Upselling is a sales tactic that aims to persuade customers to purchase expensive items or upgrade to premium versions of items already in use through add-ons to increase the range of sales. Ecommerce businesses often incorporate upselling techniques that improve the order value and maximize profit to an extent.
Although a sales technique, upselling tends to invoke several negative feelings. If done properly, upselling can improve any shopping experience exponentially, and online retailers reply highly on upselling due to several reasons like:
Upsell helps build intense relationships for retailers.
Upsell is not a dirty tactic if put into proper perspective. It focuses on helping customers win by recommending upgrades, premium products, or add-ons which provide more value and make a better deal.
It is easier to upsell to existing customers than find new ones.
Lead generation is an expensive tactic, so it is easier to upsell and motivate existing customers, increasing the chances of a product sale up to 60%.
Upselling is the best path to increase in Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).
Customer Lifetime Value is the total contribution a customer makes to any company in a lifetime. They can be categorized into Non-profitable, Profitable, and Highly-profitable. Higher CLV means that each customer contributes more to the revenue business with minimum investments.
Customers maintain the relationship and come back for more.
Upselling is a unique way to add value to customers that make them come back for more. It creates an easy and straightforward pathway for customers to return in future when they need more of what you are selling.
How does it work?
On average, 4% of customers convert through upselling tactics. A few of the classic upselling tactics that work in the industry are:
Before Purchase:
Provide users with recommendations at the bottom of a category or product page to lure in the user to expensive products.
During Purchase:
Provide the user with pop-ups in the shopping cart, checkout page, or abandoned cart emails.
After Purchase:
Provide the users with several personalized follow-up emails to invoke the customer to come back for more.
Successful upselling is based on understanding a customers\’ requirements and making the experience on the eCommerce portal exciting. A good upsell strategy leaves a customer believing that they had the best deal.
Best strategies to Upsell
Successful upselling is based on understanding a customers\’ requirements and making the eCommerce portal exciting. A good upsell strategy leaves a customer believing that they had the best deal.
One of the most popular tactics of upselling is to recommend the next higher model for sale. Here are some of the best practices for upselling tactics:
- Provide customers with incentives when they spend more money on your upselling tactics.
- Use a side-by-side comparison to present the value and improvements of the more expensive item.
- Ensure that the product you are trying to upsell is within a reasonable price as customers tend to pay less than 25% extra of what they have in the budget.
- Do not be pushy about your upselling alternative. Provide the information and allow it to make its way through your customer’s mind.
- Create an urgent situation by providing a real-time update of your current stock or provide an offer for a limited period.
- Provide customers with viable information about risks, or missed opportunities if not opting for the upsell.
- Provide the customer with a good range of similar products and range, but do not overwhelm the customer with too many choices.
- Use customer information to personalize offers and suggest products that add value to the purchase.
- Use the right tone to communicate the risks and advantages of their buy to increase the value of your recommended product.
App Installation
Installing an Upsell Application can provide you with a range of advantages like:
Time-efficiency: The application takes care of all request tracking and efficiently manages your returns through emails.
Customer Help: Shoppers can request returns through a user-friendly portal that allows them tracking abilities.
Cost-efficient: Using return policy as a marketing tool by providing customers with the confidence that their purchase is from a trustworthy seller.