Update on European Direct Marketing

I'm always fascinated with reports on marketing in Europe. The UK, for instance, seems to be the leader in terms of business intelligence and CRM installations. Some of their large financial institutions, for example, seem much further along in realizing one-to-one marketing than similar US firms.

That's why this article from UTalkMarketing really surprised me. From the article:

"The majority of senior European marketers either do ad hoc or carried out no evaluation of their marketing campaigns, new findings from marketing software company Aprimo reveal.

Market research from the company showed 68 per cent of marketers were in the dark over the impact of their campaigns."

Wow! To me not being able to track a campaigns' success just seems like a waste of money.

The article cited a few reasons why companies weren't able to close the loop and implement sound measurement systems. They included:

1. The inability to integrate systems and processes within an organization
2. The lack of direct marketing talent (it appears that direct marketing skills are highly desired, and much in-demand in Europe.)
3. Lower than desired marketing productivity.

And, yet, the future for European direct marketers looks bright! More from the article:

"Only 6% of marketers polled believe that direct marketing is dead. Twice as many marketers gathered in the opposite corner, with 12% stating that direct marketing is now more relevant than ever.

The rest of the attendees believed there is more life in the DM industry yet, but stated that they “recognise the challenges” (48%) or “think it requires a rethink” (34%)."

So, there you have it--direct marketing is alive and kicking in Europe!