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Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today...View the full article

Stock Android added the concept of App Pairs back in Android 15. You choose two apps to use in split screen mode, add a shortcut to the paired apps to the home screen, and it's now trivially easy to trigger split screen multitasking (instead of having to perform multiple tap and drag gestures). It sounds neat, but I never really used it, because on my small Pixel 9a, using apps in 50:50 split-screen mode is hardly user-friendly. There's just not enough room on the screen for each app to take up half of it and still be usable. But that changed with Android 16, thanks to a small update to how split screen works. In Android 16, the split screen ratios for app pairs are much more flexible. You can have two apps in 70:30, or even 90:10. And once you get used to the idea of 90:10 split screen multitasking, things really start to flow. For example, I have an app pair for my Chrome and Gemini apps. Chrome for browsing, and Gemini for research. Credit: Khamosh Pathak Chrome is usually my maximized app, taking up 90% of my screen space, while Gemini is docked at the bottom, minimized. But with one tap, Gemini comes to the front and Chrome takes a back seat. And I can keep switching between the two just as easily. This is much faster than using Android's multitasking menu. How to set up App Pairs with 90:10 split screen multitaskingTo set up an App Pair and try this out for yourself, you'll first need to create a split screen pair. Open the two apps that you want to pair, and then go to the multitasking view (swipe up from the Home bar and hold for a second). Tap the name of the first app you want to open and choose the Split screen option. Then choose another app to pair it with. You'll now enter a 50:50 split screen view. Grab the handle in between the two apps and drag it all the way up or all the way down to trigger the 90:10 split. Alternatively, you can also set up a 70:30 split by leaving some extra space on your second app. Credit: Khamosh Pathak Now, go back to the multitasking view, tap on one of the app names, and choose the Save app pair option. Credit: Khamosh Pathak After that, you'll find the app pair as a shortcut on your home screen. Tap on it to launch your pre-configured app combo. And yes, it does remember your last used split screen ratio, saving you some valuable setup time. View the full article

This week’s SEO Pulse highlights the implications of Google handling more of the journey, from discovery to checkout, inside its own ecosystem. The post SEO Pulse: UCP Debate, Trends Gets Gemini, Health AIO Concerns appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Everything from coffee to a used car is more expensive these days, and now your music streaming service is too. Spotify announced this week that it will raise prices for U.S. subscribers – again. Spotify Premium plans will jump up to $12.99 from $11.99 starting with the next billing date. The streamer last increased prices for U.S. users in 2024 after a decade-plus run of charging $9.99 for ad-free listening on its premium individual streaming plan. The main individual plan isn’t the only Spotify subscription getting a price hike. Discounted student plans are getting bumped up to $6.99 from $5.99, the Duo two-person plan will go to $18.99 from $16.99 and the streamer’s Family plans will hop to $21.99 from $19.99. Users outside the U.S. in Estonia and Latvia will also see prices go up next month. Spotify offered little in the way of explanation for the pricing changes. “Occasional updates to pricing across our markets reflect the value that Spotify delivers, enabling us to continue offering the best possible experience and benefit artists,” the company wrote in a blog post announcing the new pricing scheme. The early 2026 pricing changes are the third time Spotify has raised prices for U.S. listeners since launching in the country in 2011. Two of those price hikes were back to back $1 increases, one in 2023 and one in 2024. In 2024, Spotify explained that the service would “occasionally” update its pricing in order to “continue to invest in and innovate on our product features and bring users the best experience” – language echoed in its short statement on the latest price increase. Why is Spotify raising prices? Spotify isn’t explaining much about the decision to tack another dollar onto its core premium subscription service, but the company is in a very different place now compared to when it was duking it out with Pandora in the dark ages of music streaming more than a decade ago. Now, the Swedish company is the global dominant force in streaming audio, boasting north of 713 million users and 281 million paid subscribers worldwide – up from 252 million in 2024. Apple Music and Amazon Music are the next closest competitors, but Spotify sits pretty with a much bigger share of the market. As a household name at this point – a level of brand recognition boosted even further by its genius flourish of marketing, Spotify Wrapped – Spotify will be increasingly hard-pressed to reach new subscribers in super mature markets like the U.S. Like other public companies, Spotify is beholden to a set of shareholders who want to see line go up – and it’s sort of that simple. The company needs to squeeze more money out of its entrenched, very popular subscription service, all while likely approaching a saturation point in markets like the U.S. Changes afoot for the Swedish streamer Last November, the Financial Times reported that another price jump was on the way for Spotify subscribers in the U.S. “Questions around the timing of the potential US pricing step-ups… have taken a toll on sentiment,” Deutsche Bank analysts observed late last year. Analysts at JPMorgan estimated that another $1 price hike in Spotify’s U.S. market would net the company an additional $500 million in revenue. Another big factor: Spotify’s Founder and CEO Daniel Ek announced last September that he would step down from his role after steering the company through two decades of explosive growth. Entering 2026 without its longtime leader, Spotify wants to signal to investors that stability and sustainability are the name of the game. In Spotify’s November earnings report, Ek emphasized that Spotify’s business is “healthy” and focused on growing its profit and revenue. “It all comes back to user fundamentals and that’s where we are: 700 million users who keep coming back, engagement at all-time highs,” Ek said. “We’re building Spotify for the long-term.” After this week’s price increase, Wall Street will likely agree. But in an age of mounting inflation stress, yet another price hike may not go down easy for Spotify’s already financially exhausted U.S. users. View the full article

In two years, there could be a space station orbiting the moon. NASA’s Gateway Lunar Space Station, set to launch as early as 2027, will support the Artemis IV and V moon missions and, eventually, be a jumping-off point for missions to Mars. And maybe, one day, a colony. But before any of that can happen, the Gateway will need a power source—a powerful one, at that. The challenge is getting that energy supply into orbit the way anything reaches space: in the nose cone of a rocket. Gateway’s power will come from a pair of blankets of photovoltaic cells, known as Roll-Out Solar Arrays (ROSAs). Each is roughly the size of a football end zone, and together they’ll provide 60 kilowatts for 24 hours a day—enough energy to power roughly 50 American homes. But to minimize their profile on the trip out of Earth’s atmosphere, the arrays will be launched in a rolled-up state, a pair of sci-fi rugs bound for lunar orbit. The Gateway’s ROSAs are built by space company Redwire, using tech initially developed by its subsidiary Deployable Space Solutions. “When the arrays get to the Gateway, they’ll be attached [to the station] and then roll out,” says Mike Gold, a NASA veteran and Redwire’s president of civil and international space business. The unrolling process doesn’t require an electric motor: A flexible boom simply guides the arrays as they unspool. After successfully testing the panels’ roll-out capabilities in July, Redwire is handing them off for prelaunch testing to space tech company Lanteris (formerly Maxar), which is building the Gateway’s power and propulsion element. Though the arrays for the Gateway are the largest and most powerful ROSAs that Redwire has built, the company’s tech is all over space. Six smaller ROSAs have already deployed on the International Space Station, with two more set to be launched and installed in 2026. Smaller versions of Redwire’s arrays will power the new Space Inspire telecom satellites from aerospace company Thales Alenia Space (launching in 2026). Redwire is also working on two ROSA wings for Axiom Space’s planned module for the International Space Station, slated to launch in late 2027. “We like to say we are second only to the sun when it comes to providing power in space,” Gold says. View the full article

There is a rumor going around online—on Reddit, Facebook, TikTok, and (I assume) Friendster—that gravity will stop working for seven seconds on August 12. Here is part of the warning posted online: In November 2024, a secret NASA document titled "Project Anchor" leaked online. The project's budget is $89 billion, and its goal is to survive a 7-second gravitational anomaly expected on August 12, 2026, at 14:33 UTC Key facts:• Duration: 7.3 seconds.• Expected casualties: 40-60 million. What will happen: 1-2 seconds: Everything not secured will rise (people, vehicles, animals).3-4 seconds: Objects will continue to rise to 15-20 meters.5-6 seconds: Panic and chaos will ensue as people hit ceilings.7 seconds: Gravity returns, and everything falls from height. Expected consequences:• 40 million deaths from falls.• Infrastructure destruction.• Economic collapse lasting over 10 years.• Mass panic. This is a shockingly irresponsible prediction filled with misinformation. In a theoretical world where gravity was optional, the death toll would ultimately be much greater, but it would come from earthquakes and tidal waves, not fall damage. What would happen if gravity stopped working for seven seconds?We'll have to wait until August for observational data about the Great Gravity Switch-Off, but I wanted to be prepared, so I asked Joel Meyers, a theoretical cosmologist and professor at Southern Methodist University, what we can expect on August 12. He said that most of us would survive the initial period of weightlessness without injury, and there's no reason to tie yourself to the sofa. "It depends on where you are in terms of latitude, but for somebody in, say, New York City, in seven seconds with no gravity, you'd expect to sort of slowly drift upward by about two feet off the surface of the Earth." So, shockingly, conspiracy theorists on the internet are wrong: you wouldn't "rise to 15-20 meters;" you wouldn't even hit your head on the ceiling. You'd just float—unless you leapt into the air at the right moment. "An average person who could jump about a foot and a half would actually end up jumping about 64 feet in the air without gravity," Meyers said. Gravity fears assuagedBefore I spoke to a patient theoretical cosmologist, I was concerned that the lack of gravity inside my body might cause my atoms to detach from one another and I'd dissolve into dust, which I am generally not in favor of. "Gravity itself doesn't play a role in holding us together," Meyers said. "The structure of our bodies are not gravitational, but electromagnetic." Another personal gravity fear involves breathing. Since gravity holds the atmosphere to earth, wouldn't all the air be instantly ejected into space instead of staying in my lungs where it belongs? Nope. Decompression would happen, but it would take time. "The upper layers of the atmosphere would start to float out into space, being pushed away by the layers of atmosphere below them," Meyers said, "But a few seconds wouldn't be long enough for us to lose all of the atmosphere around the Earth." When the gravity turns back on, though, it would create a air pressure wave that would disrupt weather patterns in ways we couldn't possibly predict. Worse than that would be the effect of sudden gravity loss on the planet itself. "This is where things get a little more catastrophic," Meyers said. "In the absence of gravity, there's nothing to fight against that pressure that exists in the core of the Earth or the mantle or the crust. The Earth wouldn't instantaneously explode—it takes time for the mass to move in response to the pressure and to the forces—but there would certainly be a lot of tectonic activity." But it gets worse. After seven seconds, the Earth would clump back together, which "would create an impulse that would spread throughout the world in terms of global earthquakes in ways that are really difficult to predict in detail," Meyers said. The best vehicles to be in when the gravity goes offIf you're going anywhere on August 12, make sure you're not traveling by car. The lack of gravity means your wheels would leave the road, so your ability to steer or brake would be gone. "You would effectively just be continuing in a straight line at whatever speed you were traveling just before gravity turned off," Meyers said, so expect traffic delays on the 405 as every car crashes into every other car, tree, and barrier. Airplanes and submarines would be safe, though, which brings me to my personal plan for August 12. How I'll survive gravity-free daySince I am not on NASA's list of chosen people, I am going to ride this thing out inside the metal womb of a deep sea submersible. The submersible is a closed system designed to withstand changes in external pressure, negating any atmospheric effect. The turmoil of the ocean rising then falling would likely cause massive tidal waves, but not where I am, under the sea. While the rest of you suckers are dealing with the aftereffects of unimaginable global earthquakes and magma flows, I'll be chilling in my submarine, playing Angry Birds. When the time is right, I'll return triumphantly to the surface to rule over the ruined planet. "I think that's a very solid plan; [it] really does cover a lot of the bases," Meyers said. The bottom line: Is gravity going to turn off on August 12?I felt dumb doing it, but I asked Meyers point-blank what the chances are that the internet is right about gravity ending on August 12. He said, "it is very far outside the realm of possibility." There is no secret NASA document titled "Project Anchor," and there's no way to turn off gravity. "Gravity is an inherent property of space-time," Meyers explained, closing the book on one the year's dumbest conspiracy theories. View the full article

PPC Pulse recaps Google’s latest budget controls, AI-driven offer testing, and expanded eligibility rules for Shopping promotions. The post PPC Pulse: Total Budgets Expand, Direct Offers, & Shopping Promotions appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

If you don't like how the internet makes you feel right now, you're not alone. The entire ecosystem seemingly exists to manipulate you, which can make finding clarity hard. I've written about how to avoid anxiety bait, which can be an important step toward healthy and productive engagement, but an important step is recognizing when you're being manipulated. RageCheck is a potentially useful tool here. Built using concepts from social science research, this website can analyze any link or screenshot. It points out examples of potentially manipulative language, from us-versus-them framing to emotionally loaded phrasing. "The system analyzes text for linguistic patterns commonly associated with manipulative framing—language optimized to provoke high-arousal reactions over understanding," says the methodology page. "It does not assess factual accuracy or political bias." Using the site is simple: just paste a link to an article and hit Enter. After a few moments, you'll see a statistical breakdown of the potentially manipulative language in the piece across five categories—emotional heat, us versus them, moral outrage, black-and-white thinking, and fight picking. The article is excerpted below, with examples of these tactics highlighted. In the left panel you'll see a "Bait Score," which is an attempt to calculate how manipulative the article is being. Below that, you'll see a list of the potentially manipulative techniques employed in the article. None of this is intended to be used as an alternative to fact checking or serve as some kind of truth-detecting machine. "A high score means content uses manipulative framing—it doesn't mean the underlying claims are false," says the about page. "Conversely, a low score doesn't mean content is true." It's worth pointing out that the techniques this tool detects also aren't necessarily bad. Some news stories really should inspire moral outrage, especially in the context of an opinion piece or editorial. Regardless, there's still value in identifying those techniques. Basically, this is a tool that can help you think critically about the media you're consuming, not do that critical thinking for you. Use it if you want to learn a little bit about the kinds of rhetorical tricks you might be vulnerable to. View the full article

Over the last 12-18 months, the rhetoric across Search Engine Land has shifted. There’s now broad agreement that people don’t just “Google” to discover brands anymore. Audiences are finding brands on TikTok, researching on Reddit, watching YouTube, and increasingly asking AI to summarize everything for them – determining whether a brand is found or ignored. Discoverability is no longer about ranking first on a single platform. It’s about showing up consistently across the touchpoints that make up your audience’s search universe, wherever decisions are actually being made. In this new landscape, two tactics are quietly doing much of the heavy lifting: digital PR and social search. Not as separate disciplines, but as a combined system for building authority, visibility, and recall across traditional search, social platforms, and AI-powered answers. Digital PR creates credibility at scale, giving brands authority and trustworthiness. Social search ensures distribution, making that credibility visible, repeatable, and memorable and, when done well, anchoring brands in culture and real-world conversation. Together, they do more than shape preference. They form one of the most effective approaches to discoverability heading into 2026. This is not a future prediction or a trend piece. Brands already winning attention today are not choosing between links and social search. They are designing campaigns where earned authority fuels searchable, platform-native content that travels wherever audiences – and algorithms – look. Search is no longer the destination, it’s a layer For years, search was treated as a place – a “Google”-shaped box where intent was captured and answers were delivered. You optimized for it, ranked in it, and measured success by how high you appeared. That model no longer holds. Search now sits on top of behavior, not at the center of it. It’s embedded across platforms, formats, and experiences. People don’t stop what they are doing to “go and search.” Search often starts passively and becomes more active as intent builds. Ultimately, audiences discover, validate, and decide in motion. Someone hears about a brand on TikTok, checks Reddit for real opinions, watches a YouTube breakdown, and then asks AI to summarize the pros and cons. None of those actions feel like traditional search, but every one of them is intent-led. This is what modern search looks like. The implication is simple but uncomfortable: If your brand only shows up when someone types a query into Google, you are arriving too late, especially if non-brand is your only focus. In many cases, the decision has already been shaped elsewhere. The audience’s mind is made up, reflected in the brand search that follows rather than in traditional non-brand queries. This is where discoverability starts to break for many brands. They are still optimizing for a single endpoint, while audiences navigate an entire search universe of touchpoints, each influencing trust, preference, and recall. In this platform-rich journey, authority does not just need to exist. It needs to be portable. It has to move with the user as they shift between platforms, formats, and contexts. E-E-A-T evidenced solely on your own website is no longer enough. Brands need to think broader. That is why digital PR and social search matter so much here. One builds the authority layer. The other ensures it is visible wherever search is happening, even when it does not look like search at all. Dig deeper: ‘Search everywhere’ doesn’t mean ‘be everywhere’ Social search is where intent becomes belief Search intent no longer forms in isolation. It develops through exposure, reinforcement, and social proof, and that process increasingly happens across social media touchpoints. When people turn to TikTok, Reddit, or YouTube, they are not just looking for answers. They’re looking for validation. Proof that a brand works, that it is credible, and that other like-minded people trust it. This is the crucial difference between traditional search and social search. Traditional search has matured into a largely transactional behavior. It’s often used to compare options or confirm availability. Social search, by contrast, is where belief is built. Opinions are shaped before a query is ever typed. It’s the equivalent of a chat with a friend at the pub, explaining how good or bad a solution is and what they would do in your position – and that type of interaction carries weight. A TikTok video showing a product in use does more than answer a question. It reduces uncertainty. A Reddit thread discussing real experiences adds nuance, context, and trust. A YouTube breakdown provides depth and reassurance. Together, they don’t just inform a decision. They normalize it, embedding it in a user’s psyche. This is why social platforms now sit so close to the moment of choice. By the time a user reaches Google or asks an AI to summarize their options, they are often not starting from zero. They are validating something they already feel confident about. The search behavior looks rational, but the preference has already been formed. That is what makes social search such a powerful lever for discoverability. It influences what people are predisposed to trust before they ever encounter a ranking, a link, or an answer. For brands, this changes the job to be done. Showing up on social platforms is not about publishing content for reach or engagement alone. It’s about being present in the conversations that shape belief, and doing so in a way that is engaging, searchable, repeatable, and platform-native. If your brand is not visible where intent turns into belief, you are relying on search engines to change someone’s mind at the last possible moment. Increasingly, that is a losing strategy. This is especially true when a [brand] + [term] search follows. This is also where social search starts to overlap directly with digital PR. Belief is not built solely by brands talking about themselves. It’s built when third parties, creators, communities, and credible sources reinforce the same narrative. When that happens consistently, discoverability does not just increase. It compounds. Dig deeper: Social and UGC: The trust engines powering search everywhere Digital PR is what gives social-search belief something to stand on If social search is where intent turns into belief, digital PR is what makes that belief credible. Because belief without authority is fragile. Digital PR has often been reduced to links, coverage, or campaigns that spike and disappear. But in this emerging search universe, its real value is far more foundational. Digital PR gives brands third-party validation at scale – the kind algorithms trust and audiences recognize. It answers the unspoken question people ask when they encounter a brand through social or AI, “Why should I believe this?” Coverage in trusted publications, expert commentary, data-led insights, and earned mentions all serve the same function. They don’t just increase presence. They legitimize it. They turn claims into facts and positioning into something others can repeat without skepticism. This matters because true belief in a solution can’t be formed in a vacuum. Social platforms may introduce or reinforce an idea, but digital PR anchors that idea in authority. It’s the difference between a brand being talked about and a brand being trusted. In practical terms, digital PR feeds the belief layer in three critical ways. It creates source authority: Earned coverage from credible publishers gives algorithms – including emerging AI and LLM systems – something reliable to reference. That’s why certain brands are cited, summarized, and recommended more frequently than others. It shapes narrative consistency: Well-executed digital PR ensures the same core messages appear across multiple independent sources. That repetition matters, not just for awareness, but for recall, relevance, and confidence. It makes belief portable: Authority earned through digital PR no longer has to live on a single platform. Brands should recognize the opportunity for distribution – for PR to travel into social content, community discussions, and AI-generated answers. This is how brands infiltrate the mental shortcuts people use when making decisions. This is where digital PR and social search stop being adjacent and start being interdependent. Social search distributes belief, but digital PR gives it weight. Social search surfaces stories, but digital PR determines whether those stories are trusted, referenced, and remembered. When the two are planned together, something powerful happens. PR campaigns stop being one-off moments and start becoming searchable assets. Coverage fuels content. Authority strengthens preference. Belief compounds rather than fades. Ultimately, your brand is chosen. Dig deeper: How to build search visibility before demand exists Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. See terms. Where digital PR and social search intersect in practice The real power of digital PR and social search isn’t theoretical. It shows up in how campaigns are designed, activated, and reused. When the two work in isolation, PR creates authority that fades quickly, while social content creates presence that lacks the weight to generate consistent preference across the search universe. When they’re planned together, PR stops being a moment in time and starts becoming searchable. The intersection happens when PR ideas are built with distribution, searchability, and platform behavior in mind from the outset, rather than treated as a bolt-on or afterthought. A strong digital PR campaign already contains everything social search needs: insight, credibility, and a reason for people to care. The mistake brands make is treating coverage as the end goal rather than the raw material. For example, a data-led PR story shouldn’t live only in a press release or a handful of links on a webpage. It should be broken down into TikTok explainers, YouTube deep dives, and visual summaries that answer the exact questions people are already searching for, either through owned content or creator partnerships. Another example is expert commentary used for PR outreach that is then repurposed into short-form “hot take” content, creator collaborations, or community discussions that surface when audiences look for reassurance. Newsjacked insights can be translated into fast, searchable social content that appears while interest is peaking, not days or weeks later after coverage has cooled. In each case, the PR asset becomes a social-search asset – something that can be found, replayed, and reinforced long after the initial coverage lands, distributed across the search universe. With that in mind, this is also where search “optimization” shifts. Instead of optimizing only for keywords or headlines, brands optimize for questions, formats, and narratives – intent. PR content is designed to match how people search on social platforms, through natural language, lived experience, and explanation. The outcome is compounding presence. Earned coverage still builds authority. Social search content extends its lifespan. AI and LLM systems can then pick up consistent narratives from multiple trusted sources. Audiences encounter the same message across different contexts, increasing recall and trust. It puts brands at the center of the conversation, making them the go-to choice. Dig deeper: Why PR is becoming more essential for AI search visibility Operationalizing digital PR and social search Put simply, this approach requires a mindset shift. Digital PR teams need to think beyond coverage and links. Social teams need to think beyond engagement and reach. Both need to align around the same question: “How does this idea travel through the search universe?” When that happens, campaigns stop being channel-specific and start becoming part of a broader discoverability engine. If discoverability now depends on authority and belief, the way teams plan has to change. Digital PR and social search can’t sit in separate roadmaps, measured by different metrics and chasing different outcomes. Planning them independently creates diminishing returns. Instead, campaigns need to be built around ideas that travel, operating within a “search everywhere” mindset for discoverability. That means briefing digital PR with search behavior in mind – not just headlines or links, but the questions people will ask on TikTok, Reddit, YouTube, and AI interfaces once a story breaks. It also means treating social content as a reinforcement layer, not a bolt-on, designed to extend the lifespan and searchability of earned authority. For teams, this requires alignment around a shared goal: long-term discoverability, not short-term performance. Growth in [brand] search is a strong KPI here. Success isn’t measured by coverage, engagement, or rankings in isolation. It’s measured by whether a brand consistently shows up across the touchpoints that shape trust, preference, and recall. The real question is whether an activation led audiences to choose one brand over another. Dig deeper: The social-to-search halo effect: Why social content drives branded search The path to discoverability in 2026 Discoverability in 2026 won’t be won by optimizing harder for a single platform. It will be won by brands that understand how authority and belief are formed – and how they travel. Digital PR builds the authority layer. It gives brands credibility, legitimacy, and something worth trusting. Social search turns that authority into belief by placing it in the conversations, platforms, and moments where people make decisions. On their own, each has value. Together, they compound. The brands that win in 2026 are focused on creating signals that persist – signals that show up consistently across traditional search, social platforms, and AI-powered answers. The goal isn’t to game SEO or GEO. It’s to genuinely connect with audiences. When audiences – and algorithms – encounter the same credible narrative repeatedly, preference forms naturally and recall improves. Discoverability stops being something you chase and starts being something you earn, and potentially own. This isn’t about abandoning SEO or traditional search. It’s about recognizing that search has expanded, democratized, and layered itself across the entire digital experience – part of a broader search-everywhere mindset. View the full article

I am seeing new signs of yet more Google Search ranking volatility and a possible tweak to the ranking search algorithm. Something kicked off yesterday, January 15th, that the third-party tools picked up on. With this update, there is limited chatter, unlike the previous unconfirmed Google Search ranking update.View the full article

An effective loyalty strategy for your business starts with clear objectives that align with your overall goals. Comprehending your customer base is crucial, as it informs the types of incentives you should offer. Engaging customers through personalized rewards can nurture deeper connections, whereas technology can streamline tracking and communication. Nonetheless, the real challenge lies in continuously adapting your program based on feedback. What specific elements can you implement to improve customer engagement and retention? Key Takeaways Establish clear objectives that align with business goals to enhance focus on key outcomes like customer retention and purchase frequency. Create a compelling value proposition that offers unique benefits beyond discounts to engage customers effectively. Understand customer demographics and behaviors to tailor incentives and communication strategies for personalized engagement. Foster collaboration among stakeholders to address diverse interests and ensure a cohesive loyalty strategy across departments. Utilize technology for user-friendly reward tracking and data analytics to measure success and adapt loyalty programs based on feedback. Key Components of a Loyalty Program Strategy When developing a loyalty program strategy, it’s vital to focus on several key components that can boost its effectiveness. First, establish clear objectives that align with your broader business goals, emphasizing metrics like purchase frequency and customer lifetime value. Next, create a compelling value proposition that goes beyond discounts and points; it should resonate with your customers’ needs and preferences. Comprehending customer demographics and behaviors is fundamental for tailoring incentives that encourage repeat business and strengthen customer loyalty. Furthermore, recognize and reward your top customers with exclusive benefits, as 56% of customers prefer brands with robust loyalty programs. Finally, regularly review and adapt your loyalty strategy based on customer feedback and market trends to maintain its relevance and effectiveness. Importance of Clear Objectives Having clear objectives is essential for your loyalty program, as they set specific goals that guide your efforts. By aligning these objectives with your overall business model, you can guarantee that the program supports growth and profitability. Furthermore, measuring program outcomes allows you to assess effectiveness and make necessary adjustments for continuous improvement. Define Specific Goals Defining specific goals for your loyalty program is crucial, as it aligns your initiatives with broader business objectives and guarantees that every effort you make is purposeful. Clear objectives help you focus on key outcomes, like increasing purchase frequency and customer lifetime value. By identifying specific goals, you can explore various loyalty program types that suit your needs, leading to more effective engagement strategies. Moreover, incorporating measurable outcomes allows you to assess the success of your initiatives and make data-driven adjustments. Research shows that companies with defined loyalty program objectives can improve customer retention rates by up to 30%. Regularly reviewing these objectives based on customer feedback guarantees your program stays relevant and effective in meeting evolving customer needs. Align With Business Model Aligning your loyalty program with your business model is essential for achieving clarity and focus in its execution. Defining specific objectives helps guide the design and implementation of your program. For instance, increasing purchase frequency or improving customer lifetime value can directly inform your strategy. By aligning loyalty goals with broader business objectives, you can select the most suitable program type, like points, tiered, or community-based approaches. This alignment cultivates a cohesive strategy that maximizes customer engagement and satisfaction. Objective Program Type Expected Outcome Increase Purchase Frequency Points Higher transaction rates Improve Customer Lifetime Value Tiered Increased retention Build Community Engagement Community-Based Stronger brand loyalty Boost Referral Rates Points Expanded customer base Improve Customer Satisfaction Tiered Higher NPS scores Measure Program Outcomes When you set clear objectives for your loyalty program, you create a roadmap that aligns with your overall business goals. Defining specific goals, like enhancing customer retention or boosting engagement, helps you evaluate success effectively. By incorporating measurable outcomes into your program design, you can assess the effectiveness of your loyalty initiatives and make necessary adjustments based on performance metrics. Regularly reviewing these objectives against market trends and customer feedback guarantees your program remains relevant and responsive to changing behaviors. A thorough approach to measuring outcomes, focusing on behavioral metrics and sentiment analysis, allows you to understand the true impact of your loyalty initiatives on customer relationships. This strategic focus eventually drives increased purchase frequency and customer lifetime value. Understanding Customer Base Comprehending your customer base is essential for developing effective loyalty strategies that resonate with your audience. By gaining insights into customer demographics and preferences, you can customize loyalty programs that improve satisfaction and retention. Tracking purchase behaviors through online and offline interactions enables you to grasp your customers better, allowing for targeted engagement strategies. Obtaining consent for further engagement is critical for boosting data collection, which helps personalize offers and maximize value. Customizing services and products based on customer insights can greatly improve retention, ensuring your offerings meet their needs. Here’s a quick overview of how these factors contribute to customer loyalty: Factor Impact on Loyalty Customer Insights Customized programs improve satisfaction Purchase Behavior Better comprehension leads to targeted strategies Consent for Engagement Improves personalization Customized Offerings Increases retention Value from Programs Boosts profitability Engagement and Incentive Strategies Comprehending your customer base sets the stage for effective engagement and incentive strategies that can improve loyalty. By implementing targeted incentives, like personalized offers based on shopping history, you can boost basket size and drive repeat business. Recognizing loyal customers with exclusive benefits not only strengthens connections but likewise promotes long-term loyalty, as 79% of consumers prefer programs that offer personalized rewards. Ongoing communication, including personalized emails and promotions, keeps your brand top-of-mind, encouraging continued engagement with your loyalty program. Furthermore, upselling services through loyalty programs creates new revenue streams, improving the overall customer experience and increasing retention rates. Incorporating gamified elements, such as challenges that reward specific actions, taps into the desire for achievement and competition, further boosting engagement. Alignment of Stakeholder Interests When you consider the alignment of stakeholder interests, it’s crucial to recognize that different roles within your organization prioritize various aspects of loyalty programs. CEOs might focus on customer retention and brand loyalty, whereas CFOs often look at cost implications and profitability. Diverse Stakeholder Perspectives Aligning loyalty strategies with the diverse interests of various stakeholders is essential for creating a successful program that meets the needs of the entire organization. Each stakeholder brings unique priorities, and comprehending these can lead to a more effective loyalty program. Consider these perspectives: CEOs often favor points systems that improve personal benefits and brand reputation. CFOs are primarily concerned with cost implications and financial sustainability. Marketing VPs emphasize strategies that amplify social media engagement and customer interaction. Sales teams might focus on immediate conversion rates and customer retention. Customer service representatives prioritize improving customer satisfaction through loyalty offerings. Addressing these varied preferences guarantees cohesive program design and greater buy-in from all departments involved in implementation. Strategic Program Benefits How can a well-aligned loyalty program benefit your business? By addressing the diverse needs of stakeholders, you can create a loyalty strategy that not merely improves customer engagement but also aligns with each department’s goals. This alignment cultivates cross-departmental collaboration, ensuring that the program supports both customer satisfaction and business profitability. When stakeholders see their interests reflected in the loyalty program, they’re more likely to invest in and support it, leading to a more successful initiative overall. Stakeholder Preference Benefit CEOs Point systems Personal benefits CFOs Cost implications Increased profitability Marketing Customer engagement Improved brand objectives Collaborative Decision-Making Process To create an effective loyalty program, it’s essential to engage in a collaborative decision-making process that incorporates the interests of various stakeholders, such as CEOs, CFOs, and marketing VPs. Aligning their goals guarantees the program meets both financial and customer engagement targets. Here are key considerations for this process: CEOs value personal benefits for customers. CFOs focus on costs and overall profitability. Marketing VPs prioritize social media engagement and brand visibility. Integrating stakeholder feedback leads to a cohesive strategy. Regular communication improves decision-making throughout the program’s lifecycle. Technology Integration As businesses endeavor to improve customer loyalty, integrating modern technology into loyalty programs becomes crucial for success. A user-friendly platform allows customers to easily check their rewards and redeem points, improving their overall experience. By offering a seamless digital experience, you can greatly boost customer engagement levels, leading to higher participation rates in your loyalty programs. Utilizing data analytics helps personalize customer interactions, guaranteeing that your offers are relevant and customized, which in turn elevates customer satisfaction. Mobile-friendly loyalty applications add convenience, enabling customers to track their points and rewards on-the-go, keeping your brand top-of-mind. Additionally, implementing automated communication through technology guarantees ongoing engagement, allowing customers to stay informed about their rewards and any program updates. Adaptability in Loyalty Programs Integrating technology into loyalty programs sets the stage for businesses to adapt these programs to meet evolving customer expectations. To maintain relevance and engagement, you need to regularly review and refine your loyalty offerings based on customer feedback. This adaptability not only helps keep your program effective but likewise nurtures ongoing satisfaction. Consider these key strategies for enhancing adaptability: Conduct regular customer feedback surveys to gather insights. Monitor market trends to anticipate shifts in customer behavior. Utilize performance metrics to identify what’s working and what isn’t. Adjust rewards and incentives based on changing preferences. Stay flexible to quickly implement changes when needed. Legal and Ethical Considerations When developing loyalty programs, it’s critical to contemplate the legal and ethical implications that come with handling customer data. Compliance with data privacy regulations like GDPR guarantees you respect customer information. Transparency in how you use this data is essential, as is guaranteeing rewards are fair and accessible to all participants. Customers should be informed about their rights and have the option to opt out without penalties. Consider the following key aspects: Legal Considerations Ethical Considerations Compliance with GDPR Transparency in data usage Adhering to anti-spam laws Fairness in rewards Informing customers of rights Avoiding misleading marketing Respect for opt-out options Building trust through respect Measuring Success of Loyalty Program Strategy To effectively measure the success of your loyalty program, it’s crucial to utilize key performance indicators (KPIs) that reflect customer retention rates and purchase frequency. Analyzing behavioral metrics like average transaction size and profit margins can reveal how the program impacts customer spending. Furthermore, tracking engagement through techniques such as email open rates and conversion rates helps gauge the effectiveness of your loyalty strategies in nurturing long-term relationships with customers. Key Performance Indicators Measuring the success of a loyalty program requires a clear comprehension of key performance indicators (KPIs) that reflect customer engagement and financial impact. By focusing on these KPIs, you can better understand your loyalty strategy‘s effectiveness. Consider monitoring the following: Customer retention rates to track ongoing engagement with your brand. Customer lifetime value (CLTV) to assess the long-term financial impact of loyalty members. Redemption rates of rewards to evaluate how attractive your program is to customers. Purchase frequency comparison between loyalty members and non-members to gauge repeat business. Net Promoter Scores (NPS) to measure customer satisfaction and emotional connections with your brand. Using these KPIs will help you refine your loyalty strategy effectively. Behavioral Metrics Analysis Analyzing behavioral metrics is vital for comprehending how effectively your loyalty program influences customer actions. Focus on key aspects like purchase frequency and transaction size to evaluate your program’s success. Monitoring average transaction sizes helps you understand the financial impact of your loyalty initiatives, revealing potential upselling opportunities. Moreover, tracking customer retention rates offers insights into how well your program retains members compared to non-members, indicating its effectiveness in promoting loyalty. By analyzing how your loyalty program influences customer behavior, you can assess the impact of targeted incentives and promotions on sales growth. Regularly reviewing these metrics is important for making data-driven adjustments, enhancing customer engagement, and ultimately improving satisfaction with your loyalty program. Engagement Measurement Techniques Success in a loyalty program hinges on effective engagement measurement techniques that provide insights into customer behavior and program performance. By employing various metrics, you can assess the program’s success and identify areas for improvement. Consider tracking these key factors: Customer retention rates to see how long customers stay engaged. Customer lifetime value (CLTV) to measure revenue generated by loyalty members versus non-members. Redemption rates to evaluate the attractiveness of your rewards. Purchase frequency of loyalty members compared to non-members to gauge the program’s impact on buying behavior. Program ROI by comparing costs to revenue generated from loyalty members, ensuring financial viability. These techniques offer an all-encompassing view, guiding adjustments to improve your loyalty strategy effectively. Developing a Successful Loyalty Program Creating a successful loyalty program involves several key strategies that can greatly improve customer engagement and retention. Start by setting clear goals that align with your business objectives, focusing on initiatives like increasing customer retention and boosting lifetime value. Offering personalized rewards can greatly elevate engagement; studies show that 79% of customers are more loyal to brands that provide customized rewards. Implementing a tiered rewards system motivates customers to increase spending to reach higher tiers, encouraging deeper brand engagement. Confirm the program design is simple, with easy point accumulation and redemption processes, to improve customer satisfaction. Complicated programs often lose interest quickly. Regularly review and adapt your loyalty program based on customer feedback and market trends to maintain its relevance and effectiveness. Strategy Importance Clear Goals Aligns with business objectives Personalized Rewards Increases customer loyalty Tiered Rewards System Motivates higher spending Simplicity Improves satisfaction and participation Behavior Motivators for Customer Engagement How can comprehension of behavior motivators improve customer engagement? Grasping what drives customer behavior can greatly improve your engagement strategies. By recognizing motivators like rewards and exclusive benefits, you can influence purchasing decisions and increase transaction frequency. Consider these key behavior motivators: Rewards: Offer immediate incentives for purchases, encouraging repeat business. Personalized Offers: Tailor promotions to individual preferences, improving relevance and appeal. Emotional Recognition: Cultivate a sense of belonging and recognition to deepen loyalty. Balance of Incentives: Combine short-term rewards with long-term loyalty programs to maintain ongoing commitment. Improved Experience: Create a satisfying customer path that encourages greater lifetime value (CLTV). Frequently Asked Questions What Are the 4 C’s of Customer Loyalty? The 4 C’s of customer loyalty are Customer, Cost, Convenience, and Communication. First, you need to understand your customers’ demographics and preferences to tailor your approach. Next, consider the costs associated with loyalty programs versus the revenue they generate. Convenience is key; make certain your program is easy to use and redeem rewards. Finally, maintain clear communication about benefits and updates, which helps build trust and keeps your customers engaged with your brand. What Are the 3 R’s of Loyalty? The 3 R’s of loyalty are Recognition, Rewards, and Relationship. Recognition means acknowledging your loyalty through personalized messages and timely rewards, which helps you feel valued. Rewards should be both valuable and easily attainable, encouraging increased spending. Building strong Relationships involves consistent interactions, leading to higher satisfaction and a greater likelihood you’ll recommend the brand to others. Together, these elements create a cohesive experience that improves customer engagement and retention. What Makes a Loyalty Program Successful? A successful loyalty program combines personalized rewards, clear structures, and emotional connections. You should offer customized experiences that resonate with consumers, as this increases engagement. Implementing a tiered rewards system motivates higher spending, whereas simplified structures keep participation high. Furthermore, engaging customers through exclusive experiences or social initiatives deepens connections. Finally, measure your program’s success using metrics like customer retention rates and Net Promoter Scores to evaluate effectiveness and understand customer sentiment. What Are the 8 C’s of Customer Loyalty? The 8 C’s of customer loyalty are Commitment, Connection, Communication, Convenience, Consistency, Customization, Community, and Cost. Commitment reflects the emotional bond customers form with a brand. Connection involves creating personal interactions that improve customer experiences. Communication guarantees you keep customers informed and engaged. Convenience simplifies the purchasing process. Consistency builds trust, whereas Customization tailors experiences to individual preferences. Community nurtures a sense of belonging, and Cost addresses the perceived value of your offerings. Conclusion In summary, an effective loyalty strategy is crucial for driving customer retention and profitability. By establishing clear objectives, comprehending your customer base, and implementing engaging incentives, you can create a program that resonates with your audience. Aligning stakeholder interests and adhering to legal and ethical standards further strengthens your approach. Regularly measuring success and adapting to feedback guarantees the program remains relevant and effective. In the end, a well-crafted loyalty strategy nurtures lasting customer relationships and supports your business goals. Image via Google Gemini This article, "What Makes an Effective Loyalty Strategy for Business?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

An effective loyalty strategy for your business starts with clear objectives that align with your overall goals. Comprehending your customer base is crucial, as it informs the types of incentives you should offer. Engaging customers through personalized rewards can nurture deeper connections, whereas technology can streamline tracking and communication. Nonetheless, the real challenge lies in continuously adapting your program based on feedback. What specific elements can you implement to improve customer engagement and retention? Key Takeaways Establish clear objectives that align with business goals to enhance focus on key outcomes like customer retention and purchase frequency. Create a compelling value proposition that offers unique benefits beyond discounts to engage customers effectively. Understand customer demographics and behaviors to tailor incentives and communication strategies for personalized engagement. Foster collaboration among stakeholders to address diverse interests and ensure a cohesive loyalty strategy across departments. Utilize technology for user-friendly reward tracking and data analytics to measure success and adapt loyalty programs based on feedback. Key Components of a Loyalty Program Strategy When developing a loyalty program strategy, it’s vital to focus on several key components that can boost its effectiveness. First, establish clear objectives that align with your broader business goals, emphasizing metrics like purchase frequency and customer lifetime value. Next, create a compelling value proposition that goes beyond discounts and points; it should resonate with your customers’ needs and preferences. Comprehending customer demographics and behaviors is fundamental for tailoring incentives that encourage repeat business and strengthen customer loyalty. Furthermore, recognize and reward your top customers with exclusive benefits, as 56% of customers prefer brands with robust loyalty programs. Finally, regularly review and adapt your loyalty strategy based on customer feedback and market trends to maintain its relevance and effectiveness. Importance of Clear Objectives Having clear objectives is essential for your loyalty program, as they set specific goals that guide your efforts. By aligning these objectives with your overall business model, you can guarantee that the program supports growth and profitability. Furthermore, measuring program outcomes allows you to assess effectiveness and make necessary adjustments for continuous improvement. Define Specific Goals Defining specific goals for your loyalty program is crucial, as it aligns your initiatives with broader business objectives and guarantees that every effort you make is purposeful. Clear objectives help you focus on key outcomes, like increasing purchase frequency and customer lifetime value. By identifying specific goals, you can explore various loyalty program types that suit your needs, leading to more effective engagement strategies. Moreover, incorporating measurable outcomes allows you to assess the success of your initiatives and make data-driven adjustments. Research shows that companies with defined loyalty program objectives can improve customer retention rates by up to 30%. Regularly reviewing these objectives based on customer feedback guarantees your program stays relevant and effective in meeting evolving customer needs. Align With Business Model Aligning your loyalty program with your business model is essential for achieving clarity and focus in its execution. Defining specific objectives helps guide the design and implementation of your program. For instance, increasing purchase frequency or improving customer lifetime value can directly inform your strategy. By aligning loyalty goals with broader business objectives, you can select the most suitable program type, like points, tiered, or community-based approaches. This alignment cultivates a cohesive strategy that maximizes customer engagement and satisfaction. Objective Program Type Expected Outcome Increase Purchase Frequency Points Higher transaction rates Improve Customer Lifetime Value Tiered Increased retention Build Community Engagement Community-Based Stronger brand loyalty Boost Referral Rates Points Expanded customer base Improve Customer Satisfaction Tiered Higher NPS scores Measure Program Outcomes When you set clear objectives for your loyalty program, you create a roadmap that aligns with your overall business goals. Defining specific goals, like enhancing customer retention or boosting engagement, helps you evaluate success effectively. By incorporating measurable outcomes into your program design, you can assess the effectiveness of your loyalty initiatives and make necessary adjustments based on performance metrics. Regularly reviewing these objectives against market trends and customer feedback guarantees your program remains relevant and responsive to changing behaviors. A thorough approach to measuring outcomes, focusing on behavioral metrics and sentiment analysis, allows you to understand the true impact of your loyalty initiatives on customer relationships. This strategic focus eventually drives increased purchase frequency and customer lifetime value. Understanding Customer Base Comprehending your customer base is essential for developing effective loyalty strategies that resonate with your audience. By gaining insights into customer demographics and preferences, you can customize loyalty programs that improve satisfaction and retention. Tracking purchase behaviors through online and offline interactions enables you to grasp your customers better, allowing for targeted engagement strategies. Obtaining consent for further engagement is critical for boosting data collection, which helps personalize offers and maximize value. Customizing services and products based on customer insights can greatly improve retention, ensuring your offerings meet their needs. Here’s a quick overview of how these factors contribute to customer loyalty: Factor Impact on Loyalty Customer Insights Customized programs improve satisfaction Purchase Behavior Better comprehension leads to targeted strategies Consent for Engagement Improves personalization Customized Offerings Increases retention Value from Programs Boosts profitability Engagement and Incentive Strategies Comprehending your customer base sets the stage for effective engagement and incentive strategies that can improve loyalty. By implementing targeted incentives, like personalized offers based on shopping history, you can boost basket size and drive repeat business. Recognizing loyal customers with exclusive benefits not only strengthens connections but likewise promotes long-term loyalty, as 79% of consumers prefer programs that offer personalized rewards. Ongoing communication, including personalized emails and promotions, keeps your brand top-of-mind, encouraging continued engagement with your loyalty program. Furthermore, upselling services through loyalty programs creates new revenue streams, improving the overall customer experience and increasing retention rates. Incorporating gamified elements, such as challenges that reward specific actions, taps into the desire for achievement and competition, further boosting engagement. Alignment of Stakeholder Interests When you consider the alignment of stakeholder interests, it’s crucial to recognize that different roles within your organization prioritize various aspects of loyalty programs. CEOs might focus on customer retention and brand loyalty, whereas CFOs often look at cost implications and profitability. Diverse Stakeholder Perspectives Aligning loyalty strategies with the diverse interests of various stakeholders is essential for creating a successful program that meets the needs of the entire organization. Each stakeholder brings unique priorities, and comprehending these can lead to a more effective loyalty program. Consider these perspectives: CEOs often favor points systems that improve personal benefits and brand reputation. CFOs are primarily concerned with cost implications and financial sustainability. Marketing VPs emphasize strategies that amplify social media engagement and customer interaction. Sales teams might focus on immediate conversion rates and customer retention. Customer service representatives prioritize improving customer satisfaction through loyalty offerings. Addressing these varied preferences guarantees cohesive program design and greater buy-in from all departments involved in implementation. Strategic Program Benefits How can a well-aligned loyalty program benefit your business? By addressing the diverse needs of stakeholders, you can create a loyalty strategy that not merely improves customer engagement but also aligns with each department’s goals. This alignment cultivates cross-departmental collaboration, ensuring that the program supports both customer satisfaction and business profitability. When stakeholders see their interests reflected in the loyalty program, they’re more likely to invest in and support it, leading to a more successful initiative overall. Stakeholder Preference Benefit CEOs Point systems Personal benefits CFOs Cost implications Increased profitability Marketing Customer engagement Improved brand objectives Collaborative Decision-Making Process To create an effective loyalty program, it’s essential to engage in a collaborative decision-making process that incorporates the interests of various stakeholders, such as CEOs, CFOs, and marketing VPs. Aligning their goals guarantees the program meets both financial and customer engagement targets. Here are key considerations for this process: CEOs value personal benefits for customers. CFOs focus on costs and overall profitability. Marketing VPs prioritize social media engagement and brand visibility. Integrating stakeholder feedback leads to a cohesive strategy. Regular communication improves decision-making throughout the program’s lifecycle. Technology Integration As businesses endeavor to improve customer loyalty, integrating modern technology into loyalty programs becomes crucial for success. A user-friendly platform allows customers to easily check their rewards and redeem points, improving their overall experience. By offering a seamless digital experience, you can greatly boost customer engagement levels, leading to higher participation rates in your loyalty programs. Utilizing data analytics helps personalize customer interactions, guaranteeing that your offers are relevant and customized, which in turn elevates customer satisfaction. Mobile-friendly loyalty applications add convenience, enabling customers to track their points and rewards on-the-go, keeping your brand top-of-mind. Additionally, implementing automated communication through technology guarantees ongoing engagement, allowing customers to stay informed about their rewards and any program updates. Adaptability in Loyalty Programs Integrating technology into loyalty programs sets the stage for businesses to adapt these programs to meet evolving customer expectations. To maintain relevance and engagement, you need to regularly review and refine your loyalty offerings based on customer feedback. This adaptability not only helps keep your program effective but likewise nurtures ongoing satisfaction. Consider these key strategies for enhancing adaptability: Conduct regular customer feedback surveys to gather insights. Monitor market trends to anticipate shifts in customer behavior. Utilize performance metrics to identify what’s working and what isn’t. Adjust rewards and incentives based on changing preferences. Stay flexible to quickly implement changes when needed. Legal and Ethical Considerations When developing loyalty programs, it’s critical to contemplate the legal and ethical implications that come with handling customer data. Compliance with data privacy regulations like GDPR guarantees you respect customer information. Transparency in how you use this data is essential, as is guaranteeing rewards are fair and accessible to all participants. Customers should be informed about their rights and have the option to opt out without penalties. Consider the following key aspects: Legal Considerations Ethical Considerations Compliance with GDPR Transparency in data usage Adhering to anti-spam laws Fairness in rewards Informing customers of rights Avoiding misleading marketing Respect for opt-out options Building trust through respect Measuring Success of Loyalty Program Strategy To effectively measure the success of your loyalty program, it’s crucial to utilize key performance indicators (KPIs) that reflect customer retention rates and purchase frequency. Analyzing behavioral metrics like average transaction size and profit margins can reveal how the program impacts customer spending. Furthermore, tracking engagement through techniques such as email open rates and conversion rates helps gauge the effectiveness of your loyalty strategies in nurturing long-term relationships with customers. Key Performance Indicators Measuring the success of a loyalty program requires a clear comprehension of key performance indicators (KPIs) that reflect customer engagement and financial impact. By focusing on these KPIs, you can better understand your loyalty strategy‘s effectiveness. Consider monitoring the following: Customer retention rates to track ongoing engagement with your brand. Customer lifetime value (CLTV) to assess the long-term financial impact of loyalty members. Redemption rates of rewards to evaluate how attractive your program is to customers. Purchase frequency comparison between loyalty members and non-members to gauge repeat business. Net Promoter Scores (NPS) to measure customer satisfaction and emotional connections with your brand. Using these KPIs will help you refine your loyalty strategy effectively. Behavioral Metrics Analysis Analyzing behavioral metrics is vital for comprehending how effectively your loyalty program influences customer actions. Focus on key aspects like purchase frequency and transaction size to evaluate your program’s success. Monitoring average transaction sizes helps you understand the financial impact of your loyalty initiatives, revealing potential upselling opportunities. Moreover, tracking customer retention rates offers insights into how well your program retains members compared to non-members, indicating its effectiveness in promoting loyalty. By analyzing how your loyalty program influences customer behavior, you can assess the impact of targeted incentives and promotions on sales growth. Regularly reviewing these metrics is important for making data-driven adjustments, enhancing customer engagement, and ultimately improving satisfaction with your loyalty program. Engagement Measurement Techniques Success in a loyalty program hinges on effective engagement measurement techniques that provide insights into customer behavior and program performance. By employing various metrics, you can assess the program’s success and identify areas for improvement. Consider tracking these key factors: Customer retention rates to see how long customers stay engaged. Customer lifetime value (CLTV) to measure revenue generated by loyalty members versus non-members. Redemption rates to evaluate the attractiveness of your rewards. Purchase frequency of loyalty members compared to non-members to gauge the program’s impact on buying behavior. Program ROI by comparing costs to revenue generated from loyalty members, ensuring financial viability. These techniques offer an all-encompassing view, guiding adjustments to improve your loyalty strategy effectively. Developing a Successful Loyalty Program Creating a successful loyalty program involves several key strategies that can greatly improve customer engagement and retention. Start by setting clear goals that align with your business objectives, focusing on initiatives like increasing customer retention and boosting lifetime value. Offering personalized rewards can greatly elevate engagement; studies show that 79% of customers are more loyal to brands that provide customized rewards. Implementing a tiered rewards system motivates customers to increase spending to reach higher tiers, encouraging deeper brand engagement. Confirm the program design is simple, with easy point accumulation and redemption processes, to improve customer satisfaction. Complicated programs often lose interest quickly. Regularly review and adapt your loyalty program based on customer feedback and market trends to maintain its relevance and effectiveness. Strategy Importance Clear Goals Aligns with business objectives Personalized Rewards Increases customer loyalty Tiered Rewards System Motivates higher spending Simplicity Improves satisfaction and participation Behavior Motivators for Customer Engagement How can comprehension of behavior motivators improve customer engagement? Grasping what drives customer behavior can greatly improve your engagement strategies. By recognizing motivators like rewards and exclusive benefits, you can influence purchasing decisions and increase transaction frequency. Consider these key behavior motivators: Rewards: Offer immediate incentives for purchases, encouraging repeat business. Personalized Offers: Tailor promotions to individual preferences, improving relevance and appeal. Emotional Recognition: Cultivate a sense of belonging and recognition to deepen loyalty. Balance of Incentives: Combine short-term rewards with long-term loyalty programs to maintain ongoing commitment. Improved Experience: Create a satisfying customer path that encourages greater lifetime value (CLTV). Frequently Asked Questions What Are the 4 C’s of Customer Loyalty? The 4 C’s of customer loyalty are Customer, Cost, Convenience, and Communication. First, you need to understand your customers’ demographics and preferences to tailor your approach. Next, consider the costs associated with loyalty programs versus the revenue they generate. Convenience is key; make certain your program is easy to use and redeem rewards. Finally, maintain clear communication about benefits and updates, which helps build trust and keeps your customers engaged with your brand. What Are the 3 R’s of Loyalty? The 3 R’s of loyalty are Recognition, Rewards, and Relationship. Recognition means acknowledging your loyalty through personalized messages and timely rewards, which helps you feel valued. Rewards should be both valuable and easily attainable, encouraging increased spending. Building strong Relationships involves consistent interactions, leading to higher satisfaction and a greater likelihood you’ll recommend the brand to others. Together, these elements create a cohesive experience that improves customer engagement and retention. What Makes a Loyalty Program Successful? A successful loyalty program combines personalized rewards, clear structures, and emotional connections. You should offer customized experiences that resonate with consumers, as this increases engagement. Implementing a tiered rewards system motivates higher spending, whereas simplified structures keep participation high. Furthermore, engaging customers through exclusive experiences or social initiatives deepens connections. Finally, measure your program’s success using metrics like customer retention rates and Net Promoter Scores to evaluate effectiveness and understand customer sentiment. What Are the 8 C’s of Customer Loyalty? The 8 C’s of customer loyalty are Commitment, Connection, Communication, Convenience, Consistency, Customization, Community, and Cost. Commitment reflects the emotional bond customers form with a brand. Connection involves creating personal interactions that improve customer experiences. Communication guarantees you keep customers informed and engaged. Convenience simplifies the purchasing process. Consistency builds trust, whereas Customization tailors experiences to individual preferences. Community nurtures a sense of belonging, and Cost addresses the perceived value of your offerings. Conclusion In summary, an effective loyalty strategy is crucial for driving customer retention and profitability. By establishing clear objectives, comprehending your customer base, and implementing engaging incentives, you can create a program that resonates with your audience. Aligning stakeholder interests and adhering to legal and ethical standards further strengthens your approach. Regularly measuring success and adapting to feedback guarantees the program remains relevant and effective. In the end, a well-crafted loyalty strategy nurtures lasting customer relationships and supports your business goals. Image via Google Gemini This article, "What Makes an Effective Loyalty Strategy for Business?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

The Most Interesting Man is set to make a return to television. In a marketing push that kicks off with a new 60-second spot airing on ESPN during the College Football Championship Game, Heineken’s Dos Equis has rehired Jonathan Goldsmith to play the Most Interesting Man, closing the ad with a familiar, iconic line. “I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, I still prefer Dos Equis.” That copy, the return of Goldsmith, and even the original campaign’s Western-themed instrumental music were all elements of what felt like “some magic that we need to bring back,” says Alison Payne, chief marketing officer of Heineken USA in an interview with Fast Company. Payne, who assumed the role of CMO at the beginning of 2025, says her creative team did some soul-searching with Le Pub, the Publicis Groupe-owned creative agency that Dos Equis hired in May 2025 to help Dos Equis resonate with today’s drinkers. Why age became an asset They landed on reviving a campaign that broke through the cultural zeitgeist enough to be spoofed on Saturday Night Live. The return of Goldsmith, now 87 years old, may seem counterintuitive as beer brands like Dos Equis aim to lure younger drinkers, with Gen Z now being the most prized demographic. Dos Equis did consider more youthful talent, but Payne says “we actually learned that consumers wanted someone who had some age and wisdom. You can’t have an interesting archive of life lived if you’re really young.” The campaign comes as Dos Equis’ parent company Heineken has faced some sales pressures. In October, the Dutch brewer announced that annual profits for 2025 would be lower than anticipated due to weak demand in Europe and the Americas. Amid the woes, Heineken announced in January that CEO Dolf van den Brink would step down in May, after six years leading the company. A campaign that once tripled the brand The Most Interesting Man campaign recalls more heady times. Debuting in 2006, it helped triple the size of the Dos Equis brand for the creative campaign over a decade, according to Heineken, citing internal U.S. sales volume data. After a decade, the creative concept was scrapped shortly after Heineken hired a decades-younger actor, Augustin Legrand, to play the Most Interesting Man in 2016. A more abstract concept that said basically anyone could be interesting also had a short shelf life. Goldsmith moved on to laud Astral Tequila. Millennials, who were the target demographic for brewers like Dos Equis back in 2016, rebuffed the younger pitchman. Heineken then parted ways with the creative agency Havas in favor of Droga5, with media reports attributing the switch to the Most Interesting Man’s failed pivot. Purchase consideration for Dos Equis dropped by more than half, according to a YouGov poll published in 2017. But Dos Equis says Goldsmith is returning as the Most Interesting Man because there’s still some thirst for the brand’s most well-known creative concept. More than eight out of every ten consumers who were exposed to the original Most Interesting Man campaign wanted to see it back, according to a survey conducted by Dos Equis. “Age is actually almost irrelevant in this campaign,” says Payne of Goldsmith. “He’s totally timeless.” A broader beer marketing trend The new Most Interesting Man campaign aligns with an emerging trend among brewers that have built marketing campaigns around more seasoned spokespeople. Over the past couple of years, actor Christopher Walken appeared in a new Miller Lite spot, actors Willem Dafoe and Catherine O’Hara have pitched Michelob Ultra, Bud Light called in former NFL star Peyton Manning, actor Pedro Pascal starred in bilingual ads for Corona, and UFC legend Chuck Liddell fronted a martial arts-inspired campaign for Garage Beer. Manning, at the age of 49, is the most spry of the bunch. “Christopher Walken is really one of those rare cultural figures who truly transcends generations,” Sofia Colucci, the chief marketing officer for Miller Lite’s parent company Molson Coors, tells Fast Company about the company’s “Legendary Moments Start with Lite” creative campaign that launched this January. Beer has faced sluggish sales as millennial and Gen Z drinkers have increasingly prioritized a healthier lifestyle and more moderation. They’ve been spending more on non-alcoholic beverages and other alternatives, like cannabis. Americans spent $925 million on non-alcoholic beer, wine, and spirits at retail stores in 2025, a 22% increase from the prior year, according to market researcher NIQ. Selling connection, not consumption Miller Lite’s latest ad is a sequel between the light beer brand and the “Dune: Part Two” actor, who did voiceover work last year in a campaign tied to Miller Lite’s 50th anniversary. He went in front of the camera for a series of TV spots built around the premise that drinkers should cancel fewer plans and spend more time connecting in person. Promoting socialization has been a key throughline in alcohol marketing, a theme that Heineken itself tapped into with its “Social Off Socials” marketing blitz that aired last year, starring singer Joe Jonas. Colucci said that the brewer conducted extensive research—including panels that focused exclusively on the Gen Z cohort—and determined that the Miller Lite brand would benefit from Walken’s strong name recognition and positive sentiment across more established Miller Lite drinkers and younger adults the brand would like to attract. Nostalgia, with a wink Garage Beer, a scrappier upstart founded in 2018, has aimed to lure millennial drinkers who have turned away from craft beers but don’t want legacy brands like Coors Light or Miller Lite. CEO Andy Sauer, who acquired the Ohio-founded brewer in 2023 and added NFL stars and brothers Jason and Travis Kelce as majority owners in 2024, says the brand’s marketing isn’t meant to be too serious. “People aren’t getting together to have beers because they’re bummed out,” says Sauer in an interview with Fast Company. Garage Beer’s martial arts-inspired “Brewmite” campaign, which included a 17-minute spot starring the Kelce brothers and 56-year-old Liddell, generated 9.3 million views across social media in the first week after its debut last year. With the exception of a single fight in 2018, Liddell has been retired from mixed martial arts since 2010, but Sauer says 30-something consumers still think fondly of the champion fighter. “He was a great fit for the nostalgia of what we were trying to do with that spot,” says Sauer. View the full article

It is another week and more Google Search ranking volatility but this was a weird one. Google launched Personal Intelligence in the Gemini app and it is coming to AI Mode in Google Search. Google AI Mode new ad format...View the full article

In 2026, AI is no longer something marketers are debating. It’s actively shaping nearly every part of digital advertising and creative. Because the human brain processes visuals far faster than text, video ads are becoming more important and more effective, especially as creative costs continue to fall. The question is no longer whether PPC teams should use AI for video advertising. It’s how to use it to drive better results, produce stronger creative, and avoid issues like hallucinations and governance gaps that can undermine performance. Why AI adoption alone no longer drives PPC performance Nearly 90% of advertisers now use generative AI to build or version video ads, according to IAB data. Adoption, however, does not equal performance. The difference between winning and losing campaigns on Google Ads, particularly YouTube, is no longer defined by manual bidding tactics. It comes down to who supplies the algorithm with the strongest inputs. Ad platforms have shifted from keyword-based logic to intent-driven AI recommendations. Advertisers still trying to manually control every placement are competing against systems that process millions of signals per second. Here are five best practices for using AI in video PPC campaigns to improve performance and deliver higher-quality signals. 1. Abandon the perfect cut for modular asset libraries Historically, video production for PPC followed a TV-style workflow: script, shoot, edit, polish, and publish a single “perfect” 30-second spot. In the era of Performance Max, that approach has become a liability. AI-driven campaign types are not designed to work with one finished video. They perform best when given a library of assets they can assemble dynamically based on a user’s device, intent, and behavior. Instead of uploading a single video, advertisers need to give the AI building blocks it can combine on its own. The hook: Three to five different six-second opening clips, including visual-first, text-heavy, and UGC-style options. The body: Multiple value propositions, such as speed, price, or quality. The CTA: Varied end cards, ranging from soft prompts to direct conversion asks. This works because Google’s AI may determine that one user browsing Shorts late at night converts best on a UGC-style hook with a “Learn more” CTA, while another watching a tech review on desktop responds better to a polished product demo with a “Buy now” message. If only one video is supplied, the AI’s ability to personalize the experience is severely limited. Google’s move toward formats like Direct Offers shows where this approach is heading. 2. Swap keywords for intent orchestration The keyword is no longer a hard trigger for video ads. On platforms like YouTube, keywords now function primarily as signals that help AI understand the general theme of the audience an advertiser wants to reach. Google continues to push advertisers toward Demand Gen and Video View campaigns, which rely on lookalike segments and search themes rather than exact-match targeting. When targeting is left completely open, AI systems tend to optimize for the path of least resistance. That often leads to low-quality placements, such as kids’ channels or accidental clicks on mobile apps. Advertisers need to actively orchestrate intent. Negative keywords matter: In an AI-driven environment, telling the system who not to reach is often more powerful than specifying who to reach. First-party data seeding: Upload high-value customer lists and designate them as primary signals. This pushes the AI to find users who resemble top customers, not just recent site visitors. Dig deeper: From Video Action to Demand Gen: What’s new in YouTube Ads and how to win 3. Train the algorithm with value-based conversion data The biggest mistake PPC managers make with AI-driven video campaigns is feeding the algorithm weak conversion signals. When a video campaign is optimized for “Maximize conversions” and the conversion fires on a generic page view or an unqualified lead, the AI will aggressively seek out more users who click and bounce. It optimizes for volume, not value. To make AI work for video, advertisers need to use offline conversion imports and enhanced conversions. Step 1: A user clicks a video ad and submits a lead form. Step 2: The CRM scores the lead, such as qualified versus junk. Step 3: The qualified status is sent back to Google as the conversion event. Optimizing for qualified leads instead of raw submissions trains the AI to ignore low-quality signals and prioritize users with real purchase intent. This approach is essential for scaling video spend without driving up customer acquisition costs. Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. See terms. 4. Embrace lift measurement over last-click attribution AI-driven video formats, particularly YouTube Shorts, are difficult to evaluate using traditional attribution models. A user may watch a video ad during a commute, remember the brand, and then search for it directly on a laptop days later. Legacy attribution models, such as last click, assign all credit to the brand search campaign and none to the video ad that generated the demand. When video budgets are cut because return on ad spend appears low, brand search volume often declines soon after. Advertisers should move toward media mix modeling (MMM) or, for a simpler approach, monitor directional consistency. The test: When video spend increases by 20%, does blended CPA remain stable while total revenue grows? The metric: Shift focus away from view-through conversions, which can be inflated, and toward incremental lift. Google’s lift measurement tools enable holdout tests that split audiences into exposed and unexposed groups to demonstrate the true impact of video campaigns. Dig deeper: Why incrementality is the only metric that proves marketing’s real impact 5. Understand that many users start with sound off Despite the rise of audio-driven trends, a significant share of video consumption, especially in the discovery phase, happens with sound off or at low volume. AI tools can automatically generate captions, but effective video creative goes beyond subtitles. The visual hierarchy must communicate the message clearly without relying on audio. Review video ads using a visual AI analysis tool or by watching them on mute. Within the first three seconds, the viewer should be able to answer three questions: What is it? Product or brand visibility. Who is it for? Clear demographic signaling. What do I do? A visible call to action. If the AI cannot clearly detect the brand logo or product within the first 25% of video frames, brand lift performance will suffer. Pre-testing creative with AI-based object recognition tools helps ensure brand assets are prominent enough for proper classification and delivery. PPC is becoming more architectural The role of the PPC manager has changed. Marketers are no longer pilots making constant bid adjustments. They are architects designing the environment in which AI systems operate. In 2026, the advantage will belong to teams that prioritize creative inputs and data quality. Building modular assets and closely managing the signals an algorithm learns from will make AI video advertising one of the most scalable levers in the marketing stack. Treating AI-driven video like a traditional display campaign simply trains the system to spend budget with limited measurable return. Start by auditing your signals to understand what campaigns are actually optimized for. Determine whether you are driving toward deep-funnel actions, such as purchases or qualified leads, or simply optimizing for vanity metrics. Next, modularize creative by identifying a top-performing static image and using an AI video generator to turn it into a six-second bumper that can be tested and scaled across video placements. Regardless of how AI evolves, video remains a format people value. Structuring programs thoughtfully and maximizing the tools available will be critical to winning with video advertising. View the full article

Rajan Patel, the VP of Engineering for Search, said on X that Google is making "changes to ranking" to remove prediction content from showing up in the Google Search top stories and news sections. This comes after some sites are posting "prediction" content, predicting that some sports trades may happen, that have not happened yet, and those "stories" show up in the news section as actually having occurred. View the full article

Conservative leader thanks Reform’s Nigel Farage for doing her ‘spring cleaning’ for herView the full article

Over the past few weeks, Google has been showing AI Overviews for local packs, leading some businesses to see huge drops in visibility for their Google Business Profile and local listings. Some businesses are seeing 50% declines or more because of the local pack change.View the full article

Microsoft Advertising announced a slew of new features including new customer acquisition goals as an open beta, Share of voice (SOV) metrics, Asset group-level URL options and tracking templates, increased Search Theme limit, enhanced asset group import, Content Targeting now generally available, Location targeting improvements and Autogenerated assets in Responsive Search ads.View the full article

Google Ads has made the Campaign total budgets officially live as an open beta for any advertiser to sign up and use. Campaign total budgets are now available in Search, Performance Max and Shopping campaigns within Google Ads.View the full article

Hello again, and thanks for reading Fast Company’s Plugged In. Three days after Donald The President’s second inauguration, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman tried to have it both ways. “I’m not going to agree with him on everything,” Altman tweeted of the new president. “[B]ut I think he will be incredible for the country in many ways!” The gist of Altman’s sentiment—lavish praise for The President, tempered with a polite disclaimer that it wasn’t a blanket endorsement—was far closer to a love letter than a critique. But at least it broached the possibility of disagreement. Almost a year later, most tech executives who have commented on the president have tended to follow a different principle: If you can’t say something nice about Donald J. The President, don’t say anything at all. Shortly before The President returned to the White House, I wrote about tech CEOs’ attempts to newly ingratiate themselves with him, which included congratulatory social posts, million-dollar donations to his inauguration fund, and pilgrimages to Mar-a-Lago. I predicted that the era of good feelings would eventually run up against the certainty that the administration’s policies, such as the promise of unprecedented mass deportations, would embroil it in controversy. What I didn’t know was how overwhelming the assault on norms, the rule of law, and decency itself would be. Even a partial accounting of recent examples would include Renee Nicole Good’s death and the rest of the crackdown in Minneapolis by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Venezuela. Greenland. RFK Jr. The Justice Department’s targeting of James Comey, Letitia James, and Jerome Powell. Pardons. Epstein. Unbridled racism. Possible war crimes. The East Wing (RIP) and its vanity replacement. Distaste for democracy. From the heartbreaking to the merely mind-numbing, it just keeps coming. During the first The President administration, policies at the border that separated children from their parents did inspire tech executives to speak in anguished terms and call for change, though they avoided criticizing The President directly in the process. In the past year, there has been no equivalent moment of moral clarity, however cautious. The indelible symbol of the industry’s current relationship with the president is the trophy—fashioned from American-made glass on a solid gold base—that Apple CEO Tim Cook bestowed on him at a White House press conference last August. Only Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff—whose company has sought a contract to help ICE scale up—seems to have suffered serious backlash for erring on the side of The President friendliness. In October, he expressed enthusiasm for the idea of the president sending National Guard troops to San Francisco, his company’s hometown. Prominent VC Ron Conway ripped into the comment in a letter of resignation from the Salesforce Foundation’s board; Benioff ended up apologizing. Other executives continue to butter up The President at events such as a December 10 business roundtable attended by Dell’s Michael Dell, IBM’s Arvind Krishna, and Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon. Tech companies are also still greasing their presidential relationship with cash, including donations toward the absurd White House ballroom expansion from Amazon, Apple, Google, HP, Meta, Microsoft, and T-Mobile. The industry’s failure to mount the modest level of public pushback we saw during The President 1.0 is not exactly a mystery. This time, the president and his appointees’ increased eagerness to use levers such as tariffs, antitrust approvals, Federal Communications Commission policy, and plain old lawsuits creates an even starker imbalance of power with companies that cross him. The emergence of generative AI as tech’s next big thing is another factor: Executives who want to influence federal policy, such as its AI Action Plan, have every incentive to avoid ticking off the president on other fronts. Tech giants may have concluded that their current approach to dealing with the administration—playing nice where tenable and ignoring one disaster after another—is working for them. It certainly seems to be working for The President. But in the wake of the disaster unfolding in Minneapolis, there are signs the uneasy status quo might be slipping. On January 14, Wired’s Lauren Goode reported on a petition signed by 150 tech workers calling on the industry’s leaders to speak out on ICE’s violent tactics in U.S. cities. Goode’s story also notes a few examples of industry figures tweeting about the situation in Minneapolis, including Google DeepMind’s chief scientist, Jeff Dean (whose Twitter profile notes that his posts don’t speak for Google) and Box CEO Aaron Levie. CEOs of Big Tech companies, who have grown less accommodating of employee activism, may not be swayed by worker petitions. Brushing off their customers’ concerns is riskier. Unlike the business community, the American public doesn’t seem to be compartmentalizing its assessment of The President. The president’s polling collapse has him underwater even on those issues he has embraced most tightly, including immigration, trade, and the economy. After so many years of playing to—in New York Times TV columnist James Poniewozik’s words—an audience of one, the tech industry might be slow to decide that the reputational damage is no longer worth it. At some point, however, even targeted buddying up to The President could be intolerable to consumers, who have powerful ways to register their displeasure. One relevant data point: After Disney briefly pulled ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel off the air in September, seemingly at the behest of FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, cancellations of Disney+ and Hulu reportedly doubled. Trying to get on the right side of history has never provided most companies with adequate incentive to resist The President’s excesses. But even short-term thinkers would reassess matters if they believed that palling around with him was costing them money. And the administration’s commitment to doubling down on its existing crises and manufacturing new ones may be bringing that day closer. You’ve been reading Plugged In, Fast Company’s weekly tech newsletter from me, global technology editor Harry McCracken. If a friend or colleague forwarded this edition to you—or if you’re reading it on fastcompany.com—you can check out previous issues and sign up to get it yourself every Friday morning. I love hearing from you: Ping me at hmccracken@fastcompany.com with your feedback and ideas for future newsletters. I’m also on Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads, and you can follow Plugged In on Flipboard.M More top tech stories from Fast Company Crypto scams took $17 billion last year. 2026 could be even worse After a banner year for people being fleeced out of their cryptocurrency, 2026 started with major news of new hacks, scams, and rug pulls. Read More → Why ‘becoming Chinese’ is taking over social media If your TikTok For You page has recently shifted to videos of people boiling apples and shuffling around in house slippers, here’s why. Read More → Why Anthropic’s new ‘Cowork’ could be the first really useful general-purpose AI agent Anthropic announced a new general-purpose AI agent tool on Monday called Cowork—and it may emerge as the first actually useful agent tool for work. Read More → Apple’s new Creator Studio isn’t just about getting you to subscribe to apps Yes, the company is turning software into a service. But its new creativity bundle also helps clarify its strategy around pro tools, AI, the iPad, and more. Read More → Fujifilm’s new camera has a ‘Gen Dial’ so Gen Z can get the perfect retro shot Taking aesthetic, vintage-inspired photos and videos has never been easier. Read More → Apple just straight-up robbed Google Apple didn’t lose the AI race to Google. It won the chance to show us what ‘Apple Intelligence’ might actually look like. Read More → View the full article

Google Ads has reportedly streamlined the selection capability of Manual CPC bidding during the campaign setup. Now the option can be found under the "Conversions" goal, labeled as "Manually set bids."View the full article

Burnout has quietly become the norm in today’s workplace, rising at alarming levels. Yet most organizations still assume burnout as an individual issue that could be solved with resilience workshops, wellness apps, or additional resources such as PTO/vacation time. In my experience as an HR leader and culture change strategist in workplace mental health, adding additional resources can be part of the broader strategy to support employee burnout; however, they do not proactively prevent it from happening in the first place. The truth is that burnout is an operations workflow flaw, not an individual issue. Collectively, we should look to fix the bottlenecks where burnout actually thrives: challenging stakeholders with unreasonable expectations, addressing toxic leadership behaviors, and evaluating inefficient workflows, such as creating a false sense of urgency. Rather than reviewing their operational design, many organizations expect additional investment, like wellness apps or resilience workshops, to serve as a magic cure for all workplace stressors, shifting the burden of addressing workplace stressors entirely onto employees. This “carewashing” approach not only oversimplifies complex workplace issues but also risks absolving leadership from its responsibility to address the root causes of things like employee burnout. If organizations double down on solely resources, they will face unfortunate costs with psychological safety, inefficient cycles of operations, and undermining employee long-term performance. Additionally, misunderstanding the root cause of burnout does not hold leaders accountable for creating an impactful solution. For example, in recent years, mental health and wellness apps have surged in popularity as organizations aim to prioritize employee well-being, including burnout. However, a wellness app solely does not resolve overloaded roles or competing priorities; research affirmed by a study published by Oxford University found the effectiveness of well-being programs is low. At a previous organization, leadership doubled down on a wellness app, hoping it would solve employee burnout. Rather than focusing on structural advancements such as hiring more capacity or building sustainable relationships with external stakeholders, this approach shifted responsibility onto employees themselves. As a result, the wellness app saw low engagement. Employees who consistently experience chronic burnout without systemic support are prone to be less engaged or leave entirely. I have witnessed many employees at various levels be frustrated with wellness perks, rather than address the work systems that are depleting them in the first place. Deloitte’s Well-Being at Work survey reinforces this reality with 80% of employees saying work itself is the primary obstacle to improving their well-being, with heavy workloads, stressful jobs, and long hours being at the top of the list. From personal experience of burning out three times in my career, I can attest to the fact that burnout starts with small accumulations of stressors, such as workload. However, the good news is that HR leaders and people managers can identify, correct, and prevent employee burnout by applying a robust framework that evaluates operational drivers. Leaders must first change the behaviors they reward, then surface the real capacity constraints, and finally redesign workflows so reasonable work doesn’t become unreasonable in practice. Change Leadership Behaviors Even when capacity is managed well, burnout can occur in environments where leadership behaviors create fear, urgency, or inconsistency. Many leaders still behave and create conditions where employees don’t feel they can make mistakes, voice concerns, or expect managers to include them in decision-making. Across my work with global firms, I have witnessed firsthand how this can impact employees when their ideas are dismissed or their concerns minimized. Leaders must recognize that their role naturally creates a power dynamic, and while they say a healthy culture is important, they must act the part. For example, if you are amplifying an employee working at all hours, allowing others to accept every client demand, or creating a model where the employees feel compelled to say “yes” to everything, you are not fostering an inclusive environment for others to raise their hand for support. In fact, you are telling your employees that this is the golden rule for everyone to follow. A first step in shifting this dynamic is being intentional about one-on-ones with team members. Too often, one-on-ones focus solely on tasks rather than checking in on the person, their capacity, and their career growth—assuming one-on-ones even happen at all. When leaders skip these conversations, they lose visibility into early signs of burnout. Modeling healthy boundaries is another critical role model exercise. Limiting communication outside of normal working hours or blocking personal appointments on your calendar, so your team feels permission to do the same, reinforces a more sustainable balance. Finally, leaders must evaluate how effectively their messages are communicated internally. Many organizations experience a disconnect between leadership perception and employee reality. While executives may speak openly about healthy work-life integration, those messages often fail to cascade if direct reports are not reinforcing them. Establishing a consistent cadence of communication and ensuring leaders visibly practice the behaviors they promote is essential to changing the narrative. Capacity Audit Once there is an environment of trust, you can start evaluating the workload itself. A capacity audit forces leaders to confront the actual bandwidth required to do a specific project, which includes meetings, cross-collaboration with other teams, project analysis, and any other related items to the task. A simple yet impactful practice is to assign a low/medium/high rubric to every project or task, with these definitions in mind: Low: a few hours a week Medium: a steady weekly commitment High: a significant portion of someone’s time, impacting other priorities After this is mapped across the entire team, leaders should be able to see certain patterns, especially if the trend is “high”. While not all projects can be deprioritized or add more people to the team immediately, a solution does need to be put in place. As an interim solution, deadlines can be extended or team members from other departments can allocate a portion of their time until a permanent solution is agreed upon by all team members. This audit can also surface common operational issues such as scope creep or unrealistic client expectations. While clients may push for more deliverables, it is an organization’s duty of care to manage those expectations. Simply put, clients can’t have it all, and boundaries must be set. One effective way to do this is by establishing a client social contract at the start of an engagement. A social contract defines mutual expectations, including clear communication channels and hours, agreed-upon scope and deliverables (with no scope expansion without revisiting fees or timelines), respect for personal time, and confidentiality. When done well, this creates a more professional, respectful, and sustainable working relationship for both parties. Workflow Design Even when expectations are clear and capacity is well-governed, burnout can still flourish when workflows are outdated, handoffs are unclear, processes are duplicative, or tools make simple tasks unnecessarily complex. In one previous client engagement, this became evident between the sales, project management, and technology teams. Sales repeatedly overpromised deliverables to new clients to drive revenue, without checking team capacity or infrastructure readiness. While revenue generation is critical, inefficient governance and gaps in cross-functional communication created friction that quickly turned into burnout. Instead of teams aligning early on what was realistically possible, I spent unnecessary time moving between groups, forcing timelines, and responding to urgency that didn’t need to exist. To address this, I introduced a governance checkpoint. After an initial client conversation, Sales entered key details into a Jira ticket as a potential sale, which was flagged for review against the infrastructure roadmap and current project load. If work was urgent or high priority, I partnered with IT to assess feasibility and impact, allowing timelines, scope, or cost to be adjusted before any commitments were made. The caveat here is that it takes a few iterations to create operational efficiency that yields meaningful results. Each organization and team will be different, and evaluating those specific bottlenecks using the capacity audit from earlier can reduce employee burnout. By using an agile methodology, you’ll get clearer signals on what’s working, faster course correction when it’s not, and a system that evolves before people disengage or leave altogether. Burnout continues to be one of the leading issues facing our workforce today. The solution isn’t always the easiest, yet it is possible with the right amount of strategy and empathy. View the full article

German sports-car maker hit by lack of petrol variant for best-selling Macan and weak demand in ChinaView the full article

Google Ads is doing a limited test with some advertisers to allow them to run A/B tests with different product titles and images in Shopping Ads. Ginny Marvin, the Google Ads Liaison, said it is "currently being tested with a small number of merchants."View the full article