The idea is that they already know who you are, what you do and more importantly, they trust you with their first purchase. They have more reasons to stick around with you and see what else you can offer.
According to Marketing Metrics, the chance of selling to current clients vs. new prospects is 60-70% vs. 5-20%. Quite impressive, I daresay. But before you hop on the train called “upselling” and go about targeting your existing customers, make sure you know how to nail it right.
Upselling can be done in person, on the phone or over social media. But the most effective and low-cost way is forever via email. To help you save time on crafting an awesome upsell email, I’ve listed here 7 quick tips for you to get started right away.
Let’s dive in.
1. Target the right folks
It’s useless sending a well-crafted pitch to someone who doesn’t care a bit about it. So before you fuss about hiring a kick-ass copywriter for your awesome upsell email, make sure your offer goes to the right folks first. Just simply take a look at your customer’s purchase data.
Once you get a good grasp of their purchasing behavior, you’ll know exactly what to offer and how to get them hooked.
Here is one example.
A gentleman bought some ties from your fashion store several weeks ago and you just realize it’s going to be his birthday soon. Why not seize this chance to send him a warm regard? You can mention his previous purchase, asking how he likes the ties. And don’t forget to offer him some birthday gift.
This upsell offer can be a xx% off coupon code for a new released shirt, which you bet your business that it goes perfectly well with his new ties.
Unless your customer is totally broke, the high chance is that he would buy from you again.
2. Make it personal
It happens all the time. Your customer’s inbox is stacked up with ads email from other retailers trying to get their attention. How can your upsell email stand out from the rest and pique their interest enough not to be left forever unread? Simply address your client by name in the subject line would do the trick.
“Kyle, you would love this book collection handpicked for you taste”
This simple act reminds your customer that you are not some random guy trying to spam their mailbox with irrelevant offers, but the one that they have known and interacted with in the past. This way, your customers are more motivated to open the email and bother to read whatever you’re going to say.
3. Show purchase history
I know you are tempted to jump right into an upsell email with all the suggestions and related products that your customers may find interest in and buy from you again. But hold your horse. You are being too blunt and people may label you as “just another shameful seller” trying to squeeze some more bucks out of them.
Instead, you can start off the message in a more friendly way by showing customers their recent purchases. Just like addressing them by name, this act once again reminds your buyers that they not only know you but also trust you enough to buy from you in the past. If previous purchase is such a perfect choice, why not consider what you are going to suggest?
This is when you step in with your related products list. And your customers can be assured that your suggestions are not something you randomly put together, but based on their taste from their purchase history and customized for them only.
4. Make a clear call to action
Don’t just throw out a bunch of suggested items and leave your customers in wonder like, “Okay, these look good, so what now?” When it comes to doing business, make it clear of what action you want your buyers to take. Be it upgrading, subscribing to newsletter, sharing via social media or claiming an offer, etc. make sure your customers know what to do next.
Bold and prominent call-to-action button is essential. But don’t clutter your email with too many of them. When people have too many choices to make, it’s very likely that they won’t make any choice at all. So stick to one button only and your conversion rate from upsell email would soar.
5. Let customers review the recommendation
Your recommendation list may not resonate with the customer’s taste. This happens when your data about them is not enough to make out a clear preference. It is, therefore, advisable that in your upsell email, you give buyers the option to review and customize their own recommendation list.
It can be a link to your website, an online survey or an integrated form for customers to check/uncheck their preference list right into the email or downvote/ upvote any recommended item. More customer data means more precise suggestions and more useful upsell emails in the future.
6. Don’t sound too aggressive
Since upselling is when you want people to buy something more expensive, your tone is crucial. Don’t sound too pushy like “This is good. That is excellent. Buy this! Buy that!” Your customers don’t care about you or your products.
They only care about how your products can be helpful for their work or daily life. You need to assure them that you are offering them some help, not some intrusive sales pitch.
Therefore, choose your words nicely. Instead of making a blunt opening as “Here are some related products you may consider buying”, let’s try something more graceful as “This shoes collection is handpicked for your taste and can help you leave a good impression on your first date or job interview.”
7. Any transactional email can be an upsell email
Transactional emails are triggered when customers take some action on your site. It can be confirmation email, sign-up email, purchase receipts, shipping notification, etc. Those are important emails that customers pay the most attention to. So why not take this opportunity and weave your upsell offer into those emails?
For instance, when sending out receipt to your buyer after the purchase, you can add some small upsell suggestions at the end. This way you don’t have to spam your buyer’s inbox with more emails and avoid being too intrusive with email marketing.
If you choose to upsell via a transactional email, make sure your email is focused on the transaction-related content (upselling is a small part) and never use a misleading subject line other than the transaction itself.
What tactics have you used to make your upsell email stand out? Have you seen any upsell email that really piques your interest? Share with us, we’d love to hear your story.
