Before we talk about the differences between upsell, downsell, & cross-sell, you may want to check out our digital marketing services:
Many marketers swear that real profits are not in the first sale, but rather in the up-sell, cross-sell, and down-sell. In fact, these techniques are as old as marketing itself, and most mainstream businesses employ them one way or another. But do you know what each of these terms mean? No? Well, don’t worry. I’ll explain everything below.
1. What is Upsell?
This technique involves persuading the customer to upgrade or buy a more expensive product instead of the one they originally want to purchase, increasing the overall profit of the sale.
Examples:
- A warranty upgrade like Apple Care.
- A salesperson suggesting a higher variant of a car.
- McDonald’s employee asking to upgrade your drink.
2. What is Cross-sell?
This technique is similar to up-selling. Cross-selling involves selling additional products or services to the customer that may or may not be related to the first one the purchased from one. Usually, this technique is employed to increase profits, but it can also be used to solidify the relationship with the client.
Examples:
- We sell web design services. We offer SEO services as a complementary service.
- Car insurance companies offering life insurance.
- A salesperson selling a laptop offering you other peripherals.
3. What is Downsell?
This technique is used when the customer, for some reason, decides to back down from the purchase. In this case, you can offer him a cheaper product, which has a higher chance of being accepted. The goal here is to acquire a customer, even if you will not profit as much as possible right away.
Example: Car dealers down-sell all the time. If you enter a dealership looking for a BMW and get scared with the price, the salesman will certainly bring up many other options that cost a lot less. That is down-selling.
Aira Bongco says
I think a common misconception among people online is that a sale is a one-time thing. They don’t know that they can actually get more out of their buyers if they create more good products and sell it as backend offers or as cross sells or upsells. Of course, it is absolutely imperative that the product is good. If not, your buyer will not look forward to buy more products from you.
Great post.
Aira
dan dees says
This is a very nice post. One the best I must say, Although I’ve a little knowledge about up-selling, cross selling and down-selling still I value those information from the articles I read and I’m impress that this is one of those great articles worth reading. In most cases up-selling will be a good alternative in all marketing strategies and as much as possible never go to down-selling but yeah if you have no choice then do it or else you won’t get any.
RAJESH GANDHI says
THIS article is very good as up selling the product is very much benificial to small retailers as a small retailer we can now ask the customer for the addtional product he is interested in purchase
moreen says
how crossselling and upselling used by marketers ?