In the Middle of a Chain Reaction… As Primark hits the headlines over whether or not they are finally to enter the e-commerce world, I'll delve into the realm of ‘digital business plans’, a concept he feels is still alien to many let me suggest what you need to do to go digital.

Digitally Modified Staff... Find the Perfect Match The creative industry has been on a turbulent roller-coaster over the last couple of years riding the wave of budget cuts, but digital in particular is finally starting to have a place in Marketing Manager's strategies and budgets. So, recruitment is back in the spotlight as one of the key focuses in business expansion for many creative agencies, but it brings with it many challenges.

FAQ's: The Naked Face of Social Marketing Social media opens up a world of opportunities for entrepreneurs – and it’s free! What's more, when you strip it down to the bare essentials, you are fundamentally left with traditional marketing tactics. So why are some businesses still reluctant to jump aboard this moneymaker?

How to have a merry, multi-channel Christmas! With Christmas now a mere 12 weeks down the road, this could be the last chance for retailers to make adequate plans for everyone’s favourite annual shop-fest.

But what does Christmas mean to your business? Are you set up to capitalise on all the available opportunities? Are you even aware of what those opportunities are – particularly from a digital or multi-channel perspective?

With all of the above in mind, here’s my early Christmas present to you, in the form of my ‘5 top tips for multi-channel festive domination’ in the run up to Christmas 2010.

Personalisation – Join the cult of 'customer lovers' The customer is king so engage them with an experience fit for royalty. Gone are the days of admiration for shop windows and acceptance of repetitive brochure sites. Today's consumer prizes customer service and their own time above all else when shopping online but most brands are not delivering on these demands. Maintaining great customer relations requires something of a 'cult' instinct. Disregarded by many, but cultivated by true believers, an unadulterated commitment to customer service sets brands apart from competitors.

Top tips for developing an effective digital marketing strategy Whether you’re considering paid or natural search marketing, display ads, sponsorship or online video, social media marketing or contextual advertising, the important thing is to find the channels that provide the highest return on investment for your business. As businesses strive to beat the competition for the number one spot in the search engines, increased emphasis is being placed on search marketing to achieve it. However, the key to success online is to develop a holistic digital strategy that can do this and much, much more.

Douglas Adams, Charles Darwin and your website A rather famous and rather funny man once said that the Hyena looked like it had been designed by a committee. I agree.

Another rather famous and rather bearded man taught us that there is no designer and that everything is in a state of constant evolving process. I agree.

Ok now on to your website…you see where I’m going with this. Let’s go there anyway.

Social Media… getting started Over recent years social media has transformed the way we communicate, bringing people together and giving businesses the opportunity to open up a dialogue with their customers in new and innovative ways. This massive shift has taken the marketing world by surprise, opening up new opportunities, as well as posing new challenges.

Mobile Marketing Mobile gives us a great chance to think again about content delivery and usability. Try using something like the Rightmove iPhone app and compare that to trying to use a web browser on any mobile device. There’s no comparison. The app is in a different league in terms of usability. This is what mobile internet is all about. It’s so simple your dear old Gran could use it – and that’s the holly grail of usability.

How to increase sales through digital marketing Developing an effective digital strategy isn’t easy. Once you’ve got your website right, how do you begin to increase the traffic to your site, convert these visitors into customers and generate more sales?

The brand in front is a Toyota, oh, and there goes a £20M Pepsi… Social media has been with us for a while now, but until recently it seemed that many in the business world had failed to grasp the true power of the social medium and were largely confused as to how best to embrace the phenomenon in any meaningful or useful fashion.

Probably the best marketing tool in the world... Conversations which took place in many businesses last year were all about survival, talking about how you got through it, how awful it was, and how you hoped for better fortunes next year. The conversations happening this year could quite easily be no different...unless, that is, you do something differently.