Cross-selling

What is cross-selling?

Cross-selling is the marketing and sales practice of selling an additional item to a customer. The objective of cross-selling is to increase the average order value (AOV) and revenue.

The golden rule of cross-selling is to offer a product that can go with the primary purchase or is related to it in some way. Otherwise, the business is risking to distract the customer from a larger primary purchase or even lose a customer.

Examples of cross-selling

In fashion: if a customer is buying a dress, you can offer a bag/hat/shoes that match the dress.

In electronics: if a customer is buying a mobile phone, you can offer a protection case.

In furniture: if a customer is buying a sofa, you can offer decor pillows.

Why cross-selling programs fail

• You try too hard. Don’t offer too much or too often. 1-3 items on checkout with short text and an image are enough.
• Total mismatch. Offer only products that are relevant. There’s no point in selling a bikini with a new laptop.
• Wrong audience. Knowing your customers is the key. They have different shopping habits which may exclude cross-selling tolerance. Offer relevance may fix that, but this is a subject for a test. Run different time-limited cross-selling campaigns and explore your audience.
• High price. The item you’re trying to cross-sell must cost less than 30% of the primary item. If the average order value for your customers is $100 they will unlikely buy the second item of the same price and double the order. But if it’s just $25, the chances are high.