Most US software companies don’t struggle in Europe because their demand gen is weak. In fact, many arrive with mature programmes, proven playbooks, and impressive results at home.
What holds them back is something more subtle.
The fundamentals that underpin successful US demand gen don’t always hold true in Europe. Not because European buyers are harder to reach, but because they buy differently. When those differences are missed, early traction slows, pipelines feel thinner than expected, and teams start questioning channels that actually aren’t the problem.
Here are the demand gen myths we see most often when US software companies expand into Europe; and what works better instead.
Myth 1: “We can run our US playbook in Europe.”
Your US playbook isn’t wrong. It’s just not complete for Europe.
European buyers research for longer, involve more stakeholders, and rely more heavily on external validation before engaging with vendors than ever before. That changes how demand is created and how quickly it converts.
We’ve seen this with clients who launched European campaigns using high-performing US assets. On paper, everything looked right. In reality, engagement stayed shallow and sales conversations stalled. Once messaging was adapted for European buyers and supported by local credibility signals, the quality of demand improved quickly.
Europe doesn’t require reinvention. It requires localisation, context, and tenacity.
Myth 2: “We don’t need PR, we just need paid.”
Paid media can create visibility, but it can’t create trust on its own.
In European markets, buyers look for reassurance beyond vendor-owned channels. They want to see independent signals that a company is credible, established, and understood by the market.
We’ve seen paid campaigns underperform not because targeting or creative was wrong, but because buyers couldn’t find third-party validation. When PR was layered in — coverage in industry titles, expert commentary, analyst visibility — the same demand programmes became more efficient. Costs dropped. Engagement increased. Sales teams had warmer conversations.
PR doesn’t replace demand gen. It creates the conditions for it to work harder.
Myth 3: “One message and strategy serves all regions.”
Europe is not a single market.
The UK is different to France, and Germany to the Nordics, while Central Europe differs from Southern. Each has different buying cultures, expectations, and credibility markers. Trying to force a single “EMEA message” or strategy across all regions usually results in positioning that feels generic, and campaigns that don’t land.
We’ve worked with clients for many years who have embraced the need to adapt global content to regional nuance, and the results have been huge. Campaigns resonated more strongly and regional teams felt more confident taking the messaging and strategy forward.
Consistency matters. But relevance matters more.
Myth 4: “Short nurture is enough.”
European buying journeys don’t just take a long time. They happen largely out of sight.
Buyers spend months researching independently. They form invisible buying committees, scan industry coverage, read analyst commentary, compare vendors quietly, and ask peers for reassurance. Increasingly, they also rely on AI-generated summaries to form early impressions and shortlists.
We’ve seen clients assume a short burst of nurture would move buyers forward, only to discover that interest wasn’t the issue. Trust was. Buying committees were still aligning internally, still validating risk, still looking for proof that choosing this vendor was the right decision.
We think this is where PR, thought leadership, and demand gen truly intersect.
Nurture isn’t just about email cadence or frequency. It’s about showing up consistently in the places buyers trust, with insight that demonstrates real understanding of their world. Earned media, expert-led content, analyst recognition, and credible use cases all feed the dark funnel long before a buyer is ready to engage directly.
That same third-party visibility increasingly shapes how AI models surface and recommend vendors. If your expertise isn’t recognised externally, you’re harder to discover, harder to trust, and easier to overlook.
The truth
Demand gen in Europe doesn’t succeed in isolation.
It’s powered by PR that builds visibility, thought leadership that builds authority, and regional nuance that makes the story land. When those elements work together, demand programmes become more efficient, sales conversations start earlier, and pipeline becomes more predictable.
The companies that win in Europe aren’t louder. They’re clearer, invest in credibility before conversion and they understand how buyers really buy, not how dashboards suggest they should.
For US software companies expanding into Europe, demand gen works best when it’s built on trust.
Get in touch if you’re looking to build a joined-up PR and demand approach that actually reflects European buying behaviour. Because when the foundations are right, everything else moves faster.
