Have you ever imagined being able to count on a strategy that allows you to profit more from a sale that is practically closed?
What if I tell you that with this same strategy, in addition to increasing your profitability, you still provide a better shopping experience for your customer?
All of this is possible with Cross Selling.
If you are not already familiar with this strategy, in this article I will tell you what you need to know to put it into practice in your business.
You will see:
• What is Cross Selling;
• Cross Selling benefits for your business;
• Differences between Cross Selling and Up Selling;
• How to put Cross Selling into practice in your business;
• All you have to do is continue reading this article until the end.
We will?
What is Cross Selling?
The term Cross Selling originates from the English language and means cross selling.
It is possible that you have heard or even used this term without really understanding what it is about.
This is a sales technique used to convince the customer to purchase more products than he had originally planned.
The purpose of cross-selling is to improve the customer’s consumer experience and increase sales for your business.
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But… does cross selling have to do with manipulation?
When we talk about cross-selling, it is common for this question to arise.
The answer is no.
In fact, quite the contrary, cross-selling aims to offer products that are directly related to the customer’s initial purchase desire and that in some way improves their shopping experience.
This is what often happens in online stores.
For you to understand better, imagine the following situation:
You are in the Amazon app looking for a Kindle, you click on the product and the website directs you to the technical information screen.
When you scroll down to read more about the product, you will find offers on items related to the Kindle that can improve your experience with the device such as covers, films and plug adapters.
It is common for a customer who buys such a device to be interested in covers and adapters, as they will indeed be useful and can improve their experience with the product.
This is cross selling.
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Now that you have understood what cross selling is, I will explain to you the benefits that this technique can bring to your business.
Benefits of Cross Selling for your business
As you know, countless technological advances have changed the way customers consume products.
And with these great advances, countless companies have migrated to the internet and others have been born in the digital environment.
With so much competition, in addition to offering products that arouse the interest of your audience, it is necessary to think of techniques and strategies that will attract new leads and make them become customers of your brand and consume what you have to offer.
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If you are still in doubt as to whether or not to invest in this technique, I have separated in this topic some benefits that cross-selling can bring to your business.
(1. Generates customer loyalty
When a user searches for a product on the internet, he or she usually looks for a solution to a problem.
Therefore, it is necessary to keep in mind that cross selling offers need to help your client to solve this problem.
Offering relevant and useful products adds value to the offer and increases the chances of your lead making the purchase and still buying on your website in the future.
After all, she already knows that she can find all the solutions to a given problem in one place.
Which brings us to the next topic.
(2. Increase your business profitability
Most cross selling strategies involve offering some type of exclusive discount to encourage purchase.
In a way, this means that your business will profit less individually with the product offered as a complement.
However, without cross-selling offers, the product itself may not have the strength to generate a sale alone.
Thus, you can even profit less with a particular product or service, but there is still an increase in the profitability of your business.
And at the same time, the customer also benefits as he will likely pay less for one product and will purchase others that are useful to him.
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Which can also make that customer come back to make new purchases on your website in the future.
(3. Your business stands out
As you may have noticed, today, your customers’ attention is increasingly sought after.
In addition to advertisements, banners, e-mails and pop-ups, you now also vie for your consumer’s attention with numerous social media notifications.
Therefore, attracting new customers and standing out is even more important to ensure that your business survives in the midst of so much competition.
One of the great advantages of cross selling is that there are several ways to put this technique into practice.
In addition to offers on your website, you can encourage the purchase of products or services on your landing page, through email marketing, among other possibilities.
And, by applying it in different ways, you can get your customer’s attention and make them realize the value and usefulness of your offer.
As a consequence, when the strategy is well applied, in addition to increasing your profitability, you guarantee a competitive advantage over your competitors.
In an increasingly competitive market, no chance of standing out can be missed.
(4. Relationship with the customer
When you apply cross selling strategies in your business, you need to make it clear that you are not just selling a product, you are taking care of your customer’s needs.
That way, you have the opportunity to narrow your relationship with him.
For this, it is extremely important that you suggest products that will actually help your customer in some way.
It is no use selling an ebook on social media strategies and suggesting that your customer also buy a hair clip. You see?
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If your customer searched for an ebook, for example, you should offer products that provide a better experience like other books on the same topic or access to an exclusive webinar that complements the first purchase.
(5. Increase in the number of leads
Last but not least, cross selling can effectively contribute to the growth of your leads.
Like?
To better understand, you need to put yourself in your lead’s shoes.
When you, as a customer, are well served in any establishment, you usually recommend this place to your friends and family, right?
The same applies here.
If you keep your customers happy with the service you offer, they will become loyal to your business and, consequently, will recommend it to their family and friends as well.
The best of all is that you are not only attracting new leads, but one of the best types of potential customers who came to your business by referral.
Differences between Cross Selling and Up Selling
If you’ve heard of cross selling at some point, you may have also seen the term up selling .
The two concepts are similar and have the same ultimate goal, which is to get your website’s customer to buy more products.
But, there is a basic difference between these two terms:
While cross selling tries to convince its customers to add products related to the original order in the same purchase, up selling tries to convince its customers to buy a more expensive product or a service with more features.
Got confused? Let me explain it better.
In cross selling, there is no change to the original product, but the addition of products that can complement your customer’s purchase.
In the case of up selling, the product initially chosen is replaced by a more complete, higher quality and, of course, more expensive version.
Did you understand the difference?
However, even if the two concepts are different, this does not prevent you from applying them together.
How to put Cross Selling into practice in your business
Now, if you are not yet experienced in the subject, you may have difficulty putting this strategy into practice at first.
To help you, in the next lines I will give you 6 practical tips that will help you to implement cross selling strategies in your business.
(1. Planning
Like any strategy, to get good results it is necessary to set aside a period for planning. And with cross selling it would be no different.
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The use of cross selling strategies needs a lot of care and common sense, because when executed without proper planning, they can become inconvenient.
In a study published in 2012 by Harvard Business Review , entitled The Dark Side of Cross Selling , it shows that the misapplication of this strategy can even generate losses for your business.
One of the flaws pointed out in the study is the disordered use in cross selling, which may end up devaluing your product or service instead of improving the consumer experience.
To avoid mistakes, remember: customers must buy complementary products because they truly recognize their value.
In other words, your strategy must be primarily focused on customer satisfaction.
(2. Know your customers’ profile
Every cross selling strategy must be carefully thought out to solve a problem or meet a customer’s need.
In addition to planning, decisions made in marketing need to be made based on data and research.
In order for your strategy to become more assertive, it is necessary that you know your customer’s profile and know exactly who you are talking to.
That is, you must know your persona .
Once you have a better understanding of your persona’s profile, you will be able to offer products that really make sense and that will complement your customer’s purchase according to their needs.
(3. Present your offers naturally
The cross selling offer should present the complementary product in the most natural way possible and demonstrate that your business really cares and is looking for ways to help your customer solve a certain problem.
No use of mandatory sentences or trying to push the product at all costs to the customer.
On the contrary, you should try to make the offer as personal as possible.
For example:
“Customers who bought this product also bought …” or “You may also like this …”
That way, you bring smoothness and naturalness to your offer.
(4. Offer a limited number of products
Offering a large number of related products at once can make your customers feel confused and even suspicious.
As a result, they can abandon the purchase and leave your site without taking anything.
For a more assertive strategy, the ideal is to offer only two or three additional and relevant products in each of the approaches.
(5. Use customer testimonials on your website
Imagine the following situation:
You are browsing the internet looking for an online course or a webinar, but you are still in doubt as to whether you should acquire this material as you are not yet very familiar with the expert who is the instructor of the classes.
Then, you go to the website and on the course information page you find a testimonial from a former student who recently purchased the same course, liked the classes and is recommending the expert.
You will probably be encouraged to register, since you had a good recommendation from another customer. Is not it?
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Likewise, if your customer visits your product page or your service’s landing page and finds a recommendation from a satisfied customer, their chances of making the purchase increase.
(6. Use Cross Selling in your email marketing
Email marketing can help your business to sell and create a good relationship with your audience.
In the midst of so much competition in the current market, in addition to offering quality products with prices that attract the attention of your lead, it is important to build a good relationship so that she becomes a real customer of your business.
If a potential customer has shown interest in a certain product or service, has registered and has not completed the purchase, you can use email marketing as a tool to reverse this situation.
What can you do in this situation?
Sending an email to your lead reinforcing the offer and providing an exclusive discount for that moment, can make it reconsider and finalize the purchase.
In addition, you can also take a new approach when the customer completes the purchase.
The moment after the purchase is ideal to continue nurturing the relationship with your customer. He is excited about the acquisition and this is a good opportunity to strengthen ties and keep him interested.
Now, you should send an email congratulating your customer for purchasing the product or service, giving more information about the purchase and, briefly and subtly, offering new products that can be useful based on the purchase made.
By creating a good relationship, your lead can become an effective customer of your business and make new purchases regularly.
Hands-on
In this article I explained to you what cross selling is, what its benefits are and gave you tips that will help you put this strategy into practice in your business.
Now is the time to improve the knowledge acquired here by putting it into practice.
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