How to Boost Sales Through Cross-Selling and Upselling, Part 2 of 2

This week in the second of this two-part series on using cross-selling and upselling techniques to boost online sales, we continue our coverage of Michael Dell’ Arciprete’s presentation from the eTail East 2008 conference in Washington, D.C. This part lists several tactics the vice president of marketing for the online coffee retailer Boca Java advised the audience to avoid when attempting to cross-sell or upsell products online.

(For part 1, click here.)

1. Too many cross-sell items. Confusion reigns and placements become random when you try to cross-sell too many products at one time, Dell’ Arciprete warned.

2. Don’t talk over the customer. “Don’t make the customer feel dumb,” Dell’ Arciprete cautioned. Avoid using terms customers don’t know.

3. No brand wars. Don’t pit one brand against another, Dell’ Arciprete said. It’s just going to cause the customers to leave your site and research it, most likely at a shopping comparison site. And then they may never come back.

4. Don’t keep seasonal items as a cross-sell or upsell past their time of relevancy.

5. Don’t present out-of-stock items. “This lowers customer satisfaction and increases calls to the call center,” Dell’ Arciprete said.

6. Don’t use the top toolbar to cross-sell or upsell. This makes people go over the same real estate they’ve already covered, Dell’ Arciprete said. It makes them even less likely to see the cross-sell or upsell opportunity.

7. Cross-sell at a reasonable price range. “I’m not going to try and cross-sell a $1,200 grinder on a $7 coffee bag purchase,” Dell’ Arciprete said. Make it a logical progression.

Upselling Downfalls
There are potential pitfalls to upselling if it isn’t done properly, Dell’ Arciprete cautioned. They include the following:

* risk of customer dissatisfaction;

* increased complaints to your call center; and

* damage to your brand if you’re not presenting a value to the customer.

To effectively upsell products, Dell’ Arciprete advised, look back at customers’ purchase histories, search histories, average order values, feedback, among other things.

Examining Upsells
On the positive side, Dell’ Arciprete listed the following benefits of properly executed upsells:

* add return on investment to your margins;

* help you gain insight into what people will buy; and

* add revenue.