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A close friend of mine always tells me not to overthink things. Easier said than done, right? When we face pressure and stress from all angles, and we’re just trying to get by, it’s easy to make mistakes or be paralyzed by indecision or delays. And then we may miss the opportunity of a lifetime! What’s the way YOU get by?

Give this super cool song by Spoon a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying this week…

HubSpot June Data – for Informed Decision-Making

It’s been ages since we’ve discussed the HubSpot Industry Benchmark data – so let’s dig in! As you know, this data compares current stats from HubSpot CRM against pre-COVID benchmark levels. It’s a great indicator of trends and sales & marketing activity.

  • Marketing Email Sends – they’ve stopped reporting on this – what’s up with that?!?
  • Deals Created in June dropped over May – this could be the typical end-of-quarter trend
  • Closed Deals increased over April and May – and were slightly higher than the end of Q1
  • Sales Email Sends continue at 100% increase over benchmark
  • Sales Email Responses continue trending downward
  • Sales calls are the highest since this started – 107% over!
  • Contact Growth holds steady at 32% over
  • Conversations are 32% over – strongest numbers since the pandemic

So what does this all mean? Well, as the economy continues to open up, we’re seeing increased levels of activity and some good positive trends in terms of sales conversations. But we continue to see that as sales email sends increase, responses decrease. Surprised? Not me.

There’s so much noise out there… as always, I prescribe a multi-channel approach for sales – digital, email and live conversations! Put faith in your concerns! In B2B, that bi-directional, live conversation is integral for qualifying a prospect!

Like Nothing You’ve Ever Seen – Millennials, Gen Zs & Digital Audio

The latest Spotify report is out. This is the advertising department’s annual study for potential ad buyers to know who they’re reaching. They’re forever analyzing the music consumption patterns of users, and given that Millennials (ages 26-40) and Gen Zs (ages 15-25) are Spotify’s biggest consumers, it’s always interesting to learn what the streaming giant has discovered:

  • 78% of Millennials and 71% of Gen Zs use music to reduce stress
  • 74% of Millennials consider audio to be a mental health resource
  • 73% of Gen Zs say they feel ‘more centered and generally happier’ when they listen to their favourite music every day
  • 61% of Millennials and 51% of Gen Zs consider audio to be a more ‘wholesome’ type of content vs. visual
  • 40% of both groups trust podcasts more than other media sources, including national TV news, newspapers, and radio

How does this impact B2B? Do these trends impact your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)? Even if they’re not your target market, trends we see with these cohorts definitely impact the overall market – and as you know, B2C influences B2B heavily. How do podcasts fit in your overall marketing mix? Is that the way to your buyers’ hearts?

As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello.

Looking forward,
Rick

Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat