Today's News - 1/14/2025
- Scott Davis
- Jan 14
- 4 min read
Today's Music Vibe
News this Morning:
ICR Conference - Investor Relations and Communications Conference, Orland FL Jan 13-15 (Grok Summary)
affinitysolutions (3 min read) - "Retail sales jumped in December, boosted in part by two busy holiday shopping days during Thanksgiving weekend falling in the final month of the year" by affinitysolutions (affinitysolutions is a data/research partner of NRF/CNBC) (Grok Summary)
Retail Touchpoints (5 min read) - "Macy's Leaders Answer 6 Big Questions About the Company's Future at NRF" by Nicole Silberstein (Grok Summary)
MarketingDive (3 min read) - "Marketers increasingly prioritize automation investments" by Aaron Baar, Senior Director of Advancement at The Chicago Lighthouse
Search Engine Roundtable (2 min read) - "Google Search Ranking Volatility Tools Cool Down" by Barry Schwartz (Grok Summary)
Forbes (5 min read) - "Amazon Wants To Sell Its Ad-Tech To Retailers. Is It A Trojan Horse?" by Kiri Masters (Grok Summary)
The Drum (18 min listen) - "Meta CMO Alex Schults on loosening content rules, marketing AI glasses & tech regulation" - by Kendra Barnett (Grok Summary)
Worthwhile:
retaildive (15 min read) - "Nordstrom and Macy's abandoned the 'retail inventory method' after using it for decades. Here's why." by Daphne Howland (Grok Summary)
Web FX (12 min read) - "What is Martech? Marketing Technology Definition, Examples, & Benefits" by Sarah Berry
Blink of the Day: "Discipline is Destiny" by Ryan Holiday
Discipline Is Destiny (2022) draws on Stoic virtues to make a case for a life guided by self-discipline. It shows how being in control of your body, thoughts, and emotions is a prerequisite to mastering anything else – and uses historical figures to illustrate how things like sleep, discomfort, and kindness tie into greatness.
About the author
Ryan Holiday is a modern Stoic, an author, and the owner of a bookstore called The Painted Porch. His books, including The Obstacle Is the Way, Ego Is the Enemy, The Daily Stoic, and the New York Times best seller Stillness Is the Key, have sold more than five million copies and been translated into over 40 languages. Discipline Is Destiny is the second book in Holiday’s Stoic Virtue series.
Word of the Day: ABM (Account-based Marketing)
A B2B strategy which focuses sales and marketing resources on high-value accounts or prospects, marketing to one company or organisation rather than several. The idea behind this strategy is to focus efforts where they can have the greatest impact on the bottom line, and represents the best use of resources. Indeed, 87% of B2B marketers surveys by ITSMA said their ABM marketing outperformed other marketing efforts in terms of ROI. See More.
Metric(s) of the Day: Conversion Rate & Retention Rate
Conversion Rate - The percentage of visitors who take a desired action, like signing up or making a purchase, which is pivotal for assessing the effectiveness of conversion strategies. See Grok result for "How to measure converstion rate in growth marketing?"
Retention Rate - Measures how many customers return or continue using your service, essential for evaluating customer loyalty and product stickiness. See Grok result for "How to measure retention rate in growth marketing?"
Tool of the Day: HubSpot
HubSpot is a Customer Engagement Platform that offers tools across marketing, sales, and customer service. It offers Marketing, Sales, Service, Content, Operations, and Commerce Hubs. See Grok response for more. Checkout the HubSpot YouTube Channel
Profile of the Day: Jeffrey Cohen
(Taken directly from Jeffrey Cohen's own "About Me" on LinkedIn):
All opinions are my own.
As a versatile revenue generator and brand entrepreneur, I have leveraged my strong skills in leadership, creative resources and problem solving to deliver greater market position, higher brand awareness and more positive outcomes for industry leaders. I have smoothly managed numerous large-scale projects to improve profitability, piloting marketing campaigns and provide unique e-commerce platforms. I offer a collaborative approach that involves working closely with revenue cycle teams and multiple departments to resolve operational issues and initiate optimal solutions within competitive market spaces.
As a self-starter and team builder with a strong desire to succeed in whatever I do, I have an inherent ability to quickly identify and remove barriers to operational excellence. In addition to my deep abilities to develop and implement workable solutions that fuel business success, I have a proven record of harnessing technology to meet changing business needs and market requirements.
One of my best accomplishments has been to spearhead the entire launch lifecycle and achieve dramatic success with new websites: CampusBooks.com and Textbooks.com. Throughout my career, I have earned a solid reputation for always meeting the goals and objectives of any organization with which I am associated.
Specialty Skills:
Inspirational Leadership, Change Agent, Strategic Thinker, Project Manager; Digital Marketing, E-Commerce Solutions, Advertising, Social Media, SEO/SEM, Online User Experience, Website Design; P&L, Budgeting, Contract Negotiations, Vendor Relationships, Customer Service, Major Account Management, Market Penetration, Start-Up Operations, Mulit-Channel 3rd Party Sales Management
Proficient in Amazon MWS, Agile, Scrum and Jira methodologies, along with Google Docs, Adwords & Analytics, MS Office Suite, MailChimp, ConstantContact, and many related applications on Windows and Macintosh platforms.
LinkedIn Premium Learning Video of the Day: Marketing Tools Automation - Planning for Automation
Instructor "Brad Batesole, Marketing Thought Leader, Chief Learning Office at Madecraft" covers the course.
Course Details:
Marketing Automation is a must-have for organizations looking to get the most out of their marketing budget. This course explains why automation matters, shows you how to pick the best marketing automation tool for your company's marketing goals, and walks you through the top solutions out there. See the tools in action as instructor Brad Batesole walks you through some of the most popular uses of automation, showcased across tools like HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp, Salesforce Pardot, and more. Finally, learn how to measure your marketing automation's success using some of the most important metrics and analytics to keep track of in your tools.
Question of the day:
What's the difference between MarTech and AdTech, in your own words?
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