Don’t upsell or cross-sellMany companies expect their employees to cross-sell and upsell customers. We see this all the time. Paying for a book at Barnes & Noble I ALWAYS gets asked to buy their membership. Recently, our waitress at Doolittles tried four times to sell me something I didn’t want. I can’t even workout at my fitness club without them trying to sell me personal training sessions.
It’s annoying. And it drives customers away.
Upselling and cross-selling are useful only if they are done with the customer’s interests in mind. If you get to know your customer and you understand what they want then making suggestions is often the best way to help them. That’s a natural part of good customer service.
Doing things this way can increase revenue. Even better, you create more customer loyalty because you help your customers get what THEY want (not what YOU want to sell them).
As a customer which do you prefer? Do you like getting product pitches that you have no interest in? Or do you prefer intelligent, thoughtful suggestions based on what you want? What do you think YOUR customers prefer?
Other articles you might like:
- Attract and keep customers with relevance
- Remember the basics
- Top Ten Ways Retailers Can Sell More This Holiday Season
- Do you find this as funny as I do?
- Let your customer lead
