February 15, 2023
Got an established e-commerce brand? Wondering how to pump up those revenue figures? You’ve come to the right place. In this guide, we will discuss how to make use of upselling and cross selling to maximise revenue per customer.
Naturally, some of you will already have cross selling and upselling strategies in place. But even if that is the case, the strategies shared here will help you increase those figures further. And the best part is that these strategies can be implemented by just about every e-commerce business.
This is true regardless of industry, products, or current customer acquisition rates, all of which can be tracked with e-commerce analytics. So, are you ready to learn and start using three highly effective cross selling and upselling strategies? Then let’s get started!
This is just one of many cross selling and upselling examples we could share for this particular strategy. And while this one is somewhat simplified, it perfectly highlights how this strategy can be implemented into your e-commerce brand.
Furthermore, if such a strategy is good enough for Amazon, surely it’s good enough for everyone else?
Naturally, some of you will already have cross selling and upselling strategies in place. But even if that is the case, the strategies shared here will help you increase those figures further. And the best part is that these strategies can be implemented by just about every e-commerce business.
This is true regardless of industry, products, or current customer acquisition rates, all of which can be tracked with e-commerce analytics. So, are you ready to learn and start using three highly effective cross selling and upselling strategies? Then let’s get started!
Supplementary / Connected Product Recommendations
Let’s kick this off by highlighting an incredibly effective cross selling technique. Basically, the idea here is to give your customers connected product ideas when they add products to their carts on your e-commerce site. For example, if a customer adds a bath mat to their cart, you could increase revenue further by showcasing bath towels as a suggestion.This is just one of many cross selling and upselling examples we could share for this particular strategy. And while this one is somewhat simplified, it perfectly highlights how this strategy can be implemented into your e-commerce brand.
Furthermore, if such a strategy is good enough for Amazon, surely it’s good enough for everyone else?
Demonstrate The Time And Scarcity Of Product Rewards
In the area of sales, it’s well known that the principles of scarcity and exclusivity can cause a potential customer to take action. Of course, by ‘take action’, we mean they actually choose to purchase what they are looking at. This knowledge justifies the introduction of scarcity elements on your e-commerce site.
There are two ways you can implement these cross selling and upselling strategies. Firstly, you can showcase a limited-time offer in the form of a discount that’s available for a pre-determined length of time. This could be 24 hours, 48 hours, or whatever you deem most appropriate for the item in question.
Secondly, you can highlight that there is limited stock for a particular item at that price point. This tells the customer that unless they act soon, the item they are thinking of buying will no longer be available at that price. One of the best cross selling and upselling examples of this is seen on Booking.com.
When browsing through hotels or holidays, Booking constantly shows that there is only ‘X’ number of rooms/holidays left for ‘Y’ price. Is that really the case? Who knows. But it certainly encourages customers to take immediate action.
It is not used as a recommendation for a supplementary product, which is a strategy designed to encourage a customer to purchase more items. With this strategy, you are essentially saying to your customer, ‘Why not buy this alternative, superior, and higher-priced product instead?’ Each of those three ingredients is essential when using this strategy.
After all, your customer isn’t going to spend more money on a product that doesn’t provide superior value. So, they have to be 100% clear in their minds that the suggested alternative is worth the increased investment. Again, let’s use one of many cross selling and upselling examples to show how this works.
Say your customer is looking at a €20 pan on your e-commerce site. Right next to it, you could suggest a €40 pan that has non-stick qualities, a porcelain coating to avoid rust, and several other benefits. If the benefits are strong enough, you could be adding €40 to your revenue instead of €20.
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There are two ways you can implement these cross selling and upselling strategies. Firstly, you can showcase a limited-time offer in the form of a discount that’s available for a pre-determined length of time. This could be 24 hours, 48 hours, or whatever you deem most appropriate for the item in question.
Secondly, you can highlight that there is limited stock for a particular item at that price point. This tells the customer that unless they act soon, the item they are thinking of buying will no longer be available at that price. One of the best cross selling and upselling examples of this is seen on Booking.com.
When browsing through hotels or holidays, Booking constantly shows that there is only ‘X’ number of rooms/holidays left for ‘Y’ price. Is that really the case? Who knows. But it certainly encourages customers to take immediate action.
Showcase Similar Products at a Higher Price Point
Before we discuss our third and final strategy, we need to quickly point out a key cross sell and upsell difference. That’s because this strategy could be confused with the first one, especially for those who are new to e-commerce. On that note, we’d like to clarify that this strategy is used to transfer the customer’s attention from one product to another.It is not used as a recommendation for a supplementary product, which is a strategy designed to encourage a customer to purchase more items. With this strategy, you are essentially saying to your customer, ‘Why not buy this alternative, superior, and higher-priced product instead?’ Each of those three ingredients is essential when using this strategy.
After all, your customer isn’t going to spend more money on a product that doesn’t provide superior value. So, they have to be 100% clear in their minds that the suggested alternative is worth the increased investment. Again, let’s use one of many cross selling and upselling examples to show how this works.
Say your customer is looking at a €20 pan on your e-commerce site. Right next to it, you could suggest a €40 pan that has non-stick qualities, a porcelain coating to avoid rust, and several other benefits. If the benefits are strong enough, you could be adding €40 to your revenue instead of €20.
Let the Experts Take Care of It
Implementing various cross selling and upselling strategies can be hard work. So, if you want to avoid the headache, why not contact ZeroGrey today and let the experts deal with it for you?.