Challenges Faced by Over 90% of Singaporean Business Leaders in the Last 12 Months

HubSpot, the customer relationship management (CRM) platform for scaling companies, today announced the findings of a survey conducted by YouGov, on Singaporean consumers and business leaders about their recent experiences with brands and how truly connected they are to their audiences. The results were launched at CONNECT, HubSpot’s inaugural customer event in Singapore aimed at discussing and tackling some of the biggest issues businesses face today.

Close to 1,300 Singaporean consumers and business leaders were surveyed online in May to dig into the challenges and changes they have faced over the past few years. The survey took a 360-degree look at how Singaporeans feel about brand experiences. Looking at both the consumer’s perspective and 250+ decision makers in Singapore as both business leaders and B2B buyers to get the full picture.\

Key Findings

Symptoms of Disconnect
Despite our hyperconnected world, reaching customers and aligning teams has never been harder. The research showed three key trends emerge and that disconnection actually starts to show up for businesses in three symptoms:

Disconnected Data and Systems
28% of Singapore business leaders say that they are experiencing challenges related to data and systems. Some reasons cited are cobbled systems and data that doesn’t flow, too much data that are of poor quality and is inaccessible and finally, not having enough data.

Prospects and customers are now harder to reach
Over 9 in 10 (96%) Singapore business leaders say that reaching prospective and existing customers is harder today than it was a year ago.
On top of that, close to half (43%) say that growth is slowing and the strategies that have worked in the past are becoming less effective. Among these respondents, more than eight in ten (83%) say this has remained consistent or has become more of a challenge over the past 12 months.
“Getting ghosted is never a good sign — it’s a symptom of a deeper misalignment between your GTM strategy and your current and prospective audience. And if it isn’t addressed, companies end up wasting time and money on campaigns that are falling on deaf ears.” said Kat Warboys, Director, APAC, HubSpot.

Brands and Customers are misaligned
85% of Singaporean consumers have had a negative experience with brands they engaged with or purchased from since the start of 2023. From the research, the biggest pain points for consumer buyers are being inundated with irrelevant marketing materials (40%) and feeling like brands lack interest in improving their service (34%). B2B buyers are no different, in fact, 30% also cite issues that brands show a lack of interest in improving services. Another issue B2B buyers are feeling is the fact that brands have poor expertise or low competency among staff (31%).
“Disconnection shows up in a brand’s ability to reach their audience — both prospective and existing customers alike in a meaningful and valuable way. Companies will not win by focusing on customer management, but by focusing on customer connection. You need a connected customer growth strategy to succeed.” said Warboys.

“Consumers in Singapore have some of the highest expectations in the world. Superior customer service, communication channels that meet you where you are, and brands with seamless digital experiences are becoming the new differentiator. This is a business problem because the future, as determined by your customers, is connected experiences. The pendulum is swinging back. And like those societal shifts that came before, businesses must adapt and respond”, she added.