Marketing and sales efforts in the UK are starting to recover after an initial post-Covid dip, although there’s still some way to go, according to new data.
The research, released by HubSpot, based on marketing and sales activity by its 70,000 global customers, reveals that:
• After dips in recent weeks, website traffic is 16% above pre-Covid-19 levels as brand websites become a valuable source of information and education for customers
• Creation (-33%) and closing (-41%) of deals are starting to rebound after hitting historic lows in recent weeks, suggesting that B2B businesses are recovering some spending confidence
• UK marketers are sending 8% more emails than before Covid-19, while open rates are up by 20%, indicating that consumers are interested in what brands have to say to them
However, while the UK appears to be recovering, it appears to be behind the EMEA average in certain areas.
• Website traffic
o Website traffic for UK businesses is up 16% on pre-Covid averages, and increased from 10% above average last week
o Across EMEA, traffic is up by 15%, compared to 30% in North America
o Globally, Computer Software (42%) and Consumer Goods (30%) have seen the largest increases in traffic; Hospitality (-45%) and Travel (-30%) have seen the biggest falls in traffic
o Globally, website traffic is up by about 24%
• Marketing emails
o UK marketers sent 8% more emails than average last week; w/c 16th March saw the peak with an increase of 17%
o However, open rates for UK marketing emails were up by 20%; w/c 16th March was also the best week for open rates at 42%
o Across EMEA, marketers sent 24% more emails, compared to 27% more in the US and 45% more in APAC
o Across EMEA, open rates are up by 19%, compared to 22% for the USA
Compared to EMEA averages, UK marketers appear to be using email effectively, sending a good amount of relevant content
• Customer-initiated conversations (sales & support)
o The UK saw a huge spike last week, with conversations rising to 30% above pre-Covid averages, compared to -1% in previous weeks
o This is still below the averages across the world, with 38% in EMEA, 43% in North America and 53% in APAC
• Sales emails
o In the UK B2B space, sales teams are sending 62% more emails than the pre-Covid period, the highest ever weekly figure
o Response rates in the UK are down by 27%, but slowly recovering from -43% two weeks ago
o UK sales teams are ahead of the EMEA average for sends (57%) but behind the average for responses (-23%)
• Deal created
o In the UK B2B space, deal creation is recovering, with figures at 33% below the pre-Covid average, recovering from -44% and -49% in prior weeks
o Deal closure is also starting to recover, reaching -41% last week after -53% and -52% in previous weeks
o However, both deal creation and closure are behind the EMEA averages of -19% and -24% respectively
• Contact growth
o After peaking at an incredible 124% increase against the average in w/c 16th March, UK business have slowed down in adding contacts to CRM, dipping to -18% last week
o EMEA is the only region to see contact growth below the pre-Covid average, with APAC (27%), LATAM (150%) and North America (0%) still rising or holding steady
Read the HubSpot blog here
