How to Increase Your Sales with Cross Selling and Upselling
In eCommerce, a place with trends that come and go faster than a flash sale, there’s really no such thing as an established strategy — right when something seems perfect, something else comes along and changes everything.
For example, think of the smartphone.
Before Siri entered our lives, we thought we knew all there was to online shopping.
And then we learned that going mobile entailed the ability to browse and shop wherever we are — if we see something we have to have, a quick AI-powered image or voice search can place us right where we need to be to buy it.
As wonderful as this is for consumers, this meant retailers had the added responsibility of getting SEO services for their mobile-friendly responsive website to ensure their mobile users had experiences that were just as satisfying as their desktop counterparts.
Thankfully, while nothing is truly certain — as we just saw with the evolution of online shopping — there are some things that can be described as “tried and true” that always come with a high degree of success.
For example, cross selling and upselling.
What Is Cross Selling and Upselling in Retail?
So, what is cross selling and upselling?
Starting with some cross selling and upselling examples, while both techniques are meant to maximize average order values, cross selling does this by offering complementary products, and upselling by offering upgrades to the products users are already interested in.
In other words, whereas you would try to sell related products that go with the one(s) already being purchased in a cross sell, an upsell requires offering a better product instead.
Upselling
When you get down to it, upselling is a technique that encourages consumers to purchase products and services that are comparably better than the ones they’re already interested in, albeit at a higher price.
In use, retailers often show comparisons to showcase why buyers should spend more; they list the features of each and explain why you’ll get more satisfaction from the more expensive item.
For example, think of a dating application like Tinder that offers both a free and paid version, called Tinder Plus. You can get most of Tinder’s uses with the free version, but choosing the premium version comes with added features and benefits that add to the app’s overall UX.
In a more traditional sense, think of a car salesman who keeps on offering features and upgrades to the car you originally wanted as-is, but which now is decked out with pretty much everything.
In this example, the salesman is offering an improved version of the car you originally wanted when you first stepped into the lot.
Cross Selling
Unlike upselling that entails offering upgraded features, cross selling works by offering consumers the option of adding to their order with complementary products to the ones they’ve already expressed interest in.
For example, offering a couple video games like Red Dead Redemption 2 to someone who’s buying an Xbox One. After all, they are buying a video game console, so it makes sense that they would want to buy some video games too.
On a more personal level, think of the many times you’ve probably gone through the Amazon checkout process. Whenever you’re looking over your soon-to-be purchase, Amazon offers products that go with the ones you’re buying based on what other people like you also bought.
Some brands also make cross selling more enticing by offering discounts or free shipping to bundled items. In doing so, they not only ensure higher order values, but also that their users see more of their catalogue.
Cross Selling and Upselling Strategy: How to Increase Sales
Cross selling and upselling can both be used to increase sales and order values, and when done in sync, can be especially powerful.
Key here is presenting the additional value users can gain by upgrading or pairing their purchase with an add-on.
To make sure that’s you, keep the following things in mind while constructing your strategy.
Always Segment Your Users
Segmenting your customers into groups that more closely represent who they are as shoppers through characteristics like age, gender, location and occupation, and preferences gleaned from browsing and purchasing behaviors, is the first step of ensuring you’re offering something your customers will actually find worthwhile.
Make Sure Your Offers Are Relevant and Provide Value
If you’re segmenting your customer base, you’re already making it more likely your offers are more relevant to your users. Now you have to make sure they’re also providing added value.
With upselling, convey why the experience is incomplete without the upgrade — why can’t they help but to pay more? To do so, put yourself in their shoes and think of what will push you to put more money on the table.
With cross selling, start by taking note of which products and services are typically bundled, and then offer them to those who are more likely to convert.
Cross selling also typically works best by pairing an expensive item with a cheaper one that enhances the overall experience, or two low-cost ones that can be bought with a clear conscience.
As we covered earlier, you can also offer discounts and extra benefits to make the purchase more likely.
Find the Right Time to Present Your Offer
Finally, timing is everything; if you don’t get it right, you’ll waste a perfectly good opportunity to make more money.
Upselling is usually done at the time of the purchase, when consumers are more likely to spend more because they’re already making an expenditure. But, as with our freemium to premium example with Tinder earlier, sometimes it’s best to wait until your users are already familiar with your offerings and want to get more.
Moving to cross selling, this can also be done during and after the purchase, but is usually reserved for the time-of because it’s more likely that users will buy a tag-along product while they’re buying the main product than after the fact (when their wallets are already closed).
Final Thoughts
Cross selling and upselling are both tried and true methods of increasing sales and improving your bottom line.
While the former relies on pairing items that make the overall purchase experience better, the latter uses upgrades that make the purchase itself better.
As you craft your strategy, make sure to segment your users, tailor their offers, and make them at the perfect time.
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