Is February in your budget?

It’s the month of love️ and to all the taken peeps out there, it’s time to get broke.🤭 Well, the singles can probably laugh in peace here because their budget is safe in their wallets.

Speaking of which, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union budget before the parliament this week and certain revolutionary changes have been surely put into effect.

All I hope is that this turns out to be executed like one.

Let’s dive in.

🤔Indian retail sector reacts to Budget 2021

As India recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, retailer’s expectations from Budget 2021 were clear: boost the local economy and help revive retail. As expected, the Budget initiated positive sentiments across all sectors and fully focused on a complete economic reset.

Here’s what some of the retailers have to say about the Budget:

"The budget has been allocated well this time as in current circumstances, the government has chosen growth over managing fiscal deficit and hasn’t been shy in raising inflationary expectations in the economy.”

"Budget 2021 is growth-oriented, well-balanced, and progressive. The big positives for retail are the overall thrust on ease of doing business and infrastructure development."

Learn more here >

PERSONALISATION

😍Forbes: Personalisation is NOT the most important word for customer engagement in 2021

One word being heard routinely in e-commerce marketing meetings is "engagement".

To achieve this, companies are applying CRM technologies capable of generating personalized content, recommendations, and offers tailored to each consumer's detailed profile and buying history.

But creating engagement isn't about creating "personalized" communications. It is about creating personal dialogue — bidirectional conversations and digital small talk as if the buyer were in the room with you, even though the interaction takes place online.

Companies successful at this today typically have several characteristics:

1. A clear purpose or mission that encourages participation by the consumer
2. Unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction
3. Effective methods for creating seed content or harvesting customer lifecycle triggers to drive communications

Keep reading here >

RETAIL CRM

️🖊How to get the most out of your Social CRM Strategy: Tips you should NOT MISS

Making the most out of your social media interactions with customers has become a key feature in today's CRMs. It's important to make sure your CRM strategy incorporates the important new capability in 2021.

The combination of social media and CRM spells lots of new opportunities and all of it can happen through your CRM system as long as your social CRM strategy is on target. You can ensure this by following the given tips:

1. Invest in the Right Social Tool
2. Invest in the Right CRM
3. Target Relevant Networks
4. Make use of Analytics
5. Use Social Incentives to Foster Brand Loyalty

And more here >

INDUSTRY BUZZ

👨💼Jeff Bezos Still Tap Dances in The Offices of Amazon, But Not As the CEO

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has announced that he’ll step down as the online retailer major’s CEO later this year, after 27 years at the helm. Bezos will now take over as Amazon’s executive chairman and continue to be its biggest shareholder, the company said on Tuesday.

Bezos steps away from Amazon at a time when its market value hovers around $1.7 trillion, making it one of the most valuable companies in the world.

Bezos will transition to the role of executive chair in the third quarter of this year, which starts July 1, the company said. Andy Jassy, the chief executive of Amazon Web Services, will take over as CEO of Amazon.

The announcement set off alarm bells on Wall Street and throughout the business community, though the transition does not necessarily portend any significant change to Amazon’s business.

Read it here >

AI MARKETING

💔"It's not you, it's me" - says your rule-based manual segmentation.

As I spoke of valentine's week earlier, I’ve something for all the marketers out there which will allow you to spend more time with your loved ones.

I understand your time is precious, so why waste it on things AI can solve?

100+ retailers like Kaya, Kama Ayurveda, Taco Bell, Calcetto, Amante, and many more are using Xeno’s AI Audience Selection algorithm to maximize their revenue in just one click!

They never waste time on deciding the perfect audience for their campaign.

So can you now and with 20% higher conversions.

Check out the magic AI can create >

🤗Brand & Marketing news:

Catch up with all the trends and brand updates of the week here:

• The fuss over Myntra’s new logo
• Spotify to soon suggest songs according to your emotions
• Nike’s inventive lace-free shoes are winning the internet
  

That’s all for today. Spend your weekend wisely and get those valentine’s gifts sorted😋

See you next week👋🏻