Upselling is a sales technique designed to increase the sales invoice. It’s an important business concept as it requires sales people to not be order takers, but instead be active sellers. Upselling involves promoting upgrades or add-ons to customers that are extra purchases and increase sales. When you upsell you offer the customer another product for purchase. As the customer wasn’t planning on purchasing the product, but instead is ready to pay only for what they’ve already decided on, the salesperson must use effective strategy. It’s up to the salesperson to make the customer see why he or she needs to buy the extra item(s) i mmediately.
1.Suggest the correct product.
Customers are more open to cross-selling if the products that you're suggesting are products they actually need. Suggesting a Memory Card after they've bought a DVD isn't helpful. But, a memory card or a camera bag would be. Similarly, offering travel insurance or car rental after users have booked a Ship Cruse is also helpful.
We're also find more and more that recommending matching products, For example a matching hat when a customer purchases a shirt or a matching camera case for a pink camera. Users generally appreciate this thoughtful gesture.
2. Pick the right time.
Customers tend to be very task-focused when they're trying to get something done, so recommending a product whilst they're doing this is usually ineffective. What you can do is recommend something to them once they've completed their shop, or after they've put something into their shopping basket.
3. Show that you care
Customers tend to be very bargain-focused. Highlighting special offers will increase conversion rates and improve basket size. For example, if users put a regular chicken into their shopping basket, you can suggest an organic chicken on special that might cost a little more than the regular chicken, but one they might not normally consider at full price.
Some things you can consider are:
- Place items on special at the top of any product listing
- Highlight bulk buy offers (e.g. buy 10 of these and save $15)
- Recommend bundles to customers
Bundles are an excellent way to boost online sales and increase customer satisfaction. Bundled products are usually cheaper than individual products bought separately. Recommending bundles will endear you with customers (as you're helping them save money), hence increasing customer satisfaction.
4. Don't be pushy
No one likes a pushy sales person. Up-sells and cross-sells should be recommendations, and not be forced onto site visitors. Phrases like 'We think you'll like this' or adding small items to users' shopping baskets will usually annoy them.
Here are a few appropriate phrases you can use:
- Use 'popular items' to show the items most popular among shoppers
- Use 'customers also bought' to highlight items that other people bought
- Phrases such as 'you might like' gives the power and choice to decide back to the users without imposing
5. Offer alternatives when customers search
Users will often use the site search when unable to find a product using the primary navigation. They are however likely to leave if the site doesn't return useful search results so offering alternative search terms can keep site visitors on your website and increases the chance of a sale.
For example, if users search for 'pink Macintosh' and the site doesn't return a valid result, prompt them to try searching for 'Macintosh' instead. This increases the chances of keeping them on your site.
Conclusion
Cross- and up-selling is relatively straightforward. Doing it well means that you'll not only sell more items, but will keep customers coming back to your site again and again.
