In recent months, companies around the world have had to adapt quickly to the effects of COVID-19.
At a time when things seem to change every day, it can be difficult to assess whether the challenges your company faces are widespread.
That’s why we publish week after week Benchmark data for core business metrics such as website traffic, email sending and opening rates, sales commitments, closing rates and more. These key metrics are broken down by region, company size, and industry cut, so you can examine data for companies that are most similar to yours. You will find the data and more context in the data set and in the sources. Here.
As the data from our customer base is aggregated, please note that individual companies, including HubSpots, may differ based on their own markets, customer base, industry, geography, phase and / or other factors.
These findings are updated every Thursday morning ET and accompanied by this brief description. You can find previous records with this timeline.
We hope to establish useful benchmarks against which to measure your business and to serve as an early indicator of when short or long term adjustments to your strategy may be required.
What we see
Here are the three key findings from last week’s data:
1. The deals closed increase significantly when May ends. The deal creation remains unchanged as NORTHAM suffers a small setback.
Last week we were deeply concerned about the positive momentum that we expected Offers closed was lost. This turned out to be a deviation as we saw a 24% increase in deals closed this week and most deals closed since pre-COVID. Both the APAC and LATAM regions had a positive week and are now at or just below the benchmark for closed deals. The Industry sectors In the past week, computer software, consumer goods, and manufacturing have been the leaders in the most closed deals. They are all now at or just below the benchmark when we come in late May.
On the other hand, global Deal creation did not gain momentum last week and is 12% below COVID. NORTHAM saw an 8% decrease in deals as either more business was done in any other region or the week ended May 18. As the initial response to current events calms down and more and more states in the US reopen their economies, we will look for this metric to get back on its feet in the coming weeks.
The decline in business was in almost all industries, with the exception of the HR and entertainment industries, both of which saw slight growth in the past week, but are still below the level prior to COVID. The only industry that is currently above the benchmark is the construction sector, which is 16% above the level before COVID. Consumer goods, computer software and manufacturing all fell below the benchmark after tending slightly above in early May. These industries are now around 10% lower than COVID. They are still in a safe place and well positioned to perform well in June.
2. Sales teams send fewer emails, email engagement continues to grow slowly, and marketing metrics remain strong.
While Sales email volume is still 39% above the benchmark and has fallen 18% in the past two weeks. Sales teams sent fewer emails, apparently focusing on closing deals in late May. Accordingly, email engagement increased 3% last week and has continued to grow slowly but steadily since late April. It is now 26% below COVID.
After increases in early May Call prospect After Memorial Day in the United States, the decline was 6%. It has now dropped to 22% below the pre-COVID average as employees continue to struggle to connect across multiple channels and develop a balanced approach to public relations. This is consistent across all company sizes and fairly consistent across global business regions. The only region where sales increased most recently was EMEA, which saw a 7% increase. However, this region still makes fewer calls than any other.
While the number of booked meetings fell for the second week in a row, it is significantly above the level before COVID. Meetings are currently 16% above the benchmark and have been above since the beginning of April. As more companies open up and companies master the art of social distancing, we should expect sales teams to continue booking online or face-to-face meetings to effectively engage their customers.
Email marketing is still an effective communication channel as the opening rates in the past week matched the week of May 18 and are still 15% above the pre-COVID levels. While marketers sent fewer emails – probably due to the holiday weekend – but despite this 6% drop, email volume is still well above the benchmark at 26%. All of the Industry sectors We are tracking that the trend is above pre-COVID, with the exception of trips where fewer emails are sent than the others.
Other marketing channels, such as customer-initiated conversations and web activities, also have strong numbers. The Number of calls initiated rose 6% last week, reaching an annual high of 43% above the benchmark. Customers clearly welcome live chat as it is the seventh consecutive week that global conversations have increased. Website activity is also performing well, although it has seen a downward trend in the past two weeks. At 17%, it is still well above the benchmark.
3. In the United States, sales and marketing metrics fall on Memorial Day weekend.
After three weeks of constant performance Deal creation fell 11% last week and is now 16% below COVID. Although deals closed last week have improved compared to the previous one, the trend is still 15% below the benchmark. The sales email volume decreased by 14% Response rates only slightly decreased by 1%. Although sales email volume has decreased in recent weeks, sales teams are still sending significantly more email than before COVID-19. The response rates have remained constant since April, but are still well below the benchmark.
Marketing metrics had a small impact in the U.S., but remained positive overall compared to pre-COVID levels. Even though Memorial Day was slightly concerned with the volume of email, US consumers are still concerned with this type of content. Opening rates match the week of May 18 and are 15% above COVID. Email send volume fell 9% last week, but is still 25% above the benchmark.
Web traffic saw a slight decline in the US and fell 4% last week. Even so, US websites still get a lot of traffic and are 19% above the benchmark. The talks were similar and declined 4% last week, but remained 25% above pre-COVID. Marketers should continue to rely on these channels as they continue to look for more conversion opportunities.
What this means for companies
Sales teams need to reinvent their prospects.
While buyers’ engagement has reached an all-time high, sales results have not nearly risen, suggesting that salespeople have poor prospects. This month, the deal pipeline metrics have improved compared to March and early April. This is an encouraging sign that more and more companies are getting back into buying processes – but it is too early to say how much of this growth will be sustained. At the moment, it is certain that your sales team will continue to prioritize highly interesting, well-fitting buyers instead of randomly searching.
Tools
Free software to get you started
Think about whether online advertising fits your company.
The significant drop in advertising spend shows that many companies have either temporarily or indefinitely interrupted their advertising campaigns. Companies have the opportunity to enter a cheaper market. Whether this approach is right for your company or not depends entirely on your target group and your offer. However, if online ads work for your business, now may be a good time to stop campaigns.
Tools
Invest in employees.
The past few weeks have been a volatile time for both business owners and Employees. The HubSpot Research team surveyed over 1,000 consumers about their company’s COVID-19 response and found that 33% would or would likely be looking for a job in the next six months. Of this group, 77% rated work-life balance as “important” or “very important” when deciding which job to take. Burnout, which is a problem for workers around the world before COVID, will be even more important for employers in the course of the pandemic.
In addition, violence and racial injustice have reached a crisis point in the United States and exacerbated the burden for many. This acute confluence of factors makes this an incredibly complex and important time for work culture. For this reason, we are devoting this week’s Adapt series exclusively to the question of how companies can support employees in times of crisis.
Watch this week’s Adapt 2020 webinar to learn how you can better serve your employees in times of uncertainty.