How Can You Upsell to Your Customers Without Being Pushy?

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As the business world becomes more challenging due to a global marketplace and a post-pandemic world, you need to use the right strategies in order to get ahead.

Of course, the best strategies will boost your bottom line and contribute to overall sales.

However, one aspect in particular that far too many businesses overlook is upselling. This is the art of asking for additional purchases from the customer after you have made the original sale.

By learning how to post purchase upsell shopify the right way, you can increase your average dollar amount per transaction without increasing your expenses.

The end result is that your profitability goes up, and you can afford to invest in other areas of your business.

So let’s talk about how to upsell your customers without being pushy or hurting your brand:

Know Your Target Audience

The first step to generating more upsells is always to understand your market. Otherwise, your proposed upsells won’t really be speaking to the needs and wants of your customer.

Failing to do so could backfire on your sales representative, leaving you without an additional sale.

There are many ways to understand your target audience on a deeper level. Some of them include:

Customer Surveys – Your best source of information are customers who have already bought a product from you — especially if they purchased an upsell. Reach out via email or phone and enter their information in your CRM

Google Keyword Planner – If you don’t already have an established group of customers, use keywords to estimate what products and services are popular in your industry right now.

Competitive Analysis – Look at what the competition is doing to improve your upsells. Task a team member to “secret shop” your competition and see how they are upselling their products. You can uncover ideas to use in your own sales pitch.

If you want to achieve the best results, you have to have a thorough understanding of your market and your target audience’s needs — and habits.

Use Analytics to Track Habits and Purchases

If you aren’t using online methods to track your customers’ habits, then you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to empathize with them.

By looking at your customer’s journey and actions, you can better determine what “triggers” cause them to buy or not.

For instance, you might find that customers who are 35 years old, using an iPhone, and who found your website from Facebook convert at higher ratios than other demographics.

Additionally, you can utilize A/B testing at a low cost, or even for free, through various software applications.

A/B testing involves creating two versions of your sales page. Test various CTA (Call to Action) buttons, headlines, and body copy on your website to see what marketing messages and placements are performing better.

Reach Out With Seasonal Offers

Some upsells will be more effective if you offer them during particular times of the year.

For instance, if you sell fashionable men’s clothing, you might carry a selection of jackets and coats.

If you attempt to throw these into a purchase with an upsell offer in the middle of summer, you probably won’t get too many takers.

Furthermore, with an untimely offer, you will risk frustrating the customer with something they don’t need, while missing the chance to upsell a more relevant product.

The good news is that with each season, there is probably some service or product that can be highlighted and promoted for an upsell.

Even if you don’t have a seasonal business (such as software or another digital product), you can offer special promotions at an attractive discount for the holidays. Then, create a calendar with various “sales” holidays year-round.

Highlight the Benefits

Do your customers understand the actual benefits of your product? Or are you focusing too much on non-important features instead?

When upselling, always start with the 1 or 2 most compelling benefits to the customer. These benefits should speak directly to a strong pain point that your customer has.

This will boost your per-transaction upsell ratio and allow you to generate more profits with the same amount of work.

Offer Relevant Products Based on Habits

You need to ensure that your product offers are highly relevant to your customers. One of the best ways to do this is through a mobile app.

By building a mobile app for your business, you achieve a number of benefits.

Aside from controlling the data and being able to make smarter decisions, you can also get a hold of important information about your customers faster, without going through third parties or paying other companies.

Additionally, you can see who has recently viewed a product in your app, then send SMS or in-app notifications to remind them of this product, show them other products commonly viewed with their purchase, and even offer an enticing discount.

Finally, you can improve the customer experience as well by alerting the customer if they forgot an important part, accessory, or other upsell opportunity.

Conclusion

Sales is the lifeblood of any business.

You can have the greatest marketing, product, or customer service. However, if you don’t increase your sales opportunities and boost your revenue, none of the other business metrics matter in the end.

Don’t make the mistake of missing out on upsells because you don’t know how to do them properly.

Instead, understand that upsells are an integral part of the sales process and — if performed correctly — they can serve you and your customers in a productive and profitable way.

So be sure to review the tips above so that your salespeople have the confidence to ask for the additional sale without pushing customers around or losing trust in your business.

That way, your reputation and your bottom line will benefit from this process.