Cultural differences and characteristics, the language barrier and the proliferation of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) all make e-mail marketing much harder in Europe than in the States.
Language is a problem
Although English is the most widely language used in European marketing, some e-mail marketing campaigns necessarily have to conducted in up to 18 different languages. Besides this problem, cultural differences have an influence on style and approach, there being subtle distinctions depending whether the campaign is designed in a Scandinavia or in Southern Europe. This can also pose a challenge in multiracial societies, such as France or the UK.
Fragmented ISP market
Contrary to the situation in the States, there are quite a large number of ISPs in Europe, which can cause problems when trying to target and track campaigns. One way around this problem is to test e-mails across different providers. Expert opinion has it that, as personalisation and segmentation grows, e-mail will become increasingly more important, since tracking give excellent returns.
