What is Up-selling and Cross-selling in eCommerce?

The ecommerce industry has grown exponentially in the last decade. People started to shop online because they got tired of visiting various stores to get the desired product.

Ecommerce has become a part of our life and it is important for every business to provide a better customer experience. The competition among the businesses is getting higher day by day.

It is very difficult to stand out from the crowd and gain customers. But, there are some basic tips that will help you to get higher conversion rates and to become a successful business owner.

So, let’s take a quick look at what upselling and cross-selling are and how you can use these tips in your business.

What is Upselling?

Upselling is the process of offering a bonus for the user who is buying a product. For example, if you are selling a pair of shoes, then you can offer the buyers a discount on their next purchase.

What is Cross-selling?

Cross-selling is the process of offering the user something extra when they are buying a product. For example, if you are selling a digital camera, you can offer a discount to the users who are buying a memory card along with it.

There are some basic ideas that you should follow to make your upselling and cross-selling a success.

Always keep the product prices low

This is one of the most important rules of upselling and cross-selling. You must keep the product prices low in order to attract more customers.

Add some value to your products

If you are selling the same product, then you need to add some value to it. For example, you can give a discount of 20% if the buyer is buying a 2nd product.

Keep your sales pages simple

This is a basic rule that you must follow while upselling and cross-selling. You must keep the pages simple in order to make your customers comfortable.

How to increase conversions by upselling, cross selling and providing extra value to your customers.

One of the best ways to increase the conversion rate is by providing extra value to your customers. Let’s see how we can provide extra value to our customers.

Offer Free shipping

It is the biggest mistake that most of the online shop owners make. They offer free shipping to their customers but it is not enough.

Customers are willing to spend a higher amount on what they consider as a valuable product and this is the reason why you need to provide extra value to your customers. So, it is the best way to increase the conversion rate.

Provide High Quality Products

Don’t sell your products that are cheap in quality. Always try to provide products that are of high quality so that you can convince your customer to buy it from your store.

Use Discount Codes

Offering discounts is one of the best ways to encourage your customers to buy your products. This is the best way to improve your conversion rate because it is one of the effective ways of increasing the sales.

Offer Gift Cards

If you don’t have gift cards on your site, then it is not a good idea to offer it. It will be a great way to increase the conversion rate of your store.

What type of product is offered in cross-selling?

Nowadays, cross selling is being implemented by almost all the companies. When it comes to the cross-selling, you need to offer some unique and valuable features and if you fail to provide it then your target audience will never come back to your site again.

The feature is important in cross-selling and the best way to understand the importance of cross-selling is to see how it works. Let me tell you about some of the common types of cross selling.

Addition

When a customer buys a product, you can add some complementary product which is related to the first purchase and is a great way to generate additional income.

Example: Buy a pair of shoes, then you can add a handbag which is related to that pair of shoes.

Subscription

If you want to earn more money, then you need to offer a monthly or yearly subscription service. You can also provide special discount coupons to those customers who subscribe to your services.

Example: You provide an email newsletter and when you get subscribed, you can offer a discount to that subscriber.

Bonus

The bonus is the most important thing that you can offer in your cross-selling. You can offer extra services or benefits to your customers and this will increase the value of your product.

Example: You can provide free shipping to a customer who spends $100 on your product.

Benefits of cross-selling:

1. Your customer will get the physical product for free.

2. They will feel special.

3. They will get your brand new customer.

4. Your customers will come back again.

5. You will earn profits.

6. They will be loyal to your brand.

7. They will recommend you to their friends.

8. You will get a better review from your customers.

9. It will give you a chance to promote your brand.

10. It will help you to increase the number of customers.

Ways to Create Great Upsells and Cross Sales

The best thing you can do is to listen to the customer, and this is very crucial for any business. If the customer says, “I am not getting any sleep, so I need a cup of tea,” then you must provide him/her with a cup of tea.

You need to find out the best possible way to serve your customer. This means that you have to focus on how to sell and satisfy the customer.

There are certain ways you can use to create the best upsell and cross-sales.

1. Make your products unique

People buy similar products, but they don’t buy similar products. People buy similar products because they are looking for the best deal.

So, you need to make your products unique. For example, when you are selling any digital camera, you can’t sell it for $500 and $1000. The reason is that your customers will look for the best price, and it won’t work out for you.

So, make your products different, as well as unique.

2. Use good discounts

Discounts are the best way to get a lot of attention. A discount on a product makes it cheap, and this is a great way to grab attention from your target customers.

But, you need to focus on giving the best possible discounts. You can’t give a discount on everything. Some products deserve a discount and some don’t. So, be careful and don’t make the discount too much.

3. Ask for reviews

Reviews are a great way to get more attention and to increase customer satisfaction. Asking for reviews is not only about getting reviews but also making them count.

When you ask for reviews, you will be able to know the benefits of the products. You will be able to see the customer’s feedback, and this will help you to make better decisions.

4. Create a good return policy

If a customer is happy with the product, then it will lead to a positive review. So, you need to make sure that you have a good return policy. This will help you to know whether the customer likes your products or not.

5. Provide great support

Providing great customer support will help your company to earn a positive reputation in the market. If you have great customer support then your customer will be happy with your product and service.

6 Highly-effective cross-selling strategies with real life examples

1. Product-based cross-selling

As the name suggests, this is the most basic and most powerful cross-selling strategy.

It is based on the fact that you sell your customers’ needs and wants. And the way you sell the products is by offering a bundle of products at a discounted price.

For example, if you are selling a printer, you can sell a printer paper at a low price as well.

You can add a toner as well. So, when you sell them together, the profit is huge.

There are so many ways you can combine these two items. You can add a color toner, a printer, and a scanner.

But, the best thing is that you will be able to reduce the cost of printing as well.

You will also get a lot of people joining your campaign, as they are looking for a bargain.

2. Brand-based cross-selling

Brands also use this cross-selling strategy. It works like the product-based strategy, except that it is different in terms of your target audience.

If you are selling a mobile phone, you can sell a tablet as well. Or, you can create an offer by combining the phone and a laptop.

So, you will be able to gain customers by adding a second product. But, you can make the most of this strategy by creating offers and campaigns which are unique and creative.

3. Service-based cross-selling

This is one of the most effective and high-end strategies.

If you are a service provider, you will be able to get a lot of business by helping people to solve their problems.

The best way to approach this is to sell a service and offer an add-on product or service.

This is the perfect strategy for companies that want to make a name.

For example, if you are a marketing consultant and you want to help people to design a better marketing campaign, you can sell the logo templates, or you can even get a package of three templates and add a social media advertising.

4. Offer based cross-selling

Offers are one of the best ways to make money, but if you don’t know how to make one and offer it to your customers.

You can create a landing page or a web page. You can give details about the offer, the price, and the time period for which you are offering it.

When you are ready to take action, send a mail to your customer and ask them to click on the link.

5. Coupons

Coupons are the most powerful and effective way to save money, so it’s time to use this strategy.

You can come up with some amazing coupons, like buying 2 items and get a discount on another item.

6. Loyalty programs

Loyalty programs are a simple and effective way to boost the sales.

You can also use this strategy to improve the customer retention.

You can create a loyalty program where your customers will get a special gift after the purchase.

Conclusion

These were some effective tips for you to gain more profit. If you follow these basic rules, then you will definitely see the difference. So, these are some tips that will help you to increase your sales.