In a context of uncertainty after COVID-19, and with the current energy crisis and the war in Ukraine, HubSpot, a CRM platform for growing companies, has published its latest study «Perception or reality? The impact of the new world reality on companies in Spain». The objective is to analyze how the economic situation has affected the productive fabric of our country.
It highlights some of the concerns and perceptions of the 250 Spanish leaders who have participated. Some of the most interesting data shows that 44% of those surveyed believe that Current economic conditions have negatively affected in some way to their organization and 17% believe that the main challenge they face is the high costs.
Therefore, in the next 18 months, almost 20% expect to have to implement a reduction in expenses, while 15% will choose to increase efficiency and automation. In addition, regarding budget planning for the remainder of 2022, 32% of those surveyed have decided to freeze expenses that are not completely necessary for the execution of their activities and operations.
“The situation in Spain is not different from the one experienced in the rest of Europe and has had to adjust to the current economic reality. The important thing is to be able to first identify the affected areas within each organization, in order to subsequently generate contingency plans that can help each organization to overcome the crisis in the best way, without being so affected both in its activity and in its template. In this regard, at HubSpot we have updated and launched tools that help companies automate data and better interact with customers” Shelley Pursell, HubSpot Marketing Director for Spain and Latin America, detailed.
Among the most worrying and striking conclusions of the study, those related to the areas that have been most affected by the crisis stand out. Despite the fact that more than 32% said that they were not making budget cuts in their workplaces, 20% admitted that The most affected area has been Human Resources, followed by logistics and infrastructure with 13.60% and marketing (10.40%). IT is the area that will foreseeably suffer the least cut with just 5.6%.
Regarding the future that lies ahead, 16% would be willing to invest in new digital tools or platforms that add value to their companies and another 16% consider that, if they made this type of investment, they would value a new provider if it offers them a discount.
However, the leaders who have participated in the study are divided on how the current global landscape may evolve. 50% affirm that the situation may change, so they are thinking about possible adjustments to the strategy, while 40% perceive the current context as positive and will execute their strategy as planned.
The crisis of disconnection: the great challenge of the business world
Although the pandemic has accelerated digital transformation, it has also generated a digital overload that has led to a crisis of disconnection within companies and between them and their customers. The sheer number of technology platforms, applications, and tools that companies acquire has increased exponentially, but many are not connected to a goal, or to each other, and are not really productive. In the same way, the amount of data that a company can collect about its consumers is constantly growing, but there is a great lack of knowledge about how to connect and use it.
Technological saturation has been generated within organizations due to the boom in teleworking after the pandemic and the adoption of different digital media to connect professionals. In this sense, the HubSpot study among Spanish entrepreneurs reveals that only 32.40% consider that the data and information of their organization are connected and only 18% affirm that this information within their company is fully connected.
