How To Get Customers To Buy More In Q4
Cross-Sells, Upsells, and AOV, Oh My!
So, you’ve got some social media ads that are performing well for you. People are watching/reading/clicking, they are heading to your website, they are even adding to cart.
But then what?
You know they are ready to buy… so how can you take advantage of this moment and get them to buy MORE?
Savvy marketers and business analysts look at a LOT of different metrics through out the year — but AOV (or Average Order Value) gets hyper focused on when the end of the quarter draws near.
With increased traffic to most eComm sites from the months of October to January, there are a few tricks to capitalizing on customers that are ready to spend money on your site.
Two words:
Cross-sells and Upsells.
Cross-selling is when you suggest a complementary product based on what your customer has looked at or is is purchasing. (You know the section on your favorite clothing site that says We thought you might like… and then you end up with an entire new wardrobe in your cart when you just came for a pair of damn pants)
Upselling is when you suggest an upgraded version (2.0!) or add-ons to enhance a purchase. (You see this a lot with cars, phones, accessories — every year it’s time to get the newer, bigger, better, more powerful *insert product here*)
Not sure how cross-selling or upselling can work for you? Here’s a few ways to tackle it throughout your website and checkout page:
Bundle It Up:
Offer a bundle of complementary items. This works especially well if you offer it as a Bundle & Save (slight discount if they add the complementary item to cart)
You see this often with beauty or health products, but it can also work with jewelry or clothes (pair earrings with a necklace, or socks with shoes), and digital offerings (add on “How to Write Facebook Compliant Copy” to “5 Essential Storytelling Styles for Facebook Ads”
Use The Power of Suggestion:
Add ‘product suggestion blocks’ on each product page. “We thought you might like…” or “Similar Products” work well in this area. This is much like bundling but you do not need to offer a discount for adding these to their cart.
Compare It:
Use a product comparison chart and convince them to buy the newer/better/more enhanced version of your product. Combined with BOGOs for the ‘older’ product, customers will know that either choice will be a deal. Either they pay more for the higher version, or they get more product. Win-Win.
Ship It For Free:
Everyone loves free shipping! Offer free shipping if a minimum dollar amount is spent. Add this to the checkout page to show how close they are to frees shipping (“You’re $4.98 away from free shipping” looks really good on a checkout page where shipping is $8.00. It screams FREE PRODUCT without coming right out and saying it. The best part is… they are almost ALWAYS going to add something that’s several dollars more than the minimum needed. And THAT you can take to the bank!). Pro tip: There are lots of easy coding tutorials online that show you how to add this if you use Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.
Run BOGOs: Drive up profits with a Buy TWO get one free. Make this obvious on the product page, or add something to the checkout page that indicates the savings if they take advantage.
Reward Milestones: The more often you buy, the bigger you save. Run a promo for customers where they get a free product or coupon if they purchase something X amount of times. You can combine this with email marketing, reminding them how close they are to reaching the promotion. This works great for disposable and consumable items.
Membership It: A sister to the Milestone offer, pushing your membership on the product page tells customers how much they can save if they think they’ll purchase regularly. Really hype it up with more than just a discount on products — throw in free shipping, free products, exclusive sales, even merchandise
But Which One Is Right For My Biz?
Only you can determine what’s right for your biz.
A membership or milestone offer won’t make sense for everyone, but most of these tactics will work for every eCommerce biz.
The point is: Don’t be afraid to use multiple tactics to upsell and cross-sell your customers. While you don’t want to wildly overdo it, it’s important to catch traffic where you can. Product suggestion blocks on product pages and the checkout page, combined with bundling offers and follow-up emails regarding complementary and related products can really drive your sales — especially in Q4!
If you’re seeing lots of abandoned carts, potential customers leaving your site without adding anything to their cart, or you just need help writing captivating product descriptions, give us a shout and we’d be happy to help.