Don’t Forget the Up
Sale / Cross Sale
When you walk into the local shoe store to buy a
pair of dress shoes, you usually walk out with a
few extras. Why? Because the salesman talks you
into buying an extra set of shoelaces, shoe
shine, a horse-hair shoe buffer (only the
finest!), and so on. That’s called cross selling
and is something all good salespeople do.
Furthermore, the pair of shoes you originally
looked at isn’t the pair you walked out with.
Again, the salesman talked you into purchasing
the much more expensive shoes, convincing you
that you had a need for the space-aged polymer
material that does amazing things to your feet.
That’s called an up sale.
Up selling and cross selling work well in the
world of brick and mortar retail stores where a
high-pressure salesman can convince just about
anybody into buying stuff they originally didn’t
want. But how do we take advantage of this well
known tactic online?
While you won’t ever be able to slam a super
high-pressure pitch to shoppers online (the lack
of pressure from salespeople is just one of many
reasons why consumers choose to shop online),
there are several things you can do to increase
your per-order revenues.
Show similar items on each product page
This is a way to both up sell as well as cross
sell. Visit the website of any large online
retailer and you’ll quickly see what I’m talking
about. At the bottom of each product page,
you’ll often see a list of recommended
accessories or similar items.
This gives the buyer an opportunity to see what
else is available, and shows them accessories
they may want, but might not buy if they weren’t
reminded that they’re available.
Imagine that you sell two different models of
automotive GPS units. They are identical, but
the more expensive model is Bluetooth capable.
On the product page for the less expensive
model, including a small image next to a line
such as, “Try it with Bluetooth for hands free
calling!” or something similar is a good example
of an up-sell attempt.
Links to accessories, such as a windshield
mounting device, additional map software,
extended warranty, and so forth are examples of
cross selling.
Recommend accessories on the shopping cart or
checkout page
The perfect opportunity to recommend additional
items to a customer is when they add an item to
their shopping cart. By taking this action, the
shopper is showing that they intend to make a
purchase. While they are in the buying mindset,
you’ll want to take the opportunity to make
recommendations on additional related items.
For example, if a shopper adds a camping tent to
their shopping cart, provide links on the
shopping cart page to tent stakes, waterproofing
spray, sleeping bags, and so on. In addition to
potentially increasing your sales, you’ll also
be doing your customer a huge service. There’s
nothing worse than forgetting to order an
important accessory, especially when you’re
buying online.
Capture their contact information
During the checkout process, ask for your
customer’s email address. This should always be
done so you can email order confirmation
information anyway, and is something online
consumers expect. However, it also gives you the
opportunity to market to that person in the
future. Doing so helps keep your company name in
the minds of your customers, vastly improving
the odds that they’ll return to you again for
future purchases.
Cross selling and up selling is something that
many small internet retailers fail to do. Some
just don’t believe there is any effective way to
do it online. But by implementing these three
quick and simple tactics you’ll see a rise in
your overall sales, dispelling the myth about
the impossibility of an online up sale/cross
sale.
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