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What Is Upselling? Learn How to Upsell Your Products

  • Oct 18, 2021
  • By Rajeev Nar
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Estimated reading time: 5 minutes, 58 seconds

Have you ever come across the trick where the store owner suggested you invest in an item that has a slightly high price? You might have come across this at some point in your life. Well, that’s upselling.

What Exactly Is Upselling?

Upselling is a sales trick used by store owners to convince customers to buy the premium version of a selected item or additional item to increase the amount of purchase. This is the eCommerce marketing technique used by almost every eCommerce store owner to increase sales revenue.

Upselling aims to increase the overall transaction value while also introducing clients to new alternatives that best meet their requirements. Upselling is frequently woven into a discourse regarding the customer’s motivations for buying the item and their long-term ambitions.

Why Is Upselling Important?

Some people think that it is an annoying trick used by retailers to increase sales, but that’s not at all. We are not encouraging to force things on customers, but if you use upselling in the right way, it can help your business. And if you are still wondering why it is important, then the below-mentioned points will clear your mind.

  • The techniques help to build a relationship with the customer. By suggesting a premium version of something or add-ons that can help customers in a long way, you are doing a favor to customers. And customers love this more than anything.
  • If the customers are happy with your service or deal, they will come back again. So you can certainly use the upselling trick on customers who want more from your business.
  • Another benefit of upselling is better ROI.
  • Upselling saves customers time. The most important thing in everyone’s life is time. And when you suggest different add-ons or products that can help consumers, you are saving their valuable time.
  • By suggesting multiple products in the checkout experience, you are displaying your store as a complete solution for customers’ needs.

How to Upsell?

There is no denying that both Sales and Customer Service benefit from knowing how to spot an upsell possibility. It only takes a few minutes to understand and analyze your customer’s demands before approaching them. Here in this section, we will help you understand how to upsell.

1. Determine The Product That Gets Major Traction

The very step of upselling is to find the right product for the upselling. Nothing is more annoying than customers getting bombarded with a product suggestion. You certainly don’t want to irritate your customer with unnecessary product suggestions. That’s why it is a must to have the right item to upsell. The item which is getting a lot of attention.

2. Know Your Customers and Their Requirements

There is no doubt in the fact that knowledge is power. To make the most out of the upselling, you need to learn about the customer requirements, wants, and needs. You can do this by approaching the customer’s support staff and learn all about the customer’s queries. This way the marketing team can come up with a plan that helps in upselling.

3. Try Your Hands on Product Comparisons

A majority of online buyers, before making a purchase, love to make a comparison. So you can certainly use product comparison in upselling. You can do this by displaying more than one product. Buyers won’t have to navigate through numerous pages if you show them identical upsell items and feature distinctions. There are various upsell apps that you can use, like In Cart Upsell, Honeycomb Upsell and Cross-Sell, etc.

4. Offer Upsells That Seems Genuine

Buyers get annoyed easily, and you don’t want to trigger them by selling something that doesn’t seem genuine. For example, the customer is looking for an android phone, and if you start displaying an iPhone, then it might irritate the customers. It would be best if you matched the buyer’s exact needs.

5. Upsell with Integrity

Buyers will leave if they sense something fishy or get annoyed in the process. Most store owners use pop-ups, and this can backfire if used at the wrong time. So it should be better for you to be more open and transparent about everything during the buying process, like placing the upsell product below the relevant product. Another way is to display the offer after individuals have made a purchase decision.

6. Use the Rule of Three

The rule of three of marketing always works. McDonald’s and Nike’s slogans are examples. Customers grab the information more easily when it comes in the form of three. So you can create an upselling pattern by displaying the suggested product in the form of three.

7. Justify Value Before Making the Pitch

You need to justify the upsell product before making the pitch. Your job isn’t finished once you’ve concluded that an upsell offer makes perfect sense for your buyer. You must illustrate the extra value the upsell product will add to their life. That you can do by showing testimonials, reviews, and ratings.

Don’t Overlook The Power of Reward

Many business owners think that their job is completed when the upsell product is sold. That’s just not it. You need to reward your loyal customers. He has spent more than what he planned, so make sure he gets to know that you appreciate it. You can do this by sending him a personalization thank you note via email or offer coupon codes for future purchases.

Some Upsell Examples

Now let’s have a look at a real-life upselling example:

DollarShave Club

Dollar Shave Club has diversified its product line by enticing new customers to sign up for a package of grooming and shaving essentials. Nevertheless, The company allows customers to select blades, and this is where they apply their upselling technique by placing the most expensive solution first, followed by the less expensive options farther down the thread.

Tesla

Users can customize their vehicles on the Tesla website before making a purchase. This is not just a wonderful example of UX design, but it also presents a potential for upselling. Users can upgrade everything throughout the automobile configuration process, such as the wheels and the autopilot capability, for an additional fee.

Away Travel

Away Travel uses a unique approach of upselling by asking buyers, “want an even more flexible and roomy carry-on?” and then redirecting them to the extended version of the luggage. This pleases the customer’s curiosity in more expensive luggage while also quietly highlighting the product’s merits.

Easyjet

Upselling is common among airlines to increase revenue. The majority of large and well-known airlines are forthright in offering consumers the choice of additional paid-for amenities for comfort. Easyjet uses this trick by offering customers the benefit of choosing their seat for some extra bucks.

Conclusion

That’s all! Here we have mentioned all about upselling and how a business can use it to its advantage. Upselling is crowned as the dirty trick by many marketers, but if it is done in the right way or with integrity, it can help you build a long-lasting relationship with customers. Don’t just get carried away with the idea of upselling if you are starting out, as you can annoy the customer. Remember, upselling is all about the timing. If the customers have a genuine demand for extra service or product, then only it is ideal to propose an extra purchasing option.

We hope you find this blog helpful!