When at school, I was rather good at mental arithmetic. Totalling seven-figure columns was, if not easy, then required little effort on my behalf. I took part in inter-school competitions where my lack of speed held me back. It’s proved little use to me in any job I’ve had since. That is, until the advent of online shopping and email marketing.

The exchange rate of the British pound (GBP) to that of the US dollar (USD) and Euro varies in the short term, although the difference day to day is minor. At the time of writing, it is easy enough to get $1.37 across a counter. In other words, all one has to do to convert a published price in USD to GBP is to multiply by 0.73. It’s sufficiently accurate. I can do it in my head, but then I’ve had a lot of practice over the years.

I’ve been asked by my wife, for whom mental arithmetic is, like jar top removal, a man’s role, to convert prices when she’s browsing or checking to see if an email marketing offer is worth considering. While I don’t mind the task, it is one I should not have to perform. It shows a lack of customer concern.

I receive similarly untargeted marketing emails despite the companies knowing my location. They are aware that I buy in GBP. So why don’t they allow me the common courtesy of including prices in GBP? No sales staff, no successful ones, would dream of doing so when closing a sale. It would be unacceptable. In fact, just as unacceptable as it is in email marketing.

I’ve recently read a Europe-wide report with regards the irritation with emails that haven’t been translated into local languages. Websites are the worst offenders in my experience. This is remarkably inefficient as it is all too easy to go somewhere else or to click the unsubscribe button.

Targeting is vital. The information we have in our data should mean that each and every marketing email is honed for the specific subscriber it is sent to. I should be useful only for removing recalcitrant jar tops.