7 Fascinating Stats HubSpot Research Uncovered in 2017
In 2017, HubSpot Research surveyed 7,600+ people (from consumers to top level executives), asked hundreds of questions, and analyzed thousands of data points. Here are the most interesting things we learned from all of that data…
1. We’re wasting hours of our lives logging into and managing the many software tools available to us.
If you’ve ever found yourself forgetting your password to one of your accounts or logging in and out of systems multiple times per day — you’re not alone. HubSpot Research found that 82% of business owners, marketers, and salespeople lose up to an hour a day logging into and managing different systems. The marketing & sales technology landscapes are overloaded with different applications and our computer screens are more crowded than ever before.
All of these applications were built to help us become more efficient at work, but ironically we’re seeing the opposite effect and there’s no sign of this stopping.
2. People are open to chatbots selling to them.
It’s no secret that an increasing number of people are opting to shop online rather than hit their local retail stores. Ecommerce is booming and ripe for innovation. For example, imagine if instead of scrolling through hundreds of pages of clothes or products, you could buy items through a chatbot. The bot could provide personalized purchase recommendations in order to save you time. If you’re searching for a dress or a suit online for a holiday party, not only can the bot suggest top-rated items, it could also recommend accessories and shoes to go with your outfit based on its knowledge of your past purchases.
Pretty smart.
The bot takes the need for a human out of the equation and leverages machine learning to determine the best products or options to serve a user based on purchasing trends. And people are very open to this type of shopping experience: HubSpot Research found that 47% of consumers are open to buying items using a chatbot.
3. People are most open to customer service chatbots.
What do people love more than a bot selling to them? A bot answering their questions.
Picture this: an AI-enabled bot greeting you when you land on a business’s website answering your questions on demand. You can ask it everything from “where is your office located?” to “how much does your product cost?”
You could get an immediate answer to all of your questions without needing to click around.
Yes, please!
HubSpot Research found that 57% of consumers are interested in getting real-time answers from chatbots on a company website. This is the highest level of interest exhibited by our respondents for all of our bot scenarios across e-commerce and service.
4. Business growth is linked to customer success.
Successful customers are happy customers and happy customers will advocate for your company, brand and product. Growing companies know this is true and we have data to back it up. HubSpot Research found that growing businesses are 21% more likely to say their customer’s success is very important than stagnant or declining companies.
Supporting your company’s front line employees who are working with customers day in and day out is a crucial foundation for growth.
5. “Siri, is voice search on the rise?” …. Yes.
It’s time to take voice search seriously.
HubSpot Research found that 74% of consumers have used voice search tools within the past month.
This represents the incredible shift happening in how people search and receive information today. We no longer have to go to our computer when we have a question — we can be on the go on our mobile phones or running around our home chatting with Alexa, Siri, or Cortana. This change in search behavior worldwide has huge implications for SEO professionals whose job it is to make sure their business is found in the top of search results.
6. When it comes to content, age matters A LOT.
It’s crucial to take into consideration your target audience when deciding what type of content to publish. Depending on their age, the content you should put resources behind differs a lot. HubSpot Research found that people who are under under 25 are much less interested in email than the older generations. They prefer social media & video.
This highlights the importance of finding the right ratio of traditional written content to video-based and social content to get your message heard by the right people.
7. People love video content.
Video is everywhere and it’s capturing people’s attention. It’s dominating social media platforms and showing up more and more in Google search results. The important part? There’s no sign of this trend stopping. HubSpot Research found that 53% of people want to see more video in the future.
If your team isn’t producing video, it’s time to get on board with this content trend in 2018 and give people what they want. If you need help getting started with video, check out this step-by-step guide.
