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Think about the many times you walked into a store to buy one item and met an intelligent salesperson who convinced you to upgrade or include an add-on. Even if this only works once in a blue moon, it’s still worth it! So why can’t your eCommerce business do the same?
By using the right up-selling strategies, you can drastically increase sales with minimal effort. As upselling relies on existing customers, you won’t have to spend a fortune acquiring new ones.
Don’t know how to upsell? No worries, in this blog, we will explore the art of upselling and how you can use it to become the number one online store!
Table of Contents:
- What is Upselling?
- Upselling VS. Cross-selling
- Upselling Statistics
- 9 Upselling Strategies & Techniques To Boost Your Sales
- Showcase added value
- Stick to a Maximum Price Margin
- Convince them with social proof
- Offer free (or discounted) shipping
- Use the rule of three
- Leverage FOMO and create a sense of urgency
- Make comparisons
- Send follow-up emails
- Stay relevant
What is Upselling In E-commerce?
Upselling is a sales technique that works to increase the value of a customer’s transaction. In simpler terms, it's a method that encourages customers to get additional or more expensive products.
Upselling doesn't only benefit your eCommerce business by increasing revenue, but it can also enhance your customers’ experience by offering options that better meet their needs.
Although many professionals mistake upselling for cross-selling, each has its own definition, strategies, and advantages. That’s a bit vague, isn’t it? Let’s take a closer look at the difference between upselling and cross-selling.
Upselling VS. Cross-selling
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Both techniques focus on increasing the average cart value. However, there are numerous core differences between the two techniques.
To keep it simple, upselling focuses on persuading customers to upgrade or purchase a more expensive version of the product. On the other hand, cross-selling is convincing customers to purchase related or complementary products.
For example, if you sell laptops, then upselling means convincing the customer to get a newer version. Whereas cross-selling means pushing them to purchase a laptop sleeve.
So now that you have a deep understanding of upselling, are you willing to give it a chance? If you are still not sure, we got some numbers that will convince you!
** Discover more about The best upselling and cross-selling tactics to boost sales in eCommerce
Upselling Statistics And Facts You Should Know
From ROI to engagement and even brand awareness, upselling can help enhance all your metrics. So let’s take a look at some important numbers and facts.
- Upsells account for 10% - 30% of most e-commerce revenue.
- Acquiring a new customer is 68% more expensive than upselling an existing one.
- 88% of sales professionals use upselling techniques and 72% of those say that up to 30% of their company’s revenues come from upselling.
- Upselling can lead to over 40% increase in average order value.
- Customers are 74% more likely to make another purchase after a positive cross-selling or upselling experience.
Before you go off to create your own up-selling strategies, let’s take a look at some proven successful techniques so you can start on the right track!
9 Upselling Strategies & Techniques To Boost Your Sales
Ready to dive into the top-Upselling strategies and become the number one online store?
1- Showcase added value
The most important upselling strategy you need to start with is showcasing the additional value the customer will get. They are already convinced of the product itself, so the hard part is done.
But highlighting what and how much they will gain from that upgrade is all that upselling is about.
2- Stick to a Maximum Price Margin
Of course, you want customers to purchase the most expensive products, but let’s be realistic for a second; not all of them will.
Accordingly, you need to decide and stick to a maximum price margin when you are using other up-selling strategies. For example, if a customer is ordering a $50 product, there’s no point in offering an upsell for $150.
Experts believe that the ideal price margin when upselling is just over 50%. By that, you will be encouraging more customers to go for the upselling options no matter what’s their budget.
3- Convince them with social proof
Image source: g2.com
Customers will always believe other customers more than they believe in your eCommerce business. So instead of telling them how this upgrade will benefit them, utilize user-generated content to persuade them.
Persuading customers can be difficult, but user-generated content could be the key. By showcasing reviews, ratings, and photos from other customers who have purchased the same product, you can convince potential upsell customers that they too can benefit from the upgrade.
4- Offer free (or discounted) shipping
One of the oldest yet most successful up-selling strategies is offering free or discounted shipping with a price cap.
This information needs to be clear, and you have to remind customers on the checkout page.
It’s also better to tell them how close they are to the minimum threshold instead of just saying what it is. For example, your pop-up should say “Add $20 to get free shipping” instead of saying “Get free shipping if you spend over $100”.
5- Use the rule of three
Have you heard about the rule of three? Basically, it says that people take action more if they are given multiple (in this case 3) options.
This is a consumer behavior trick that will enhance the results of all your up-selling strategies. Just remember to offer options that differ in features and prices. In other words, actually give them options, not an illusion.
6- Leverage FOMO and create a sense of urgency
Image source: pagefly.io
Like any other marketing and sales technique, you can leverage FOMO marketing and create a sense of urgency to upsell. This is easily done by adding some phrases like “limited time” or “everyone is pairing this item with”.
Also, you can introduce special bundles and offers on occasion, nothing says Merry Christmas more than an exclusive deal!
7- Make comparisons
It's no secret that customers will respond better if they see a side-by-side comparison of what they will exactly get from each option.
This also supports the previous ‘rule of three’ strategy. By combining both those up-selling strategies, an ‘add to cart’ click is almost a guarantee!
8- Send follow-up emails
Like most eCommerce businesses, you probably have automated post-sale emails. Those present a perfect opportunity for upselling!
Simply add some suggestions for an upgrade or an add-on accompanied by some user-generated content proving why this is a win-win situation. And always remember to personalize your emails!
9- Stay relevant
Speaking of personalization, did you know that even upselling can be personalized?
By choosing relevant options to push, the possibility of getting that extra revenue skyrockets! Bear in mind that we don’t mean only relevant to the product; we also mean it's relevant to the customer’s segmentation.
10- Make it easy on customers
The last and one of the most important up-selling strategies is all about convenience. You have to make it easy for customers to add upsold products to their cart and place an order.
If they have to go back from the checkout page to confirm the additional or alternative purchases, you might lose them or at least lose the upsell. But by making it just one tap away, you can easily get that sale!
Need a helping hand to start upselling? Book a demo now with Converted.in experts and take your eCommerce marketing game to a new level!
