5 Benefits of cross-selling

Today's businesses need to make sales in order to maintain, survive and continue to grow in each of their industries. Achieving those positive sales numbers is a fundamental objective to reach their profitability and sustainability goals, however, this is not an easy task.

In this way, companies start a long commercial journey to reach their sales. Cross-selling strategies are part of this journey and help the sales force to grow stronger and stronger.

What is cross-selling?

It is a strategy whose objective is to offer a secondary service or products to the customer at the time of purchase. In this way, other "invisible to the user" products are made known.

Cross-selling, or cross-selling, increases transactions considerably; however, we must be careful, we should not offer for the sake of offering or cram our customer with products or services, as this could cause the opposite effect. The key lies in good planning based on our customer's needs: what interests them, what products are complementary to their purchase, what are the secondary products or services that add value to the main product, what are the secondary products or services that add value to the main product, and what are the secondary products or services that add value to the main product?

5 Benefits of cross-selling

In this blog we will detail some of the advantages when using a cross-selling strategy in business.

1. Increase visibility. 

When a customer decides that he/she is going to make a purchase, he/she does so with a list of products that he/she has already identified. If the product is not on the shopping list, the shopper will not go looking for it. If secondary products are placed next to the main products chosen by the buyer, the chances of the consumer making a purchase increase.

2. It generates sales and consumption habits. 

Cross-selling will help create and generate buying and consumption behaviours by educating the consumer about certain core product categories that we want them to always buy together. Displaying both products together for a certain amount of time will make the shopper consider both products on subsequent visits.

3. Promotes remembrance. 

Shoppers think and make purchasing decisions when they are on the web, cross-selling can help stimulate the customer's mind and memory, so that they can include products in their shopping cart that they had not planned to buy but that when they see them they remember they need them.

4. It allows the testing of new products.

Cross-selling will allow you to take products that are very popular and bring new products into the market. When the consumer makes a regular purchase, the product associated with it automatically gains their trust and awakens the intention to purchase it in the future.

5. Encourages buyer creativity.

The consumer has very marked routines and purchasing processes and it is very difficult for him to change them, so he will always buy the same thing. This is how placing products next to each other creates a space that awakens creativity and consumption habits for current and future purchases.

Application of cross-selling techniques in ecommerce

It is clear that cross-selling techniques are not exclusive to e-commerce, as they were already in use before e-commerce came into the online life of companies and are still used today in the offline sphere as well.

The possibilities of ecommerce to define customer needs and buying patterns automatically and immediately means that the cross-selling method is constantly used by marketing departments.

Here are some effective methods to use in online shops:

Lead Scoring. 

This is a methodology used by a company's sales and marketing departments to determine the value of potential customers by assigning them values based on their behaviour in relation to their interest in products or services. 

The "value" of each lead varies from company to company, but is generally characterised by the interest shown online or the buying cycle. 

Companies assign points-based systems to qualify potential customers or simply refer to them as "hot", "warm" or "cold" based on interaction history.

Types of lead scoring:

• Download of a valuable product such as an ebook or downloadable.
• Conducting a search
• Attend a webinar
• Open an e-mail
• Visit the sales page of the website

Content of value. 

We can produce content explaining the advantages of a higher version of the product or certain accessories. This content can fit seamlessly into the later stages of the funnel of an inbound marketing strategy.

Remarketing. 

Dynamic banners with product or service recommendations based on the user's sales and enquiry history.

Pop ups. 

These show complementary products, upgraded versions or extended warranties.

Direct communication with the client. 

Through chats or telephone support it is also possible to inform the customer about cross-selling and alternatives. This is an added bonus of personalisation and a direct relationship that is often very successful.

Automated systems. 

They are used to show the user of an online sales website advertisements and suggestions of, for example, products that we know or sense that he/she wants, items that he/she has consulted or added to the shopping cart but has not purchased, products or services in the same category, all kinds of related items, additional support and warranty extensions, etc.

Cross-selling strategies are recommended for their effectiveness in achieving more sales and, consequently, higher profits and profitability for companies.

In online commerce, the technique of cross-selling is particularly profitable. According to Amazon, 35% (Amazon 2020) of its revenue comes from this type of campaign. It is not surprising, therefore, that cross-selling is one of the main pillars of the online marketing strategies of companies of all kinds.

At Digital57 we know the importance of increasing the profitability of your business through digital tools.

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