Anyone in the retail game will be familiar with upselling. It’s the process through which a customer has selected an item and is then convinced by direct advice or clever marketing to instead opt for and purchase a more expensive version of the original item.

Cross-selling, meanwhile, is a tactic used by retailers to suggest enhancements to an existing purchase, be it an insurance policy to compliment a new tech product, or an add-on which will optimise the way a household item is used.

Both of these techniques are designed to help a business to make more money from an already captive and interested customer - and they are both tactics used extensively on Amazon.

In this blog post, we’re sharing some the best tips and techniques on how to make cross-selling and upselling on Amazon work for you.

The benefits of cross-selling and upselling

Cross-sell and upsell opportunities are both good for business. Not only do they encourage customers to part with more money during their purchase, but they introduce customers to new products and options that are likely to keep them engaged with your business on a long term basis.

By cross-selling or even upselling them a product that is better suited to their needs, you make it easy for them to consider and view your business as a reputable and respectable solution for their needs.

You can even encourage cross-selling and upselling after their purchase through the collection of customer information. Whether it’s an email or a discount code for them to use with their next purchase, this all helps to contribute towards the lifetime value of each customer.

How Amazon supports both cross-selling and upselling

So, how do both cross-selling and upselling work on Amazon specifically?

When a customer adds a product to their basket or browses the products available through your Amazon profile, you as a business have an opportunity to upsell or cross-sell. If you want to cross-sell, you can create links between the product they are looking at and the accessories and extra things that they can add to their purchase to enhance the overall experience.

If you want to upsell, you can find a better version of what they are selling and see if they are interested in that.

The trick is to be subtle and to educate them on why an upsell or cross-sell is a good idea, rather than directly telling them to change their purchase decision. On Amazon, you will often find cross-sell opportunities listed just below the product details, while upsells are further down the page between the product information and the reviews.

Crucially, for those customers that want to read reviews and find out what existing customers think, they will scroll past and at least see both the cross-sell and upsell opportunities available to them.

The best ways to encourage cross-selling and upselling on your Amazon listings

Before we leave you to start unlocking the benefits of cross-selling and upselling on your own products and services, here are a few tips from our Amazon experts on how to make it work for you…

Find out about your audience and what they need

The best way to identify how best to upsell or cross-sell to an audience, is to first get to know who they are and what they need or want from you. Armed with this information, you can better tailor deals and marketing offers to your customers, increasing the likelihood that they will be interested in the upgrades that you offer.

Offer solutions rather than products

This is not an exclusive technique for upselling and cross-selling. It should ideally apply to everything that you market and sell, always putting the needs of the customer front of mind when considering how best to talk to them.

When upselling or trying to encourage them to spend more money than they originally planned to, however, you need to put even more thoughts into the problem that your upgrade will solve. Focus on problems and challenges that may still exist even when they make their original purchase, and anticipate how an upgrade, upsell, or cross-sell will solve or avoid that problem completely.

Should you do more to upsell and cross-sell?

If you use Amazon as a platform for your business, then you should 100% be tapping into the opportunities presented by upselling and cross-selling.

From bundles of products to recommendations on things to buy after an original purchase, for example a top-up or enhancement, leveraging the tools available to you - and the trust that Amazon customers have in the platform - is key.

For more advice on this or to learn about all of the Amazon optimisation services offered by Social Loop, get in touch today.