What happened in Europe in 2003?

In its role as a global provider of e-mail list communication and opt-in e-mail marketing solutions, L-Soft continuously monitors the trends in the European and the American marketplaces.

Exclusive to the subscribers of "LISTSERV at Work," L-Soft has published a list of five of the most important industry events that took place in Europe in the past year and has included predictions for trends that may occur in 2004.

1. A legislative framework for e-mail marketing finally emerged

In 2003, we saw the rise of new legislation to curb the insurgence of spam and unsolicited commercial e-mail. With the European Union's (EU) Directive on privacy and electronic communication, the member states are obliged to adopt national opt-in legislation that prohibits marketers from sending commercial e-mail messages without prior consent. L-Soft hopes that all non-EU member countries in Europe will follow suit. L-Soft would welcome national opt-in legislation to also include opt-in on B2B (Business-to-Business) e-mail marketing.

2. Increased interest in advanced e-mail communication

Over the last year, L-Soft has received more requests about conducting high-level e-mail communication - including database integration for customization and targeting, tracking results of e-mail campaign and multipart messaging - than ever before. Businesses and organizations are on the brink of adopting the unique benefits that come with correctly executed e-mail communication.

3. The spam flood continued to rise, but L-Soft sees the solution

New avenues for spammers are popping up and worrying consumers. This year spammers have found more ways to reach consumers, no longer limiting themselves to conventional unsolicited e-mails and pop-up ads. They are now pestering users through unsolicited cell phone text messages, blog posts and instant messages. Although this new trend is not as widespread as conventional spam, it is catching on fast. While many anti-spam solutions have been proposed throughout 2003, the only thing everyone seems to agree on is that there is no single solution. However, L-Soft believes that the spam problem can be solved through a combination of opt-in laws, international cooperation, education and filtering technology. In the short term, to avoid irritating potential and existing clients, businesses should implement only opt-in e-mail lists. These e-mail lists also yield the highest response rates. L-Soft's solutions cater to all levels of opt-in: single, confirmed and double opt-in.

4. The Sobig.F and Blaster worms of last summer highlight the Internet's growing virus problem

August of 2003 was one of the worst months in history for computer users, with viruses crippling online activity across Europe. However, thanks to the integration of F-Secure Anti-Virus technology, specifically designed to scan all e-mails and their attachments, into L-Soft's products, LISTSERV users safely sent millions of virus-free e-mails that month. In total, LISTSERV detected and stopped thousands of viruses that in turn were about to be distributed to more than two billion subscriptions. L-Soft's successful partnership with F-Secure was expanded in 2003 with the release of the LISTSERV Anti-Virus Station, making virus protection available for users of all LISTSERV operating systems. All L-Soft's customers with maintenance and support contracts are entitled to the anti-virus technology.

5. E-mail still outperforms other marketing channels

The better marketers get at conducting e-mail marketing campaigns and newsletters, the higher the response rate. Even though spam is an increasing burden on e-mail accounts, permission-based e-mail communication continues to outperform most other marketing channels - both on the cost and revenue side. In 2003, permission e-mails continued to outperform direct mail, print ads and Web banners.

What trends does L-Soft believe will appear in 2004?

1. Throughout the year, the effects of the EC Directive on privacy and electronic communication that became effective in the fall of 2003 will begin to appear. We will probably observe lawsuits involving people/organizations who do not comply with the act, as well as protest and praise from those affected by the act.

2. Spam, already emerging as a hot issue, will become even more significant. With so much emphasis on it, technical solutions, positive or negative, will inevitably materialize and gain more widespread usage.

3. A further increase in database-driven, customized e-mail marketing campaigns will occur as more organizations realize the business benefits of sending opt-in, personalized e-mail.

4. More e-mail viruses will spread across the Internet causing widespread damage and underscoring the importance of built-in virus protection for e-mail lists.

5. Realizing the cost and efficiency benefits, more businesses will integrate e-mail into their communication platforms.