think it’s an attempt, in a way, to really augment or tailor or really refine her image for the American public,” said Katherine Sibley, who teaches history at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. “She’s a mystery to the American people.” First lady cites impactful first year of second The President term Melania The President, 55, said she’s honored to execute the traditional duties of first lady, such as planning state dinners, hosting the annual Easter Egg Roll and decorating for Christmas. But she also has said she wants to leave her mark in other ways, too. She spent chunks of time away from Washington last year working on the documentary and was deeply involved in every aspect of its development, according to Beckman. Her first-year record centers on the well-being and safety of children. She used her influence to lobby Congress to pass the “Take It Down Act,” making it a federal crime to publish intimate images online without consent. The president signed the bill into law and had her sign it, too. Her advocacy for foster children was enshrined in an executive order creating a “Fostering the Future” program. It’s part of the “Be Best” child-focused initiative she launched in the first term. She wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin for help reuniting children who had been separated from their families because of his war against Ukraine. She had her husband hand-deliver the letter when the leaders met in Alaska, and she later announced that eight children had been reunited with their families. The first lady has a prominent role in the administration’s efforts on artificial intelligence and education and recently launched a global version of the foster child program. She told guests at a White House Christmas reception that she is working on a new legislative effort for 2026, but has not yet shared details. Associated Press writer Linley Sanders contributed to this report. —Darlene Superville, Associated Press View the full article

To improve your closing rates, it’s crucial to adopt proven techniques that can elevate your sales strategy. Start by comprehending your customer’s needs through effective questioning and active listening. Building rapport is equally important, as trust can greatly influence buying decisions. Furthermore, communicating the value of your products, managing objections, and personalizing your sales approach are key components. By leveraging technology for efficiency, you can streamline your efforts. Want to learn how to implement these strategies effectively? Key Takeaways Utilize open-ended questions to uncover customer pain points and tailor solutions that resonate with their needs for higher conversion rates. Build rapport through active listening and personalized interactions, fostering trust and loyalty that encourages repeat business. Shift focus from product features to the unique value your offerings provide, emphasizing benefits that solve customer challenges. Anticipate and address common objections with empathy, ensuring customers feel heard and understood throughout the sales process. Leverage technology like CRM systems and automation tools to streamline follow-ups, personalize communications, and enhance overall sales efficiency. Understand Your Customer’s Needs Grasping your customer’s needs is essential for boosting your closing rates. To achieve this, consider utilizing open-ended questions during your sales conversations. This approach helps you gather valuable insights about their specific requirements and pain points. Instead of merely pushing products, focus on problem-solving, which allows customers to see the value in your offerings. Active listening plays a significant role; by fully engaging and accurately interpreting their feedback, you can effectively address concerns and tailor your approach. Research shows that businesses prioritizing customer needs are 60% more likely to achieve higher conversion rates. For further development of these skills, explore various sales techniques books to improve your comprehension of effective salesperson techniques. Build Rapport and Trust To build rapport and trust with your customers, focus on establishing genuine connections through meaningful conversations. Practice active listening to understand their needs and remember personal details that will improve your interactions. Showing empathy consistently can greatly strengthen these relationships, leading to increased customer loyalty and a higher chance of closing deals. Establish Genuine Connections Building genuine connections with potential customers is crucial for successful sales. Research shows that 70% of consumers value relationships with salespeople when making purchasing decisions. By engaging in meaningful conversations and showing genuine interest in their needs, you can cultivate connections that lead to a 20-30% increase in closing rates. Remembering personal details about clients and following up on previous interactions can strengthen these relationships, making 60% of customers more likely to return after a positive experience. Establishing trust early encourages open communication, which helps you better understand objections and needs, greatly increasing your chances of closing deals by up to 50%. Personalized messaging customized to individual preferences also improves the customer experience, driving satisfaction and repeat business. Practice Active Listening Active listening is a crucial skill for any salesperson looking to improve rapport and trust with their clients. It involves fully concentrating on what the customer is saying, which helps you understand their needs and pain points better. By engaging in active listening, you can tailor your responses to fit the customer’s specific requirements, making them feel valued and understood. Remember, about 70% of communication is non-verbal, so pay close attention to body language and tone. Summarizing and reflecting back what customers share shows that you validate their concerns, nurturing a deeper connection. Consistent practice of active listening can lead to higher customer satisfaction rates, as 58% of consumers appreciate personalized engagement and communication. Show Empathy Consistently Empathy plays a crucial role in sales, as it allows you to connect with your customers on a deeper level. By consistently showing empathy, you can cultivate stronger relationships, ultimately leading to higher closing rates. Here are some effective ways to demonstrate empathy: Actively listen to your customers’ concerns and needs. Share relatable experiences to establish common ground. Validate their emotions by acknowledging their pain points. Respond thoughtfully to demonstrate comprehension and care. Personalize your approach based on their unique situations. Communicate Value, Not Just Features When you focus on communicating value instead of just listing features, you create a more compelling narrative that resonates with your customers’ needs. Emphasizing how your product or service saves time, improves efficiency, or provides a competitive edge shifts the conversation from price to value. This approach not only engages customers but also addresses their specific pain points, building trust and reinforcing your offering’s worth. Research shows that 58% of B2B marketers find value-driven content greatly boosts sales, highlighting its effectiveness. By nurturing emotional connections, you encourage prospects to envision the benefits in their daily lives, eventually leading to higher conversion rates. Tailoring your value proposition increases the likelihood of closing deals and meeting customer expectations. Manage Objections Effectively Managing objections effectively is essential for closing sales, and it starts with anticipating common concerns your prospects may have. By actively listening and empathizing with their objections, you can better understand their needs and provide customized solutions that address their specific issues. This proactive approach not just reduces the chances of objections arising but likewise cultivates a collaborative environment that can lead to a successful sale. Anticipate Common Objections Anticipating common objections is fundamental for sales success, as it allows you to address potential concerns before they arise. By comprehending typical hesitations, you can prepare effective responses that build trust and improve your closing rates. Here are key objections to anticipate: Price concerns: Be ready to justify your pricing with value. Timing issues: Discuss flexibility in your offerings. Competitor comparisons: Highlight your unique selling points. Product fit: Offer customized solutions that match their needs. Trust in your company: Share testimonials and success stories. Listen and Empathize Effective listening and empathy are fundamental skills for salespeople aiming to manage objections successfully. By actively listening to customer objections, you can uncover underlying concerns, which nurtures trust and improves your closing rates. A study shows that 70% of customers value when salespeople genuinely listen to their needs. Acknowledging a customer’s feelings and validating their concerns is critical; this approach makes them feel understood. Sales professionals who practice empathy during objection handling are 60% more likely to convert leads into sales. Engaging in a collaborative dialogue not only boosts your credibility but also increases the likelihood of a positive outcome. In fact, 75% of customers prefer working with empathetic sales representatives, making this technique fundamental for effective sales strategies. Provide Tailored Solutions Once you’ve established rapport through listening and empathy, the next step involves providing customized solutions that effectively manage objections. Addressing concerns directly not just builds trust but furthermore improves your chances of closing the deal. Here are some techniques to reflect on: Actively listen to customer concerns for better comprehension. Preemptively address common objections during your pitch. Approach objections as opportunities for discussion. Use the “Feel-Felt-Found” technique to relate to customer feelings. Continuously seek feedback and training on objection handling. Conduct Thorough Follow-Ups Even though many salespeople abandon their efforts after a single follow-up, research indicates that most prospects actually need at least six touchpoints before making a purchase decision. It’s essential to conduct timely follow-ups, as consistent communication keeps your offerings fresh in prospects’ minds. A mix of methods can improve your approach, ensuring varied engagement strategies. Follow-Up Method Purpose Thank-You Emails Show appreciation and maintain rapport Informative Summaries Reinforce product benefits and value Direct Phone Calls Personalize interaction and address concerns Personalize Your Sales Approach Personalizing your sales approach is essential, as it allows you to connect with prospects on a deeper level and address their specific needs. Nearly 60% of consumers appreciate personalized engagement, making it important to tailor your outreach. Here are some effective strategies: Use customer data to craft relevant messages addressing specific pain points. Engage through social media, email, and phone calls for a unique experience. Practice active listening to identify and respond to objections and concerns. Reference past conversations in your follow-ups to improve connections. Cultivate stronger relationships by aligning your pitch with individual preferences. Leverage Technology for Efficiency In today’s fast-paced sales environment, leveraging technology can greatly improve your efficiency and effectiveness. Utilizing CRM systems can boost your sales productivity by 29%, centralizing customer data and tracking interactions seamlessly. By using automation tools for follow-ups, you can achieve a 10% improvement in closing rates, engaging prospects at ideal times without manual effort. AI-powered analytics offer insights into customer behaviors, enhancing personalization and increasing conversions by up to 20%. Moreover, contact management software allows for immediate access to customer information, improving engagement rates by 15%. Integrating these technologies can streamline your workflows and reduce administrative tasks, leading to a 20% increase in overall sales efficiency. Embrace these tools to maximize your sales potential. Frequently Asked Questions What Is One Technique a Salesperson Can Use to Close a Sale? One effective technique you can use to close a sale is the Assumptive Close. This method involves confidently assuming your prospect is ready to buy by asking questions like, “How many would you like to order?” This approach facilitates a smoother shift to the sale, encouraging your prospect to visualize ownership and making it easier for them to commit. How to Increase Close Rate? To increase your close rate, focus on nurturing high-quality leads, as they’re more likely to convert. Don’t hesitate to follow up multiple times—most prospects need at least six interactions before deciding. Personalize your messaging to resonate with potential customers, as customized engagement can greatly improve connection. Furthermore, practice active listening to understand their needs fully. Finally, invest in continuous learning to refine your sales techniques and adapt to market changes effectively. What Is the 1 10 Closing Technique? The 1 10 Closing Technique involves presenting one main benefit of your product or service, followed by ten supporting reasons or features. This approach simplifies the decision-making process for your prospects by highlighting the primary advantage as well as addressing potential objections with relevant details. What Is the Most Effective Sales Technique? The most effective sales technique often depends on your audience and product. Nonetheless, techniques like the Assumptive Close can work well by confidently suggesting the next step after presenting benefits. Creating urgency with limited-time offers likewise motivates quick decisions. Furthermore, addressing objections through the Feel-Felt-Found method helps prospects relate and understand. Regularly tracking your sales metrics allows you to refine your approach based on what yields the best results. Conclusion Incorporating these seven proven techniques can greatly improve your closing rates. By comprehending your customer’s needs, building rapport, and effectively communicating value, you create a strong foundation for successful sales interactions. Managing objections, conducting thorough follow-ups, personalizing your approach, and leveraging technology further streamline your processes. Implementing these strategies not just enhances engagement but additionally cultivates lasting customer relationships. As you refine these skills, you’ll likely see increased conversions and a more effective sales approach. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "7 Proven Salesperson Techniques to Boost Closing Rates" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

To improve your closing rates, it’s crucial to adopt proven techniques that can elevate your sales strategy. Start by comprehending your customer’s needs through effective questioning and active listening. Building rapport is equally important, as trust can greatly influence buying decisions. Furthermore, communicating the value of your products, managing objections, and personalizing your sales approach are key components. By leveraging technology for efficiency, you can streamline your efforts. Want to learn how to implement these strategies effectively? Key Takeaways Utilize open-ended questions to uncover customer pain points and tailor solutions that resonate with their needs for higher conversion rates. Build rapport through active listening and personalized interactions, fostering trust and loyalty that encourages repeat business. Shift focus from product features to the unique value your offerings provide, emphasizing benefits that solve customer challenges. Anticipate and address common objections with empathy, ensuring customers feel heard and understood throughout the sales process. Leverage technology like CRM systems and automation tools to streamline follow-ups, personalize communications, and enhance overall sales efficiency. Understand Your Customer’s Needs Grasping your customer’s needs is essential for boosting your closing rates. To achieve this, consider utilizing open-ended questions during your sales conversations. This approach helps you gather valuable insights about their specific requirements and pain points. Instead of merely pushing products, focus on problem-solving, which allows customers to see the value in your offerings. Active listening plays a significant role; by fully engaging and accurately interpreting their feedback, you can effectively address concerns and tailor your approach. Research shows that businesses prioritizing customer needs are 60% more likely to achieve higher conversion rates. For further development of these skills, explore various sales techniques books to improve your comprehension of effective salesperson techniques. Build Rapport and Trust To build rapport and trust with your customers, focus on establishing genuine connections through meaningful conversations. Practice active listening to understand their needs and remember personal details that will improve your interactions. Showing empathy consistently can greatly strengthen these relationships, leading to increased customer loyalty and a higher chance of closing deals. Establish Genuine Connections Building genuine connections with potential customers is crucial for successful sales. Research shows that 70% of consumers value relationships with salespeople when making purchasing decisions. By engaging in meaningful conversations and showing genuine interest in their needs, you can cultivate connections that lead to a 20-30% increase in closing rates. Remembering personal details about clients and following up on previous interactions can strengthen these relationships, making 60% of customers more likely to return after a positive experience. Establishing trust early encourages open communication, which helps you better understand objections and needs, greatly increasing your chances of closing deals by up to 50%. Personalized messaging customized to individual preferences also improves the customer experience, driving satisfaction and repeat business. Practice Active Listening Active listening is a crucial skill for any salesperson looking to improve rapport and trust with their clients. It involves fully concentrating on what the customer is saying, which helps you understand their needs and pain points better. By engaging in active listening, you can tailor your responses to fit the customer’s specific requirements, making them feel valued and understood. Remember, about 70% of communication is non-verbal, so pay close attention to body language and tone. Summarizing and reflecting back what customers share shows that you validate their concerns, nurturing a deeper connection. Consistent practice of active listening can lead to higher customer satisfaction rates, as 58% of consumers appreciate personalized engagement and communication. Show Empathy Consistently Empathy plays a crucial role in sales, as it allows you to connect with your customers on a deeper level. By consistently showing empathy, you can cultivate stronger relationships, ultimately leading to higher closing rates. Here are some effective ways to demonstrate empathy: Actively listen to your customers’ concerns and needs. Share relatable experiences to establish common ground. Validate their emotions by acknowledging their pain points. Respond thoughtfully to demonstrate comprehension and care. Personalize your approach based on their unique situations. Communicate Value, Not Just Features When you focus on communicating value instead of just listing features, you create a more compelling narrative that resonates with your customers’ needs. Emphasizing how your product or service saves time, improves efficiency, or provides a competitive edge shifts the conversation from price to value. This approach not only engages customers but also addresses their specific pain points, building trust and reinforcing your offering’s worth. Research shows that 58% of B2B marketers find value-driven content greatly boosts sales, highlighting its effectiveness. By nurturing emotional connections, you encourage prospects to envision the benefits in their daily lives, eventually leading to higher conversion rates. Tailoring your value proposition increases the likelihood of closing deals and meeting customer expectations. Manage Objections Effectively Managing objections effectively is essential for closing sales, and it starts with anticipating common concerns your prospects may have. By actively listening and empathizing with their objections, you can better understand their needs and provide customized solutions that address their specific issues. This proactive approach not just reduces the chances of objections arising but likewise cultivates a collaborative environment that can lead to a successful sale. Anticipate Common Objections Anticipating common objections is fundamental for sales success, as it allows you to address potential concerns before they arise. By comprehending typical hesitations, you can prepare effective responses that build trust and improve your closing rates. Here are key objections to anticipate: Price concerns: Be ready to justify your pricing with value. Timing issues: Discuss flexibility in your offerings. Competitor comparisons: Highlight your unique selling points. Product fit: Offer customized solutions that match their needs. Trust in your company: Share testimonials and success stories. Listen and Empathize Effective listening and empathy are fundamental skills for salespeople aiming to manage objections successfully. By actively listening to customer objections, you can uncover underlying concerns, which nurtures trust and improves your closing rates. A study shows that 70% of customers value when salespeople genuinely listen to their needs. Acknowledging a customer’s feelings and validating their concerns is critical; this approach makes them feel understood. Sales professionals who practice empathy during objection handling are 60% more likely to convert leads into sales. Engaging in a collaborative dialogue not only boosts your credibility but also increases the likelihood of a positive outcome. In fact, 75% of customers prefer working with empathetic sales representatives, making this technique fundamental for effective sales strategies. Provide Tailored Solutions Once you’ve established rapport through listening and empathy, the next step involves providing customized solutions that effectively manage objections. Addressing concerns directly not just builds trust but furthermore improves your chances of closing the deal. Here are some techniques to reflect on: Actively listen to customer concerns for better comprehension. Preemptively address common objections during your pitch. Approach objections as opportunities for discussion. Use the “Feel-Felt-Found” technique to relate to customer feelings. Continuously seek feedback and training on objection handling. Conduct Thorough Follow-Ups Even though many salespeople abandon their efforts after a single follow-up, research indicates that most prospects actually need at least six touchpoints before making a purchase decision. It’s essential to conduct timely follow-ups, as consistent communication keeps your offerings fresh in prospects’ minds. A mix of methods can improve your approach, ensuring varied engagement strategies. Follow-Up Method Purpose Thank-You Emails Show appreciation and maintain rapport Informative Summaries Reinforce product benefits and value Direct Phone Calls Personalize interaction and address concerns Personalize Your Sales Approach Personalizing your sales approach is essential, as it allows you to connect with prospects on a deeper level and address their specific needs. Nearly 60% of consumers appreciate personalized engagement, making it important to tailor your outreach. Here are some effective strategies: Use customer data to craft relevant messages addressing specific pain points. Engage through social media, email, and phone calls for a unique experience. Practice active listening to identify and respond to objections and concerns. Reference past conversations in your follow-ups to improve connections. Cultivate stronger relationships by aligning your pitch with individual preferences. Leverage Technology for Efficiency In today’s fast-paced sales environment, leveraging technology can greatly improve your efficiency and effectiveness. Utilizing CRM systems can boost your sales productivity by 29%, centralizing customer data and tracking interactions seamlessly. By using automation tools for follow-ups, you can achieve a 10% improvement in closing rates, engaging prospects at ideal times without manual effort. AI-powered analytics offer insights into customer behaviors, enhancing personalization and increasing conversions by up to 20%. Moreover, contact management software allows for immediate access to customer information, improving engagement rates by 15%. Integrating these technologies can streamline your workflows and reduce administrative tasks, leading to a 20% increase in overall sales efficiency. Embrace these tools to maximize your sales potential. Frequently Asked Questions What Is One Technique a Salesperson Can Use to Close a Sale? One effective technique you can use to close a sale is the Assumptive Close. This method involves confidently assuming your prospect is ready to buy by asking questions like, “How many would you like to order?” This approach facilitates a smoother shift to the sale, encouraging your prospect to visualize ownership and making it easier for them to commit. How to Increase Close Rate? To increase your close rate, focus on nurturing high-quality leads, as they’re more likely to convert. Don’t hesitate to follow up multiple times—most prospects need at least six interactions before deciding. Personalize your messaging to resonate with potential customers, as customized engagement can greatly improve connection. Furthermore, practice active listening to understand their needs fully. Finally, invest in continuous learning to refine your sales techniques and adapt to market changes effectively. What Is the 1 10 Closing Technique? The 1 10 Closing Technique involves presenting one main benefit of your product or service, followed by ten supporting reasons or features. This approach simplifies the decision-making process for your prospects by highlighting the primary advantage as well as addressing potential objections with relevant details. What Is the Most Effective Sales Technique? The most effective sales technique often depends on your audience and product. Nonetheless, techniques like the Assumptive Close can work well by confidently suggesting the next step after presenting benefits. Creating urgency with limited-time offers likewise motivates quick decisions. Furthermore, addressing objections through the Feel-Felt-Found method helps prospects relate and understand. Regularly tracking your sales metrics allows you to refine your approach based on what yields the best results. Conclusion Incorporating these seven proven techniques can greatly improve your closing rates. By comprehending your customer’s needs, building rapport, and effectively communicating value, you create a strong foundation for successful sales interactions. Managing objections, conducting thorough follow-ups, personalizing your approach, and leveraging technology further streamline your processes. Implementing these strategies not just enhances engagement but additionally cultivates lasting customer relationships. As you refine these skills, you’ll likely see increased conversions and a more effective sales approach. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "7 Proven Salesperson Techniques to Boost Closing Rates" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Fed chair nominee ‘believes you can have growth without inflation’, according to his longtime mentorView the full article

This week’s SEO Pulse covers potential opt-outs from AI search, deeper AI Overviews integration, and what model tradeoffs mean for content workflows. The post SEO Pulse: Google Explores AI Opt-Outs, Gemini 3 Powers AIOs appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. There’s no shortage of outdoor security cameras, but finding one that balances video quality, battery life, and ease of use without pushing past $100 is rare. Right now, the Tapo MagCam 2K+ is on sale for $64.98 on Amazon, down from $89.99, which is its lowest price to date, according to price trackers. TP-Link Tapo C425 2K Wire-Free MagCam Security Camera $64.98 at Amazon $89.99 Save $25.01 Get Deal Get Deal $64.98 at Amazon $89.99 Save $25.01 PCMag named it the best security camera of 2024, pointing out that while battery-powered cameras often trade convenience for frequent recharging, the MagCam 2K+ avoids that issue with a 10,000mAh battery rated to last up to 300 days per charge, depending on how often it records. Charging happens over micro-USB, though there’s an optional Tapo A200 solar panel ($35.99) if you want to avoid manual recharging altogether. Video tops out at 2K resolution, with a wide 150-degree field of view that works well for driveways or side yards. During the day, footage looks sharp and detailed. At night, the camera can switch between infrared black-and-white or color video using its built-in spotlights and starlight sensor. Storage is flexible. You can record locally to a microSD card, up to 512GB (card not included), or you can go with cloud storage through a Tapo Care plan starting at $3.49/month. Alerts can distinguish between people, pets, and vehicles, and those intelligent notifications are free, as highlighted by PCMag in its “outstanding” review of the MagCam 2K+. It also integrates smoothly with Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT, though it doesn’t support Apple’s HomeKit. You also won’t find mechanical pan or tilt, but the fixed lens covers enough ground for most yards or porches. As for managing the camera, its companion app is intuitive, offering settings for motion sensitivity, siren activation, spotlight brightness, firmware updates, and more. Overall, the MagCam 2K+ handles the basics well and throws in a few smart features usually reserved for pricier models. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $199.00 (List Price $249.00) Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 46mm] Smartwatch with Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band - M/L. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant — $399.00 (List Price $429.00) Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Plus — (List Price $24.99 With Code "FTV4K25") Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ 64GB Wi-Fi 11" Tablet (Silver) — $159.99 (List Price $219.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

Custom GPTs can help SEO teams move faster by turning repeatable tasks into structured workflows. If you don’t have access to paid ChatGPT, you can still use these prompts as standalone references by copying them into your notes for future reuse. You will need to tweak them for your team’s specific use cases, because they are intended as a starting point. Working with AI is largely trial and error. To get better at writing prompts, practice with small tasks first, iterate on prompts, and take notes on what gets you good outputs. AI also tends to ramble, so it helps to give strict guidelines for formatting and to specify what not to do. You can upload resources and articles to follow and provide clear context, such as defining the role and audience upfront. The seven prompts below are designed to help you start building custom GPTs for planning, analysis, and ongoing SEO work. 1. Project plan GPT Using past examples of project plans, create a GPT that will help you make a draft for this year’s focus areas. How to set it up Input project plans from previous years. Give it a specific format to follow. Consider how many items or sections to include. Add specific details based on you or your team. (Optional) Copy notes and feedback from your team or retrospective. Example prompt Based on last year’s project plan, make my project plan for this year. Here are the focus areas and problem areas to include. Give me a bulleted list with the three most important items for me (or my team) to focus on for each quarter of this year. At least one item should cover link building. Include a one-sentence summary of why you recommend each item and at least two KPIs to measure success. [Insert last year’s plan.] Now poke holes in your plan. Give me three reasons I should not focus on these items based on the risks. Include sources for your notes. Dig deeper: How to use ChatGPT Tasks for SEO 2. Site performance GPT Hook up your performance dashboards or custom GA reports to ChatGPT and let it do the initial legwork in identifying issues. Then make a list of items to investigate yourself. How to set it up Connect your reporting tools or upload reports directly. Give specific direction for what to look for. Include the cadence you want to look at, like a daily or weekly report. Give examples of types of pages or categories to compare. Example prompt Here is the weekly site report. Give me your analysis of how the site performed compared to last week. Include a three-sentence summary of the sessions, conversions, and engagement. List three wins and three misses in bullet format. Color-code each item based on how good or bad each item is. [Insert report doc.] 3. Competitor analysis GPT Check out what’s working and what’s not on competitor sites and get insights for yours. It’s most helpful to connect to a tool like Semrush or Ahrefs. How to set it up Connect tools like Ahrefs or Semrush, or upload a report. Identify competitors to analyze and top pages and folders. List key metrics to compare. Set up unique prompts for page, keyword/topic, folder, and domain-level comparison. (Optional) Create documentation on identifying which metrics to dig deeper. Example prompt You are an SEO analyst performing competitor analysis to identify areas to improve your website. Check out these URLs and compare them. Give me a table with each URL in the rows and these columns: backlinks, average rank, top keyword, sessions, and estimated value. Below that, give a two-sentence summary of who wins in each category and why. Use the criteria in this link to make your judgments, citing sources for each. URL 1: URL 2: URL 3: Article reference: Dig deeper: How to use advanced SEO competitor analysis to accelerate rankings & boost visibility Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. See terms. 4. SERP analyzer GPT AI has gotten much better over the last few months at analyzing images. Plug in SERP screenshots from your own searches and compare it to a web search from the GPT. Build this into a competitive SERP landscape analysis to see things like who appears in both searches vs. only one. How to set it up Identify search results and keywords to compare. Take screenshots in incognito mode for comparison. Example prompt Do a web search for [your keyword here]. Show me what you are seeing in the search results. Compare it with this screenshot and list the differences. Then include a bulleted list of what the results seen most often have in common. Dig deeper: How to build a custom GPT to redefine keyword research 5. UX GPT Turn your design or UX team’s resources into an easy-to-use helper. This is especially helpful for editorial teams that do not want to search through endless documentation for quick advice. How to set it up Upload your team’s documentation or your favorite UX articles. Find pages with poor bounce or engagement stats. Integrate the tool into standard page updates. Example prompt You are an SEO writer working on improving user engagement. Open this page. Check to make sure it follows all of our design rules. List each violation, along with a source, explaining what is wrong and what to do instead. Then check to see whether there are any relevant page template patterns from the brand book that could apply to this type of page. 6. Tech SEO check GPT Set up a daily or weekly tech SEO check to do the bulk of the analysis for you. How to set it up Connect any tools like Google Search Console, or upload reports. List the top metrics to check, like Core Web Vitals, page speed, and console errors. Identify top pages to run a more comprehensive check. Set up reminders to run it daily or weekly, or connect it to Slack to export results directly. Example prompt Based on the latest CWV report, identify problem pages that need a speed improvement audit. Create the list in a table, with the URLs in rows and columns for speed, issues identified, and suggested fixes. Make a separate list of pages that have improved, along with the actual scores. Dig deeper: A technical SEO blueprint for GEO: Optimize for AI-powered search 7. Presentation GPT While ChatGPT cannot directly create slides yet without an add-on or third-party connector, it can create the content for you to paste into your slides. Combine it with your performance, testing, tech SEO, and competitor GPTs for a well-rounded summary of overall site status with relevant context. How to set it up Gather data from your other GPTs. Choose the ones to present. (Optional) Upload past presentations for reference. Example prompt Pretend you are setting up a slide deck. The audience is other members of the SEO team. Format this summary from my Performance GPT into a slide. Give me a header, subheader, and key bullets and takeaways. The tone should be straightforward but professional. Limit bullets to one line. Round all numbers to zero decimals. Suggest three examples of imagery and graphics to use. [Insert summary.] Dig deeper: How to balance speed and credibility in AI-assisted content creation Where custom GPTs fit into day-to-day SEO work Custom GPTs are most useful when they sit alongside the tools and processes SEO teams already use. Rather than replacing dashboards, audits, or documentation, they can handle first passes, surface patterns, and standardize how work gets reviewed before a human steps in. Used this way, the prompts in this article are less about automation for its own sake and more about reducing friction in common SEO tasks, from planning and reporting to SERP analysis and technical checks. View the full article

Gold and silver have had an exceptional year, breaking record high prices on what’s felt like a daily basis. But, as the saying goes, what comes up must come down. On Friday, January 30, gold fell over 6.4%, to $4,962 per ounce in the lead-up to President The President’s announcement that Kevin Warsh is his pick to be the new Federal Reserve chair. Even a week ago, gold reaching over $4,900 would have been a record-breaking feat. The precious metal only topped $5,000 per ounce for the first time this past Monday. But, by Thursday, gold hit more than $5,580 per ounce, meaning it was up 23% for 2026 and more than 80% over the last 12 months. The idea of celebrating gold being worth below $5,000 was already long gone. As of publication, gold was at about $5,132 an ounce, over a 4% one-day drop. Silver, too, took a tumble on Friday. It fell more than 15% to near $95 per ounce after reaching a record high of over $121 per ounce the day before. The latter had meant that silver was up more than 65% this year and over 252% in the last 12 months. At publication, silver was at about $103 an ounce, just over an 11% one-day drop. Once again, this figure would have been remarkable until very recently, with silver reaching over $100 an ounce for the first time last Friday, January 23. Why are gold and silver dropping? The swift increase in gold and silver’s worth has been primarily attributed to their status as safe-haven assets during a time of increasing geopolitical turbulence. Their fall came as The President said on Thursday that he would be announcing his proposed replacement for Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May. The President has continually criticized Powell, particularly for not lowering rates as fast as The President would like. Earlier this week, the Fed voted to maintain interest rates. On Friday morning, The President announced that he had chosen Warsh as Powell’s replacement. Warsh previously served as a Fed governor and has supported lowering interest rates. A stronger dollar is likely another reason for the falling price of gold and silver, as Barron’s points out. As the Financial Times reported, the U.S. dollar strengthened on Friday after The President announced Warsh as his nominee. View the full article

President The President's announcement Friday morning that former investment banker and Fed Governor Kevin Warsh would be his selection as the next chairman of the Fed ends months of speculation and gives the president a key ally at the central bank. View the full article

Apple’s iPhone sales soared to a new quarterly record during the holiday season, despite artificial intelligence blunders that prompted the technology trendsetter to get a helping hand from Google. The October-December results announced Thursday reflect the allegiance of Apple’s fans, who eagerly snapped up the latest iPhone 17 models even though the company still hasn’t delivered on its 2024 promise to smarten up the device’s Siri assistance with AI. Apple tried to offset its AI miscues with a new “liquid glass” design for the iPhone 17 and older models installed by way of a free software upgrade released last September. That formula helped produce iPhone sales of $85.3 billion, a 23% increase from the same time in the previous year. It marked Apple’s highest iPhone sales for a three-month period since the device’s debut in 2007. “The demand for iPhone was simply staggering,” Apple CEO Tim Cook crowed during a conference call with analyst while predicting the device will become a cutting-edge platform for AI. The iPhone’s robust performance propelled Apple to a profit of $42.1 billion, or $2.84 per share for the quarter, a 16% increase from the previous year. Total revenue also rose 16% from the previous year to $143.8 billion. Both the earnings and sales exceeded the analyst projections that steer investors. Apple’s shares rose by about 1% in extended trading after the numbers came out. But the stock price still remains slightly down so far this year, and isn’t that much higher from where it finished at the end of 2024. Zacks Investment Research analyst Ethan Feller said the worries about Apple’s late start in AI appeared to have been overblown and now appears well positioned to roll out more of the technology “as a feature that scales naturally across its ecosystem,” which also includes iPads, Mac computers and smartwatches in addition to iPhones. Apple said more than 2.5 billion active devices worldwide are now running on its various operating systems. The Cupertino, California, company will try to sustain the momentum by finally releasing a batch of delayed AI features, including an Siri upgrade that is supposed to make the assistant more conversational and versatile. To pull it off, Apple is tapping into Google’s latest AI model, Gemini 3, in a tacit acknowledgment of its own shortcomings in a technology that’s widely considered to be the industry’s biggest breakthrough since the iPhone’s introduction. Despite its AI deficiencies, the iPhone ended last year as the worldwide sales leader with a nearly 20% market share that ranked just ahead of Samsung, according to the research firm International Data Corp. In a show of its confidence, Apple forecast its revenue for the January-March period will climb by at least 13% from last year, above the roughly 10% bump that analysts had been anticipating. The AI boom is confronting Apple with another challenge: a shortage of memory chips that for smartphones and laptops amid the voracious demand for the same processors in the massive data centers that are being built to power AI features. Besides threatening to curtail iPhone production, the memory chip crunch is also driving up their prices — a factor that has already been eroding Apple’s profit margins. That financial pressure could eventually push Apple to raise the prices on iPhones and other products to help offset the rising memory chip costs “We do continue to see market pricing for memory increasing significantly,” Cook told analysts Thursday. “As always, we’ll look at a range of options to, to deal with that.” —Michael Liedtke, AP Technology Writer View the full article

The implications of The President’s choice for markets and economiesView the full article

When it relates to customer retention analysis, comprehending key metrics is vital for any business. You’ll want to focus on five fundamental metrics: Customer Retention Rate (CRR), Customer Churn Rate (CCR), Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), Repeat Purchase Rate (RPR), and Net Promoter Score (NPS). Each of these metrics provides valuable insights into customer behavior and satisfaction, which can directly impact your company’s bottom line. Knowing how to interpret these metrics can lead to more effective retention strategies. What are these metrics telling you about your business? Key Takeaways Customer Retention Rate (CRR): Measures how well a business retains customers over time; a high CRR indicates successful retention efforts. Customer Churn Rate (CCR): Indicates the percentage of customers who stop using a service; a low churn rate suggests effective customer engagement. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): Estimates total revenue expected from a customer; higher CLV reflects better retention strategies and long-term profitability. Repeat Purchase Rate (RPR): Measures the percentage of customers making additional purchases; a higher RPR typically correlates with increased revenue. Net Promoter Score (NPS): Assesses customer satisfaction and loyalty; a high NPS often leads to lower turnover rates and improved retention strategies. Customer Retention Rate (CRR) Customer Retention Rate (CRR) is an important metric that indicates how well a business maintains its customer base over a specified period. You can calculate the customer retention rate using the retention rate formula: ((End number of customers – New customers gained) / Starting number of customers) x 100. This percentage reflects the proportion of customers retained, and comprehending this figure is significant for retention analysis. A CRR of around 95% is considered a good customer retention rate for Software as a Service (SaaS) businesses. Monitoring your client retention rate regularly helps identify trends in customer loyalty and the effectiveness of your retention strategies. A high CRR signals successful retention efforts, whereas a low CRR prompts deeper investigation into customer behavior and potential areas for improvement. As a result, effective customer retention calculation is fundamental for nurturing long-term relationships and enhancing overall business performance. Customer Churn Rate Grasping how many customers stop using a service over a specific period is crucial for any business, especially in the SaaS sector. The customer churn rate (CCR) measures this percentage, calculated using the formula (Customers Lost / Customers at Start) × 100. A healthy churn rate typically falls between 3% and 8%; higher rates might signal issues with product satisfaction or engagement. Comprehending your churn rate helps pinpoint critical drop-off points in the customer experience, allowing you to adjust strategies effectively. Regularly analyzing your client turnover rate can lead to actionable insights that improve customer retention. Remember, it’s often more cost-effective to retain existing customers than to acquire new ones, with estimates suggesting that acquiring a new customer can cost 5 to 25 times more. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) Comprehending Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is essential for evaluating the long-term profitability of your business. CLV estimates the total revenue you can expect from a customer throughout their relationship with you. For ecommerce, you can calculate CLV by multiplying the average order value by the average purchase frequency rate and the average customer lifespan. In SaaS, the retention value formula involves dividing the average revenue per user (ARPU) by the churn rate. Higher CLV indicates better customer retention, reflecting effective engagement strategies. To improve your comprehension, consider using a customer retention rate calculator and explore customer retention analytics. Repeat Purchase Rate (RPR) One important metric for evaluating customer loyalty is the Repeat Purchase Rate (RPR), which indicates the percentage of existing customers who make additional purchases. You can calculate it using the formula: (Number of customers who made more than one purchase / Total number of customers) x 100. The average RPR across industries is around 28.2%. High RPR values often lead to increased revenue. Tracking RPR helps identify opportunities for improvement. Strong customer relationships contribute to a higher RPR. Feedback tools can reveal reasons for low repeat purchases. Understanding what’s a good client retention rate is vital for evaluating your business’s performance. By focusing on retention calculation and user retention rate, you can improve strategies that reduce customer retention cost. Learning how to find retention rate effectively will enable you to tailor approaches that nurture loyalty and drive sustainable growth in your business. Net Promoter Score (NPS) Customer loyalty metrics play an important role in evaluating how well your business retains and engages its customers, and the Net Promoter Score (NPS) stands out as a key indicator in this regard. NPS measures customer satisfaction and loyalty by asking how likely customers are to recommend your service. Scores range from 0 to 10, categorizing feedback into promoters, passives, and detractors. A high NPS often correlates with a low customer turnover rate and a solid retention rate, making it vital for comprehension of your customer retention formula. By regularly tracking NPS, you can effectively determine retention rates and adjust strategies to improve your website retention rate. Score Range Category Description 0-6 Detractors Unlikely to recommend 7-8 Passives Neutral, may switch 9-10 Promoters Loyal and likely to refer Frequently Asked Questions What Are the Metrics for Customer Retention? To measure customer retention effectively, focus on key metrics like Customer Retention Rate (CRR), Churn Rate, Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), and Repeat Purchase Rate (RPR). CRR helps you understand the percentage of retained customers, whereas Churn Rate shows the rate of customer loss. CLV estimates the total revenue a customer generates, and RPR indicates how often customers make repeat purchases. Analyzing these metrics provides insights for improving retention strategies and enhancing customer engagement. What Are the 8 C’s of Customer Retention? The 8 C’s of customer retention are essential for maintaining a strong relationship with your customers. They include Customer Satisfaction, reflecting how well your offerings meet expectations; Customer Loyalty, showcasing emotional commitment; Customer Engagement, emphasizing meaningful interactions; Customer Experience, focusing on the overall path; Customer Feedback, which helps identify pain points; Customer Trust, building reliability; Customer Advocacy, encouraging brand promotion; and Customer Value, ensuring perceived benefits exceed costs. Comprehending these elements strengthens retention efforts. What Are the 4 Pillars of Retention? The four pillars of retention are Customer Service, Product Quality, Customer Engagement, and Customer Feedback. You need to guarantee timely and personalized support to improve customer satisfaction through effective service. High-quality products that meet expectations encourage repeat purchases. Creating meaningful interactions, such as customized communications and loyalty programs, drives deeper connections. Finally, gathering and acting on customer feedback helps identify pain points, allowing for continuous improvement and nurturing long-term loyalty. What Are the Top 3 KPIS for Customer Success? The top three KPIs for customer success are Customer Retention Rate (CRR), Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), and Net Promoter Score (NPS). CRR measures the percentage of customers retained over a specific period, ideally around 95% for SaaS. CLV estimates the total revenue a customer contributes during their relationship, helping you justify acquisition costs. NPS gauges customer loyalty by asking about their likelihood to recommend your product, with a score of 60 or higher considered excellent. Conclusion In conclusion, comprehension and utilizing the five vital metrics—Customer Retention Rate, Customer Churn Rate, Customer Lifetime Value, Repeat Purchase Rate, and Net Promoter Score—are imperative for effective customer retention analysis. By consistently monitoring these metrics, you can gain valuable insights into customer behavior and satisfaction, enabling you to refine your strategies. This approach not only aids in retaining customers but also enhances overall profitability and loyalty, nurturing a sustainable business model. Image via Google Gemini This article, "5 Essential Metrics for Effective Customer Retention Analysis" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

When it relates to customer retention analysis, comprehending key metrics is vital for any business. You’ll want to focus on five fundamental metrics: Customer Retention Rate (CRR), Customer Churn Rate (CCR), Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), Repeat Purchase Rate (RPR), and Net Promoter Score (NPS). Each of these metrics provides valuable insights into customer behavior and satisfaction, which can directly impact your company’s bottom line. Knowing how to interpret these metrics can lead to more effective retention strategies. What are these metrics telling you about your business? Key Takeaways Customer Retention Rate (CRR): Measures how well a business retains customers over time; a high CRR indicates successful retention efforts. Customer Churn Rate (CCR): Indicates the percentage of customers who stop using a service; a low churn rate suggests effective customer engagement. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): Estimates total revenue expected from a customer; higher CLV reflects better retention strategies and long-term profitability. Repeat Purchase Rate (RPR): Measures the percentage of customers making additional purchases; a higher RPR typically correlates with increased revenue. Net Promoter Score (NPS): Assesses customer satisfaction and loyalty; a high NPS often leads to lower turnover rates and improved retention strategies. Customer Retention Rate (CRR) Customer Retention Rate (CRR) is an important metric that indicates how well a business maintains its customer base over a specified period. You can calculate the customer retention rate using the retention rate formula: ((End number of customers – New customers gained) / Starting number of customers) x 100. This percentage reflects the proportion of customers retained, and comprehending this figure is significant for retention analysis. A CRR of around 95% is considered a good customer retention rate for Software as a Service (SaaS) businesses. Monitoring your client retention rate regularly helps identify trends in customer loyalty and the effectiveness of your retention strategies. A high CRR signals successful retention efforts, whereas a low CRR prompts deeper investigation into customer behavior and potential areas for improvement. As a result, effective customer retention calculation is fundamental for nurturing long-term relationships and enhancing overall business performance. Customer Churn Rate Grasping how many customers stop using a service over a specific period is crucial for any business, especially in the SaaS sector. The customer churn rate (CCR) measures this percentage, calculated using the formula (Customers Lost / Customers at Start) × 100. A healthy churn rate typically falls between 3% and 8%; higher rates might signal issues with product satisfaction or engagement. Comprehending your churn rate helps pinpoint critical drop-off points in the customer experience, allowing you to adjust strategies effectively. Regularly analyzing your client turnover rate can lead to actionable insights that improve customer retention. Remember, it’s often more cost-effective to retain existing customers than to acquire new ones, with estimates suggesting that acquiring a new customer can cost 5 to 25 times more. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) Comprehending Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is essential for evaluating the long-term profitability of your business. CLV estimates the total revenue you can expect from a customer throughout their relationship with you. For ecommerce, you can calculate CLV by multiplying the average order value by the average purchase frequency rate and the average customer lifespan. In SaaS, the retention value formula involves dividing the average revenue per user (ARPU) by the churn rate. Higher CLV indicates better customer retention, reflecting effective engagement strategies. To improve your comprehension, consider using a customer retention rate calculator and explore customer retention analytics. Repeat Purchase Rate (RPR) One important metric for evaluating customer loyalty is the Repeat Purchase Rate (RPR), which indicates the percentage of existing customers who make additional purchases. You can calculate it using the formula: (Number of customers who made more than one purchase / Total number of customers) x 100. The average RPR across industries is around 28.2%. High RPR values often lead to increased revenue. Tracking RPR helps identify opportunities for improvement. Strong customer relationships contribute to a higher RPR. Feedback tools can reveal reasons for low repeat purchases. Understanding what’s a good client retention rate is vital for evaluating your business’s performance. By focusing on retention calculation and user retention rate, you can improve strategies that reduce customer retention cost. Learning how to find retention rate effectively will enable you to tailor approaches that nurture loyalty and drive sustainable growth in your business. Net Promoter Score (NPS) Customer loyalty metrics play an important role in evaluating how well your business retains and engages its customers, and the Net Promoter Score (NPS) stands out as a key indicator in this regard. NPS measures customer satisfaction and loyalty by asking how likely customers are to recommend your service. Scores range from 0 to 10, categorizing feedback into promoters, passives, and detractors. A high NPS often correlates with a low customer turnover rate and a solid retention rate, making it vital for comprehension of your customer retention formula. By regularly tracking NPS, you can effectively determine retention rates and adjust strategies to improve your website retention rate. Score Range Category Description 0-6 Detractors Unlikely to recommend 7-8 Passives Neutral, may switch 9-10 Promoters Loyal and likely to refer Frequently Asked Questions What Are the Metrics for Customer Retention? To measure customer retention effectively, focus on key metrics like Customer Retention Rate (CRR), Churn Rate, Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), and Repeat Purchase Rate (RPR). CRR helps you understand the percentage of retained customers, whereas Churn Rate shows the rate of customer loss. CLV estimates the total revenue a customer generates, and RPR indicates how often customers make repeat purchases. Analyzing these metrics provides insights for improving retention strategies and enhancing customer engagement. What Are the 8 C’s of Customer Retention? The 8 C’s of customer retention are essential for maintaining a strong relationship with your customers. They include Customer Satisfaction, reflecting how well your offerings meet expectations; Customer Loyalty, showcasing emotional commitment; Customer Engagement, emphasizing meaningful interactions; Customer Experience, focusing on the overall path; Customer Feedback, which helps identify pain points; Customer Trust, building reliability; Customer Advocacy, encouraging brand promotion; and Customer Value, ensuring perceived benefits exceed costs. Comprehending these elements strengthens retention efforts. What Are the 4 Pillars of Retention? The four pillars of retention are Customer Service, Product Quality, Customer Engagement, and Customer Feedback. You need to guarantee timely and personalized support to improve customer satisfaction through effective service. High-quality products that meet expectations encourage repeat purchases. Creating meaningful interactions, such as customized communications and loyalty programs, drives deeper connections. Finally, gathering and acting on customer feedback helps identify pain points, allowing for continuous improvement and nurturing long-term loyalty. What Are the Top 3 KPIS for Customer Success? The top three KPIs for customer success are Customer Retention Rate (CRR), Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), and Net Promoter Score (NPS). CRR measures the percentage of customers retained over a specific period, ideally around 95% for SaaS. CLV estimates the total revenue a customer contributes during their relationship, helping you justify acquisition costs. NPS gauges customer loyalty by asking about their likelihood to recommend your product, with a score of 60 or higher considered excellent. Conclusion In conclusion, comprehension and utilizing the five vital metrics—Customer Retention Rate, Customer Churn Rate, Customer Lifetime Value, Repeat Purchase Rate, and Net Promoter Score—are imperative for effective customer retention analysis. By consistently monitoring these metrics, you can gain valuable insights into customer behavior and satisfaction, enabling you to refine your strategies. This approach not only aids in retaining customers but also enhances overall profitability and loyalty, nurturing a sustainable business model. Image via Google Gemini This article, "5 Essential Metrics for Effective Customer Retention Analysis" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Valve's Steam Deck revolutionized PC gaming when it came out in 2022, popularizing the handheld gaming PC format. In 2026, it's still got a great performance-to-price ratio, and is plenty relevant compared to more expensive and more finicky alternatives like the Asus Rog Xbox Ally X. But that doesn't mean it's fully stacked right out of the box. SteamOS presents a more intuitive pick-up-and-play experience than I've used on any other handheld gaming PC (or gaming PC in general, to be honest), but there are plenty of hacks and customizations you can use to make it truly yours. Steam Deck's desktop mode basically turns it into a mini PCThis one's simple, but vastly increases what you can do with your Steam Deck. Yes, the Steam Deck's biggest strength is that you can easily hop into games right from the home screen using the built-in controls, but did you know that you can also use it like a more traditional desktop? To swap the device over to its built-in desktop mode, press the Steam button (the one on the device itself), then select Power. From there, select Switch to Desktop. Bam, you'll be taken right to a more traditional PC interface, and one that will look extra familiar to you if you've ever used Linux, the base operating system SteamOS is built on. You'll need desktop mode to enable a lot of the other hacks on this list, but it's also great on its own. With it, you can install your favorite Linux productivity apps, or even just browse the web using Microsoft Edge, which comes pre-installed (you can install your browser of choice later). You can use the right trackpad, the thumbsticks, or the touchscreen to move the mouse cursor, and press Steam + X to bring up a keyboard, but you can also plug in an external accessory or dock using the USB-C port on top of the device, too. Play this right, and you can basically turn the Steam Deck into a full-fledged Mini PC, complete with a built-in screen. To leave desktop mode and re-enter the Steam Deck's default interface, click on the Return to Gaming mode icon in your desktop's top left corner. You can play games that aren't from SteamBy default, the Steam Deck will show you games from your Steam Library, and that's where the Store page will take you, too. That makes sense—Valve wants you to buy games from its store. But because the Steam Deck is essentially just a highly specialized mini PC, it won't stop you from playing games from other PC gaming stores. There are a few ways to do this, but by far, the most convenient one is Heroic Launcher. This allows you to install games from your Epic Game Store, Amazon, and GOG libraries by picking them from a handy, scrollable list. Installing Heroic Game Launcher is easy. First, go to desktop mode, then click on the Discover store, which is the little shopping bag icon to the left of the folder icon. Search for Heroic, and install the app called Heroic (it'll likely be the first entry, and will have an icon that looks like a shield with a sword in it). Once it's installed, open it, either by clicking the shortcut on your desktop or by searching for it using SteamOS' version of the classic Windows Start menu (it'll be to the far left of your taskbar, and will look like the Steam Deck logo). From here, log into your various alternative game launcher accounts using the Log in button in the top left corner. After that, you could simply install your games and stop here, navigating to desktop mode and opening Heroic Launcher every time you want to play them. But let's go one step further, so you can access them right from gaming mode (the Steam Deck's default interface). First, let's try installing a game of your choice from the Library tab, to get used to the process. Select the game you want to install, then click Install. You may see the option to change the Install Path or change the "Wine" settings. The latter can help with compatibility, but you likely won't need to mess with these. You may need to allow a C++ install to actually run certain games, but you can simply click "Install" on the pop-up that shows up when you try running these games to do this. Once your game is installed, click the three-dot menu in the top right corner and select Add to Steam. This will add the game to your Steam library, so you can open it right from the handheld's gaming mode. You could also stop here, just adding games to Steam on a case-by-case basis. But for ultimate convenience, you can add Heroic Launcher itself to the Steam Deck's gaming mode, to make accessing games in it easier. To do this, click the Steam shortcut on your desktop (or open it from the "Start" menu). From here, click the Add a game button in the bottom left corner, next to the plus sign. Click Add a Non-Steam Game, and in the list that pops up, find and click on Heroic Game Launcher. Click Add Selected Programs. With this, you'll be able to access Heroic Game Launcher from within gaming mode by navigating to Library > Non-Steam. This is also where any games you've added to Steam from Heroic Game Launcher will show up, and you can use these same steps to add and view other third-party apps within Steam too, even mainstays like Google Chrome. You'll notice that the art for these might be a little barren. There are a few ways to fix this, but I'll touch on my favorite below. Install plugins to customize your experienceBy default, SteamOS is pretty snappy and easy to navigate, but fans have taken it upon themselves to make various plugins to help you customize it further. You'll find these in a program called Decky Loader. Unlike Heroic Launcher, Decky Loader needs to be installed from a browser. Enter desktop mode, open your browser of choice (Edge is the default), then navigate to decky.xyz. From here, click Download in the top-right corner. Find the install file, either from your browser or the Steam Deck's File Manager (the folder icon in the taskbar) under Downloads. Double click on it, and then proceed with the installation. For the most stable experience, choose the recommended install option. Now, to actually use Decky Loader, go back to gaming mode and press the physical three-dot button on your Steam Deck (I'll refer to that as the "quick settings button" for the rest of this article). Scroll down to the Decky Loader menu, which looks like a plug. Here's where you can start toying with your plugins. You've got a number of options here, so let's navigate through where to find plugins and what some of my favorites are. First, select the icon that looks like a market stall (in the top-right corner), and from here, you'll see all available plugins. By default, these will be arranged alphabetically, but I have the best luck by navigating to "Sort" and selecting "Most Downloaded First." This will put the most popular plugins up top. Some of my favorites include CSS Loader, which allows you to change your Steam Deck's look and theme, and Animation Changer, which allows you to change what animations your Steam Deck plays when it boots or suspends. Download whatever strikes your fancy, and access them through the plug menu when pressing the quick settings button. Note that, sometimes, installing a new Steam Deck system update might break your plugins. To fix them, navigate to the plug menu and click the cog in the top-right corner, then select "Plugins" and reinstall the ones that have updates. You might also need to update Decky Loader itself, in the General menu on the same page. And if you're not seeing the plug menu, you'll need to exit back out to desktop, reinstall Decky Loader using the install file you grabbed earlier, and restart. Let's close with an example, and an answer for how to get artwork for your Non-Steam games. In the Decky store, grab the SteamGridDB plugin. Now, with it installed, go to any of your installed Steam games and click the Start button (the three horizontal lines above the right thumbstick). From the menu that pops up, select Change Artwork. You'll see a number of community-made options that will change how the game's various icons and posters will show up across your Steam Deck. This will work with almost any game in your library—most have art uploaded to the database this plug-in pulls from—and some non-game programs, too. Most importantly, it will allow you to easily add art to games that don't have it by default, like Non-Steam games. Get yourself a dockThe Steam Deck might be a handheld, but that doesn't mean you can't use it like a regular desktop pc, too. I've already covered how to access desktop mode on the Steam Deck, but if you want to go the extra mile and use it on the big screen, you'll probably want a dock. You've got a few options for this. I use the unofficial JSAUX dock, mostly because I bought mine before the official Steam Deck dock came out. For firmware support from Valve, you're going to want the more expensive official Steam Deck dock, but this will merely increase stability—it's not required. Credit: Valve Whatever you pick, you'll just want to ensure it has either a DisplayPort or HDMI 2.1 connection (ensure your TV or monitor supports these, too), since those will support high resolutions and fast refresh rates. A built-in ethernet port is also nice, so you can have a wired internet connection, as are extra USB ports. With a dock, you'll be able to connect your Steam Deck to a big screen using the USB-C port at the top and the appropriate HDMI or DisplayPort cables for your dock. You'll also be able to connect as many accessories as your dock will allow. And some docks come with handy bonuses. For instance, storage company Sabrent sells a Steam Deck dock with room for an M.2 SSD, for expanded external storage. JSAUX sells one too, although I can't speak to it, since it's not the model I have. Once you have your dock and it's all set up, just turn on your Steam Deck and set your TV or monitor to the right input, and you should able to play on the big screen, just like with a standard PC. Note that, depending on your screen's resolution, you might want to take advantage of manually setting per-game screen resolutions (available in the cog menu after selecting any game, under General > Game Resolution), as some games might need to be set to a lower resolution to run at full speed if connected to a 4K TV. Or, you could set a global max resolution for games by pressing the Steam button and navigating to Settings > Display > Advanced > Maximum Game Resolution. You can also take advantage of the Steam Deck's built-in FSR upscaling to help make games look better when running at lower resolutions, by pressing the quick settings button, selecting the lightning bolt icon (this will take you to the Steam Deck's performance settings), and scrolling down to Scaling Filter. Select Sharp to start upscaling the way I usually do, but there are other filters and modes for you to play with to find the right settings for you, too. Make emulating games from older systems easyAside from playing PC games, you can also use the Steam Deck to emulate games from older systems, too. While you could install emulators yourself (programs that are legal, as long as they don't come with copyrighted software), industrious fans have created a tool to make installing all the emulators you could possibly need on your Steam Deck way simpler. It's called Emudeck, and installing it as as simple as going to desktop mode, opening a browser to emudeck.com, clicking the Download button in the top-right corner, selecting steamOS, and running the install file from either your browser or the Downloads tab in the File Manager. Honestly, there are a lot of install options you can select here—too many to list. If you're new to emulation, I suggest selecting Easy Mode, which will get you set up with EmuDeck's recommended settings. These should work for most people, but if you want to customize things like aspect ratios, filters, and which emulators you install, choose Custom Mode. Go through the install process, and then to find your emulators, either open Emulation Station (or the alternative frontend you installed using Custom Mode) in gaming mode under Library > Non-Steam Games, or Steam ROM Manager by opening it in the "Start" menu. As for actually getting games onto your device, you're generally on your own there: It relies on your collection of retro games and methods for getting files from it. However, many of the same steps outlined in this article will apply. Make the Steam Deck's fan quieterIf your Steam Deck's fan is too loud, you don't have to just accept it. You've actually got multiple steps to control it, including one easy official toggle and one more advanced fan-made option. Let's start with the official toggle. If your fan is too loud, press the Steam button on your device, then select System and scroll all the way down until you see Enable updated fan control. Toggle that on to make your fan quieter, but note that doing so could reduce performance, as your system won't handle heat as well (if this is already toggled, you can actually toggle it off to gain a potential performance boost). Credit: NGnius For more detailed control, install Decky Loader using the "Install plugins" hack on this list. Then, install the Fantastic plugin. This will allow you to set a custom fan curve for your Steam Deck, which will change the fan speed based on your Steam Deck's current temperature. Simply open the plug-in and tap on the curve under the FAN menu to adjust it to your liking. Adjust the power draw for better battery lifeNot every game needs your Steam Deck's full power. If you're playing a more lightweight title, considering lowering your Steam Deck's performance to save some battery life. To do this, press the quick settings button and select the lighting bolt icon to access the performance menu. From here, you can adjust the TDP Limit to lower how much power your Steam Deck is allowed to use. By default, it's set to 15 Watts, but on some lightweight games, I've been able to get away with 8 watts or less. Play around to find the right power-to-performance balance for you, depending on your game. While you're here, you can also set a Manual GPU Clock, which will lower your GPU's performance, and could also help you gain more battery life. Similarly, you can set your screen's refresh rate, which will reduce how many frame your system will be able to display per second, but could similarly extend your playtime. Get a Steam Deck for cheapEver since Valve discontinued the Steam Deck LCD, the base price for the Steam Deck has been $550. Not bad for an OLED screen and all this device can do, but much more expensive than the former $400 starting price. However, Valve will sometimes drop new batches of "certified refurbished" Steam Decks on its store page. These can go for as low as $279, and while these drops are rare, it's a hefty discount if you can find it. Valve is your best bet to get a refurbished Steam Deck without any issues, but if you absolutely need one and can't wait for the next drop, you can try a third-party program. GameStop also sells its own refurbished Steam Decks, although at time of writing, stock is also low there. Refurbished Steam Decks are probably worth keeping an eye out for, but don't plan on getting one if you really want a Steam Deck now. Get Steam beta updatesValve is constantly iterating SteamOS, but it can take a while for new features to reach the general public. If you can't wait to get the next big SteamOS update, though, you can easily sign up for beta features. To do so, press the Steam button, then navigate to Settings > System > Beta Participation. From here, join either the Beta or Preview update channels. These will let you get new SteamOS features more quickly, although they can introduce instability. Still, if you're fine with tinkering, this will let you get your hands on features like display-off downloads more quickly. Make your Steam Deck more colorful Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt Finally, let's make that screen look a little more vibrant. This can be especially helpful if you're like me, and you have one of those discontinued LCD Steam Decks. This used to be limited to a fan-made plugin, but Valve has now added official support for adjusting your Steam Deck's color settings. To access this, press the Steam button, and navigate to Settings > Display. From here, click Adjust Display Colors. You'll be taken to a menu where you can adjust the device's color temperature and vibrance, and see the results on a demo image right up top. View the full article

Imagine that you pull up to a skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan. You step out of the car and walk into the lobby, where the staff greets you by name and ushers you to an elevator. Upstairs, another staff member brings you coffee just the way you like it, minutes after you arrive. A barber is on hand to give you a fresh shave before an important Zoom call, and afterwards, you drop by a caviar tasting that’s happening in the shared lounge. Amid an interior of travertine, green marble, and glass, a dedicated hospitality team and concierge service wants to make sure clients don’t waste time with the “little frictions” of everyday life. This “sanctuary” might sound like one of Manhattan’s luxury members-only clubs, but in fact, it’s a new kind of coworking space that caters to the 1% of workers. Industrious Reserve is a high-end coworking space meant for CEOs and business leaders. It’s supposed to give “the prestige of Park Avenue and the quiet luxury of a private club,” according to marketing materials. It’s designed for leaders with all-remote teams, or with home offices in other cities, who will now have a place to hold court. “What we observe in our business is that people want a private club experience, but they also want their own office,” says Industrious President Anna Squires Levine, whose firm was recently bought by real estate services giant CBRE. “Just this morning, I had a private equity executive tell me ‘this is the product I’ve been waiting for. I do not want to sign my own 10-year lease. Why would I do that? Then I have to build it and manage it and figure out the Wi-Fi for 10 years. I want somewhere I can show up and feel like a boss.’” The first location of Industrious Reserve, a high-end coworking space meant for CEOs and business leaders, will open soon inside the fifth and sixth floors of Manhattan’s Lever House, a famous modernist skyscraper. Reserve access starts at $7,000 a month per person, $9,500 if it includes one of the 44 private office suites (monthly membership costs for other Industrious locations in New York City vary between $399 and $1,700.) The new ‘corner office’ The Reserve offering represents a significant departure from the classic corner office layout for corporate leadership, a design for status and hierarchy that reached its apex shortly after the International-Style Lever House opened in 1952. As much as it’s a story of service firms finding new ways to cater to increasingly wealthy clientele—after all, there’s no shortage of private club space or budget for high-end office amenities—it also speaks to the changing role of a modern CEO and their workspace. Corporate leadership needs to showcase accessibility, transparency and cultural presence, says Todd Heiser, principal and co-managing director of Gensler’s Chicago office. But that doesn’t mean having the face of the company operate out of the lunchroom, or like many famous tech leaders, flipping open a laptop and sitting with the rank-and-file. What Heiser says leaders desire now—and Reserve seeks to provide—is a place to work in close collaboration with the trusted team that makes a modern business function, almost like a capitalist situation room. In a world that requires lightning-fast decision-making, CEOs want proximity; they want to be able to assemble the executive team in minutes and work in a space that fosters faster alignment. Heiser pointed to Logan Roy’s office on Succession or Rebecca’s office on Ted Lasso as examples of leadership spaces that were both characters in their own right and typically open for rapid-fire meetings with advisers. One real-world example, the new HQ for Hyatt, includes space for leadership to quickly huddle, assemble, and lead team meetings outside of a stiff boardroom. The Capitalist Situation Room In the 1950s, office designers, influenced by notions of hierarchy and congruence theory, laid out workspaces to cleanly delineate hierarchy. Meanwhile, with today’s more open plan and collaborative design, the workplace power dynamic is dramatically demonstrated by access, says Heiser. It helps that shrinking office footprints also means axing luxurious private offices. Gensler found one in five workers today doesn’t have assigned seating, though execs do tend to have a reserved spot in most offices. As opposed to the classic corner office—long a symbol of hierarchy and corporate power—this new functional layout that’s emerging more post-pandemic displays the leadership style of today’s LinkedIn CEO. “Employees read leadership spaces like cultural text,” says Heiser. “The layout, the openness, the adjacency all tell people what the organization values. It actually comes clearly from the top.” Reserve, in both its name and lofty privacy, communicates exclusivity—it’s a considerable expense to join—but it also gets described as the type of space where a leader can collaborate with a team. Levine spoke about the design, by the in-house team at Industrious, as a fusion of physical, technological, and experiential, trying to create a turnkey experience for execs while also creating a sort of townhouse on Park Avenue vibe. The feeling of intimacy should be akin to a “secret, top-floor, light-filled brownstone in the middle of New York,” says Levine. What sets Reserve apart, argues Levine, is the dichotomy; leaders can enjoy an intimate private office to meet with advisers, offering that connection to their top staff, as well as a semi-public space—members and guests only in the club—for socializing for larger gatherings. It’s a space for using time impactfully, being in the bunker with trusted advisers, and being the best version of yourself. Compared to the gigantic floorplates of modern high-rises, the Lever House is slim and elegant; in the afternoon, the sunlight from the window hits the middle of the floor. So far, membership interest has come from private equity firms, venture firms, hedge funds, and high-end retail and fashion shops. Levine says it’s either firms with big headquarters elsewhere who want a Manhattan outpost, or smaller, super distributed teams seeking a central meeting place. Levine expects the small handful of drop-in memberships and private offices to be snapped up well before the space opens in the spring, and Industrious plans further expansions of the concept in “pinnacle cities” such as Singapore, Tokyo, and Berlin. “It takes a very special building and a very special landlord partner to make it happen,” says Levine. “We like to be thoughtful and methodical about the way that we expand so we know we can do it with a high degree of execution. View the full article

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Saks Global, owner of luxury retail chains Saks 5th Avenue and Neiman Marcus, has announced the closure of most of its discount outlet stores, Saks Off 5th and Last Call. The store closures come weeks after Saks Global announced that it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Here’s what you need to know about the store closures, including a full list of the locations being shuttered. What’s happened? Yesterday, Saks Global said it would close a majority of its discount outlet stores. While Sak Global is best known for its high-end luxury department store chains, Saks 5th Avenue and Neiman Marcus, the company owns several other retailers, including Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Off 5th, Last Call, and Horchow. The company has now announced that two of these retailers will be hit by store closings. The first is Saks Off 5th, the company’s outlet store chain, which sells discounted apparel and accessories for shoppers on a budget. The company also announced that it will close all its Last Call stores. Last Call is the discount outlet chain originally owned by Neiman Marcus, which Saks Global acquired for around $2.7 billion in 2024. Why are Saks Off 5th and Last Call stores closing? Saks Global is closing these locations as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy process, which the company filed for earlier this month. The goal of the bankruptcy is “to strengthen the foundation of our business and position it for the future,” Saks Global CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck stated earlier this month. Over the past several years, the company now known as Saks Global has become saddled with debt, driven by factors affecting many retailers, including reduced sales, declining foot traffic, increased online competition, and inflationary pressures. But the company’s debt problems also increased significantly after it acquired competitor Neiman Marcus in 2024. This week’s announcement of store closures doesn’t come out of the blue. Earlier this month, when Saks Global announced it was filing for bankruptcy, the company said it was “evaluating its operational footprint to invest resources where it has the greatest long-term potential.” That evaluation has now led to the closure of a majority of its Saks Off 5th and all of its Last Call stores. Saks Global now says the store closures are the result of “a thorough review of its off-price business.” Which Last Call stores are closing? Saks Global has confirmed that all of its remaining Last Call stores will close. This encompasses five locations in three states. Those locations are: California Desert Hills Premium Outlets (Cabazon, CA) The Outlets at Orange (Orange, CA) Florida Sawgrass Mills (Sunrise, FL) Texas Grapevine Mills (Grapevine, TX) San Marcos Premium Outlets (San Marcos, TX) Which Saks Off 5th stores are closing? Unlike its Last Call stores, Saks Global will not shutter all of its Saks Off 5th stores. However, the majority of the stores will be closing. The company says that 12 Saks Off 5th locations will remain open, while the other 57 locations will close. Those 57 locations are spread across 18 states. Here is the full list of Saks Off 5th stores that are closing: Arizona Glendale, AZ Phoenix, AZ Scottsdale, AZ Tucson, AZ California Cabazon, CA Camarillo, CA Costa Mesa, CA Livermore, CA Beverly Connect, Los Angeles (West), CA Milpitas, CA Palm Desert, CA Petaluma, CA Ontario, CA San Diego, CA Woodland Hills, CA Conneticuit Clinton, CT Stamford High Ridge (Stamford), CT Florida Destin, FL Ellenton (Tampa), FL Tampa (Lutz), FL Naples Park Shore (Naples), FL Orlando, FL Orlando (Vineland), FL Georgia Atlanta (Woodstock), GA North Atlanta (Woodstock), GA Hawaii Ala Moana (Honolulu, HI) Hawaii (Honolulu, HI) Illinois Aurora Chicago (Aurora), IL State Street (Chicago), IL Northbrook, IL Rosemont, IL Massachutses Boston (Somerville), MA Wrentham, MA Maryland Clarksburg, MD Arundel (Hanover), MD Minnisota Eagan, MN Navada Las Vegas N (Las Vegas), NV Las Vegas S (Las Vegas), NV New Hampshire Merrimack, NH New Jersey Bridgewater, NJ Elizabeth, NJ Shrewsbury, NJ New York Deer Park, NY Eastchester, NY Greenburgh, NY Riverhead, NY North Carolina Charlotte, NC Mebane, NC Ohio Columbus, OH South Carolina Hilton Head (Bluffton), SC Charleston, SC Texas Cypress, TX Dallas Park (Dallas), TX Grand Prairie, TX Katy, TX San Antonio, TX Sugarland, TX In addition to the above Saks Off 5th closing locations, Saks Global also announced that the retailer’s website, Saksoff5th.com, “is winding down operations.” When do closing sales begin? Saks Global says Saksoff5th.com online closing sales will begin today, Friday, January 30. Physical store closing sales will begin on Saturday, January 31. The company says that gift cards to these physical retail stores will continue to be accepted, but only until Saturday, February 14th. Gift cards for saksoff5th.com will only be accepted until Friday, February 13th. All merchandise purchased during the closing sales is non-returnable or exchangeable. View the full article

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