We have all heard of the left and right hand
brain managers: left side - logical, verbal and
analytical; right side - creative, intuitive and contextual. We need to use both right AND left hand sides of our brains to succeed in today's business world. Creative AND analytical sides need to meet - there is not enough slack to allow 'specialists' to swell the ranks.

There is a real emphasis now on having the insight and understanding of customer behaviour using a data driven and analytical approach. In approaching any market, marketing communications AND the customer experience are equally important. We are beginning, with social media, to realise that any marketing strategy has to be PULL AND PASS ALONG as well as push.

For example, customer engagement optimisation has been achieved by market segmentation for years, yet it has never been more important (or more difficult in an internet world) to identify what the segments are, where they are and how they wish to be approached.

Taking measurements - seeing how everything is doing and not just looking at individual promotions AND judging how it is working on customer behaviour is vital to spot the speed of change. The challenge is to be able to harness creativity AND analytics.

Recognising that the world is viewing multi-media AND multi-tasking, a commitment to continuous monitoring AND learning from the experience, will help businesses to constantly adjust to ensure ongoing relevance.