Ecommerce
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We step into a shoe store and pick up a pair of running shoes. A salesperson approaches and fields our questions nicely. But then in a clever move, she subtly suggests buying a slightly higher-priced pair of shoes and explains why those are better for runners.
If the salesperson did their job well and if we could afford to pay a bit extra for the pair of shoes, we would probably take her up for the offer and exit the shoe shop, paying just a little bit more than we had originally planned.
This is upselling in action. It’s a sales technique in which you get the customer to buy an upgraded version of the product he is interested in purchasing. The idea is to get the customer to pay more for the same category of product.
One of the most comprehensible upselling examples is like that: if someone is buying fries, you can suggest they upgrade to a larger size and get more fries for an extra charge.
What is cross-selling? If a salesperson pitches you a can of soda along with the packet of fries you are ordering, he is trying to cross-sell to you. In cross-selling, you sell related products that complement or supplement each other. Those products may be from different product categories – like fries and soda.
What does upselling mean? Upselling meaning, on the other hand, is in selling an upgraded version of the same kind of product. So, if a customer wants to order a phone, you try to upsell him a better, bigger, and more expensive version of the phone he’s looking at currently.
In retail stores, upselling and cross-selling are very popular selling techniques. Upselling usually comes in before cross-selling begins. When a customer has decided on what product to purchase, the salesperson then begins cross-selling other complementary and supplementary products that he feels the customer would need.
Want to learn more about the most popular selling techniques? We’ve collected the best Quora questions about upsell and cross-sell in one of our Digests.
With up-selling, both the customer and the merchant wins. Though the customer pays a bit more than what he had in mind but ends up with either better quality or more volume.
Upselling is no doubt an effective sales technique that every salesperson should master. But what does upsell mean for an eCommerce store?
For the online merchant, upselling has even bigger wins. A successful upsell increases profit per customer, average order value, sales revenues, as well as customer lifetime value.
Get the cross-sell definition, learn the cross-sell vs upsell difference, and find out 6 ways to increase the number of orders in an online store together with the number of return customers in our article.
With the right upselling techniques, strategies, and tools in place, you can nail it perfectly and give your revenues a boost. Below, we define upselling tips to help you boost your revenues.
The first thing you need is an upselling tool or plugin that you can install on the eCommerce store. Every eCommerce platform has a few plugins/apps/tools for upselling and cross-selling. Here are a few recommendations broken down by platforms used:
Shopify: Product Upsell for Shopify
WooCommerce: Product Recommendations Extensions
BigCommerce: Easy Upsell for BigCommerce
Magento: Mass Product Relator for Magento
These tools will give you a head start in upselling or cross-selling and will automate most of the stuff for you.
Upselling the right product is extremely important if you want to make the most of this revenue-boosting technique. The product you offer should have one or more of the following characteristics:
Let’s go back to our retail examples and consider what often makes us buy into the upselling offers pitched by salespeople.
It’s the personalization that works in the salesperson’s favor. Since we engage with the salesperson directly, the salesperson vets the selection and handpicks a product to upsell, 100% personalized for us. How would you react if the salesperson would instead pitch 10 products similar to the one you’re looking at? You’ll likely walk out!
The same technique can be imitated in an eCommerce store by configuring the settings of our upselling tool in a way that it only gives one personalized product recommendation instead of offering multiple suggestions. Shopping quizzes could also be used here to give a personalized recommendation.
To make the most of upselling, you also need to present your offer at the right place and at the right time. The best time for upselling is when the buyer is showing interest in a particular product, which makes the product page a good placement for your offer.
You shouldn’t delay your recommendation too long and risk confusing the buyer, having him abandon the site. If the buyer already made a selection and you came in too late with your offer, it could lead to the buyer getting confused. Hence, the best place for upselling is the product page itself.
You can include two sections on the product page – upselling followed by a cross-selling section.
Cross-selling offers should continue as the buyer moves forward in the purchase journey. Cart, checkout, and email sequences are all good places to cross-sell.
Whether your upselling moves are a win or loss depends on your offer and the way you present it. Write a persuasive copy in the product recommendation section to draw your customer’s attention and drive action from him or her.
Upselling and Cross-Selling are not only great in B2C eCommerce but are also effective in B2B eCommerce. One of the advantages of B2B eCommerce is having the ability to upsell effectively since it’s often difficult for salespeople to upsell and cross-sell in person.
Upselling techniques are quite simple but help to improve sales. The main point is to get a clear idea of the customers’ needs and make them an offer that they definitely cannot refuse.If you have any questions about ecommerce website development or want to get expert advice, contact us through the form on our website – and let’s team up!
US-based and operating globally, NEKLO spearheads digital transformation initiatives for businesses worldwide. We deliver software solutions complying with your market and legislation.
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