Conversion Funnel for Ecommerce Websites
It’s incredible when your website attracts tons of visitors every day. But having loyal customers who are ready to make numerous purchases is twice as pleasant. This is called upselling, and here, in this article you’ll learn how to boost them.
Contents
What is Upselling
Examples
Cross Selling vs Upselling
Upselling Tactics
Tips
Upselling Tip #1: Verbal Offer
Upselling Tip #2: Merchandising
Upselling Tip #3: Bundle
Upselling Script
Conclusion
What is Upselling
Upselling, or cross-selling, is offering a client additional products or services together with an original purchase. For example, a mattress development company can offer customers to buy a cover or a pillow in addition to a mattress. This tactic might help boost sales by up to 30%.
Selling an additional product or service is easier than getting the first sale. Moreover, upselling is one of the marketing methods to increase profit without spending money on advertising. People are more likely to make a purchase from a company they already trust than from an unfamiliar brand.
To successfully do upselling, it is important not to sell the product, but to solve the problem of a client. For example, a company producing pillows solves the problem of poor sleep – and users’ backs and necks won’t hurt. So the client understands that it will be easy for him to cope with the problem together with you, and the company is cross-selling what they want.
Upselling Examples
Upselling will be successful if the offer arrives on time and is based on preferences of a client. Perfect upsells are those that the buyer really needs in addition to the main product. For example, buyers of a dress will need a bag, a scarf, a hat and shoes. Those customers who ordered a design project will need shopping assistance. Purchasers of a sofa will be glad to buy an armchair or a blanket, and it’s called cross-selling.
The main rule is to make an upselling product cost less than the main item. Below, there are some helpful inspirational examples for you.
Example #1
The best well-known example of cross selling is offering bags and chewing gum at the cashier, when a purchaser has already chosen everything he/she wanted. This product is best-selling, and the margin can be even higher than on any other item – up to 80%.
Example #2
Offering a mouse to a laptop is a common thing. Installing software sounds more extraordinary. There’s a possibility to not only cross-sell goods after selling goods. You can also upsell services after selling goods and vice versa.
Here is another example of upselling. For example, when buying a kitchen, you can offer to install it at a discount.
Example #3
You can also upsell products and services offered by your peer companies. It’s a break-through solution for those who believe they will never upsell anything. For example, fuel is the main item at gas stations, but you can also buy water, food, coffee, hygiene products, and toys for children.
Example #4
Ideally, if each product is complemented by another in style, functionality and pricing at the level. If your client buys a Bosch fryer, offering a grill of a cheaper brand not matching design is inappropriate.
Example #5
After buying something at McDonalds, cashiers always make product suggestions, such as sauces and drinks. This is a great example of cross-selling and upselling. Moreover, offering combos is also upselling. You never wanted to buy so much, but you see a huge profit and purchase everything they propose.
Cross Selling vs Upselling
Although marketers usually use terms cross-selling and upselling interchangeably, they have slightly different meanings. Upselling is more general, it signifies any kind of activity of raising the final sum of a customer’s purchase, whereas cross selling means offering products from absolutely different categories.
Cross selling is mostly about selling related goods, upselling refers to both related products from different categories and putting forward more items of the same type.
You may compare cross-selling and upselling in the following examples. Let’s say, there’s a customer looking at a 4GB iPod Nano product page on a website.
The sidebar displays the following products:
- 8 GB iPod Nano
- 8 GB iPod Touch
- 16GP iPod Touch
The following accessories are offered below:
- Apple In-Ear Headphones with Mic
- Headphones SkullCandy
- 8 GB Microsoft Zune
The lowest section of a web page is a panel with popular products:
- MP3 player 4GB Creative Zen
- Portable DVD player
- Griffin FM transmitter for car
The sidebar is here to increase the check or increase sales. You may see more expensive products with advanced features. There is a chance that the buyer will find these items better because their sophisticated features pay off.
Accessories under the “Buy” button on the example of both cross selling and upselling. The iTunes card enhances the product and therefore has an upselling function, the headphones are an additional product and have a cross selling function.
A panel with popular products is the third way to motivate the buyer to increase the amount of the purchase. When a customer sees a popular portable DVD player, they may add it to their shopping cart, remembering that they have been wanting to buy it for a long time.
Examples of Phrases to Use in Upselling and Cross Selling Sections
There are no universal words under which you should show the recommended goods to the buyer. Choose the ones that suit your assortment and watch which words work best. Here are some options:
- “You may also like:”
- “People often buy”
- “Those who viewed this product then bought:”
- “Often bought together:”
- “Product of the week:”
- “Other brand X products:”
- “Looks good with:”
A direct phrase ‘recommended products’ works the worst. You should choose words that will best advertise products, explaining why you recommend them in both upselling and cross selling.
In total, we have analyzed what ways to increase the amount of the order exist. What is their difference, what words to accompany them and how to start in the back office of the store.
Upselling Tactics
Usually, people don’t manage to upsell not because they do it incorrectly, but because they offer additional products at the wrong time.
Another difficulty is that entrepreneurs are afraid to be intrusive and irritate their customers. To get over your fear, you should remember that you sell the best and most necessary goods. People need them as greatly as the product they’ve already decided to buy.
The first tactic is simple: you should offer relevant services or products only after the buyer has agreed to purchase. You should offer a mouse, a case, a bag as additional products only after customers have clicked on a button ‘Purchase’. After selling a dress, you can offer shoes and even a palette of shadows for a buyer.
The biggest mistake is to make an upsell offer to customers who have not made the main decision of buying a product or not. It defocuses the solution. On the contrary, after making a purchase decision, a person is at the peak of emotions. They may not always perform well-considered actions in such situations, and you should use it in your favor.
Although, for example, in an online store, this will not always work. Upselling can be done during two stages – both when a client is choosing a product and at the end, when customer’s making an order.
The second upselling tactic is as follows: you should allow professional and motivated employees to do upsales. They can sell more, won’t be shy and will make an offer in numerous different ways, depending on what a person is in front of them.
Upselling Tips
There are some main pieces of advice for those who decide to use cross selling and upselling in their marketing strategies. For example, you can choose different tactics when selling online or have an offline retail shop. Moreover, you can prepare your employees for upselling by writing a special script. Anyway, read these examples and start using upselling, never mind you’re too irritating.
Upselling tip #1: Verbal Offer
Remember, when buying cosmetics in a pharmacy, you were probably offered ascorbic acid for change. Moreover, they did it orally and most often on the machine.
Since the customer is already buying and does not need to be given a thought to think about, he needs to be gently nudged.
- Often in addition to this …, people also take this. Look;
- Take another …, you’ll like it;
- Without this …, the purchase will not be complete.
Of course, you can offer to buy something in the form of a question, but it’s less effective.
Upselling Tip #2: Merchandising
Goods at the checkout of supermarkets are the best example of upsellings. In most cases sellers don’t need to do anything for a client to make an additional and unneeded purchase. In short, you should do upselling next to the product area or right at the checkout. A customer should have such products at arm’s length, so that the client can easily pick up and move on.
Upselling Tip #3: Bundle
You can combine two or more products together and put them up for sale as a set, which is called a bundle. Most often, you can observe such offers for various holidays, when sellers combine related products in sets in holiday packages. In addition to a bed, lucky customers can get a pillow and a set of bed linen.
Scripts
Widgets on the site
Widgets with related or similar products allow you to increase the receipt when a person is looking at the product, but has not yet clicked ‘Checkout’. Such widgets are placed in the product card and on the cart page. Some products should not be sold without services – this will reduce the interest of buyers in goods.
Upselling by phone
Additional products can be offered when agreeing an order by phone. The success of the sale depends on what services/products to offer and to whom. A girl buying a hair dryer might be offered a multi-styler, but don’t offer a client a robot vacuum if she’s never been interested in home appliances. Preferences can be learned from a single customer profile, for example, products in past orders.
Emails with product recommendations
Another way to make an upsell in an online store is a trigger mailing right after the order gets into the CRM. The time period should be short so that the client has time to make a decision and add an additional product to the order.
Conclusion
The upselling technique must be thoroughly thought out. Setting “sell more” will tell your sellers absolutely nothing. Plus, your employees will earn neurosis from misunderstanding – when, how, what? It is necessary to develop a clear system, which should consist of a product, offer mechanics and motivation. And I understand that this topic is not as simple as I describe it, so be sure to read one more of our material.