The company’s revenue doesn’t end at the point of sale. On the contrary, it’s only the beginning of the “real” business relationship with its customers. Just think about it: the company already has the customer’s contact information, their needs and preferences, expectations regarding price and service. It’s based on analyzing this data that upselling and cross-selling strategies are built – effective strategies that allow maximizing the company’s revenue. What are cross-selling and upselling? What’s the difference between them, and most importantly, how to improve these types of sales in a call center? We’ll explain everything step by step.
What are upselling?
Upselling is a sales strategy aimed at selling the customer a more expensive version of a product or service they have already agreed to purchase. Upselling, or upselling sales, is quite a common strategy. It can be an effective tool for increasing customer loyalty and overall revenue. Remember how at the fast-food counter, they offer you a slightly more expensive but tastier burger? That’s upselling. Need more examples? Here you go! After a conversation with you, a call center agent offers you a higher mobile phone tariff than the one you decided to purchase. They tell you about the benefits: more minutes, SMS, additional gigabytes of internet per month, and you agree with their arguments. This is a case of upselling.
Or another example: a software developer for call centers offers the ordering company to additionally purchase a call center shift scheduling software, justifying it by saying that the solution will help the business save money paid to group leaders or supervisors and relieve them of routine tasks. Yes, it will be more expensive at the time of purchase, but it can reduce costs in the future. This is also a vivid example of upselling.
Upselling essentially
So, upselling is a way for businesses to earn more money from existing customers and encourage them to buy more expensive products or services they may not have known about. Essentially, upselling is about providing value to the buyer. It’s important to present your product or service in a way that shows the benefit it will bring to the customer. The key here is to position yourself as an expert who understands their needs and can offer the best available solution. This builds trust with customers and makes it easier to agree to purchase upgrades or additional products in the future.
What are cross-selling?
Cross-selling is a method used to persuade customers to purchase related products or services in addition to those they are buying. That’s why they are also called “related sales.” Remember your favorite fast-food joint: “Try our sauce to complement your order” or “Would you like to add fries and a drink with that?”
Cross-selling is an important strategy for businesses of any size that want to maximize their profit. Let’s take outsourcing business processes as an example of a service. An outsourcing company providing call center services to a client may also offer back-office outsourcing, recruiting services, and other services in which they have experience and expertise. This approach allows companies to increase sales without the need to invest in additional marketing efforts or develop new products and services. Instead, through related sales, they can leverage existing products and customer relationships to generate more revenue.
Cross-selling as a means of building trust
Cross-selling also helps to strengthen trust between customers and brands by demonstrating that the company cares about providing comprehensive solutions rather than just making a quick sale. Additionally, upselling based on customer needs leads to improving NPS in call center, as satisfied customers are more likely to recommend the company’s products or services.
Upselling and cross-selling: what’s common and what’s different?
Both cross-selling and upselling are aimed at providing additional value to the customer by informing them about options and related products and services. The ultimate business goal of both strategies is to increase the value of the order and maximize profit. The key to success in both cases is a proper understanding of what your customers value and providing products and relevant services that best meet their needs.
The difference between cross-selling and upselling lies in the approaches to each strategy. Upselling aims to increase the value of a single purchase, whereas cross-selling is intended to increase the overall quantity of goods or services purchased by the customer.
Another thing to consider is the buyer’s intent. The goal of upselling is to persuade the buyer to purchase a more expensive, better, or higher-quality version of what they wanted. The goal of cross-selling is to offer additional items or services that the buyer did not intend to purchase but that could make the purchase and subsequent use more enjoyable, functional, or balanced.
How to improve cross-selling and upselling in a call center?
Both strategies help companies increase revenue. Some industries, such as telecommunications, software, and business process outsourcing, typically have higher success rates for additional sales and cross-sales than others. Also, businesses with diverse product and service offerings have greater potential for upselling and cross-selling: internet, mobile, and IP telephony providers with numerous tariff plans, or banking and insurance companies with a wide range of financial products. According to research:
- Upselling on average has the potential to increase profit by 20-30%.
- Cross-selling on average has the potential to increase profit by 10-20%.
Approaches to successful use of upselling and cross-selling strategies are similar. Among others, we’ve highlighted the most effective ones and want to share them with you.
Know your customers and their customer journey
Want to skyrocket your sales with upselling and cross-selling? The secret lies in understanding your customers inside and out, before and after they buy. By digging deep into demographic data, customer profiles, and their motivations, you can identify the best products and services to offer them, boosting both sales and revenue. But it’s not just about demographics!
Think of the customer journey: the path they take, from first contact to purchase and beyond. What are their needs, challenges, and goals at each stage? By mapping this journey, you’ll uncover perfect opportunities to introduce relevant extras. Analyze what they buy, how they behave, and what might benefit them most. Knowing when to offer is just as crucial as knowing what to offer. So, ditch the guesswork and create a customer journey map. It’s your key to unlocking powerful upselling and cross-selling strategies that put the right products in the right hands, at the right time.
Enhancing sales with product bundles and service packages
Combining related products into one package or offering a suite of services is an effective way to increase sales and simultaneously provide value to the customer. By bundling various goods or services together, you introduce customers to new products they may not have known about or been interested in purchasing individually. Let’s take the example of Sirius Global Bilgi’s cloud platform for contact centers. It’s a powerful comprehensive infrastructure that includes:
- Built-in CRM call center system;
- Software for distributing and processing incoming calls in a smart IVR menu;
- Receiving and processing web chats and emails in one system;
- Auto-dialer program;
- Detailed real-time statistics on 169 efficiency indicators;
- Software for digital quality control;
- Workforce management call center system and much more.
While certain components are available for separate purchase, for companies with in-house call centers, the Sirius platform offers an all-encompassing solution for delivering top-notch customer service across industries and business sizes.
Crafting bundles of related products and offering comprehensive service packages facilitates cross-selling and upselling opportunities. This allows customers to conveniently purchase multiple related items or services together, often benefiting from discount incentives and ultimately spending more on their purchase. Research indicates that combined sales and package deals contribute significantly, accounting for 10–30% of e-commerce revenues.
Personalize your approach
Instead of generic offers, provide customers with personalized solutions that cater to their specific needs and demands. Utilize data from previous purchases and analyze customer needs to create individualized offers.
A personalized approach allows companies to interact with customers on a more personal level, enhancing relationships with them. Customers feel understood, valued, and offered solutions tailored to their individual needs and interests. This not only increases their loyalty to the brand but also paves the way for long-term business relationships with the potential for regular additional sales or cross-selling opportunities.
Focus on providing exceptional service
It may seem obvious, but companies that provide exceptional service reap the most benefits from additional sales and cross-selling. What do your customers value most? Order fulfillment speed, courtesy and competence of sales managers, omnichannel support, and 24/7 technical assistance – all of these can be signs of quality service. Set realistic customer expectations, keep promises, and always encourage feedback. Offer assistance before the customer asks for it. Exceed expectations, and you’ll compel customers to return again and again, increasing not only cross-selling and upselling but also the customer’s Lifetime Value.
Cross-selling and upselling services by Global Bilgi
At Global Bilgi, we offer top-notch multilingual call center services. Our offerings range from customer service outsourcing and telemarketing to outbound sales campaigns and technical support outsourcing, among others. Leveraging cutting-edge call center software, we ensure the delivery of optimal results.
Our approach to call center outsourcing is comprehensive, tailored to meet the unique needs of your business. Our team of specialists can design customized response strategies tailored to various business objectives, including technical support, cross-selling, upselling, market research, and comprehensive customer service.
With our proprietary corporate contact center platform, Sirius, our agents have the tools they need to excel. Sirius enables 24/7 operation, call recording, advanced call center IVR and Auto Dialer usage, and service quality monitoring. We are committed to providing our clients with detailed reports regularly. With Global Bilgi, you can focus on your core business, confident that your customers are receiving reliable support!
Cross-selling and upselling: conclusions
Cross-selling and upselling are essential strategies for any business looking to increase its revenue. By understanding customer needs, creating attractive offers, and providing excellent customer service, companies can leverage these powerful methods to maximize profits. Sales enhancement and related sales strategies can be used simultaneously or separately, depending on the situation. If the costs of an in-house call center are not justified, it may be worthwhile to outsource the sales department. Research shows that outsourcing the sales department can increase cross-selling and upselling by up to 50%. Make upselling and cross-selling part of your marketing strategy and boost your business profits!
