Your customer is ready to buy. He pays, the transaction clears.
Right now, while you have his undivided attention, how can you capture this moment to increase his order from you in a way that makes him feel like you're doing him a favor?
A private app can point the way.
Making the Most of Each Customer
If there ever was a falsehood in sales, it's the saying, "If you build it, they will come." As a Shopify merchant, you know how much effort you have to expend on marketing and branding in the crowded, noisy e-commerce space to earn the customer stream that can support your store.
Making the most of every customer that clicks on your page is just common sense, so make it easy for customers to see new merchandise, popular items, and helpful add-ons that can make help enhance their initial purchase.
That Precious Moment
After a sale, you've never had a better moment with your customer. They're at the computer, their credit card is ready, and they're still buzzing from that endorphin hit from making a purchase they've wanted for a while.
Don't wait and wonder if they'll come back to get the batteries, the case, the scarf, the boots, the e-book, or the additional accessory that they'll realize they need later (whether you're selling apparel, electronic content, or anything else).
How can you take this moment to increase your sales with an upsell that feels good?
Private apps can give them targeted selections that they thought they were looking for in the first place.
Start right after the sale
It might seem more efficient to have them load everything into their cart the first time around, but human psychology tells us otherwise.
When people are looking at a list and total dollar amount of all of the items they tossed in, it's easy to get sticker shock. People are more prone to pull items out before the click "buy now" to feel like they're making reasonable, controlled purchases.
Once that dollar amount disappears from their screen, they're more likely to set the dollar reset button in their heads and feel okay about adding on a couple of small things.
Why you should not follow up via email instead
Yes, a private app can also generate an email thanking customers for their selections and offering a few more, but the moment has already passed. In this age of multiple distractions, it's very likely that something else has grabbed your customer's attention, and then your window of opportunity has closed.
Not to mention that while reading the email from you, Aunt Mary just emailed them details about the latest gossip about you know you... and they completely forget about your post-purchase offer.
Reasonable expectations
If you've just nailed a $250 sale, don't expect that you're going to double your money with suggested purchases. Most customers are not going to be willing and able to make another big buy.
Instead, think about lower-ticket items that compliment their main purchase and group them together. Products in the $10-$50 price range would fit nicely with a $100-$500 sale, for example. Think an add-on product for 5-15% of the first purchase, not 100%+.
How a Private App Can Help
Every store is different, so each business' collection of suggested post-sale products is going to be different. Here are some suggestions on how you can leverage your niche items and target market to get the most from every sale, every time.
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1. Classic upsell, accessories - handbag with the dress
This is the technique that Amazon has refined to perfection. When you're viewing one item, Amazon has multiple headings that allow them to dangle other items in front of you.
Using this angle, if the main purchase was mixer, the upsell would be specialized beaters or an extra bowl. If it's a cell phone, then a case or a protective screen cover would be great choices. It's the classic: "would you like fries with that?"
2. Subscription signup
Let's just say that auto-purchases and subscription revenue are a very good thing.
In these cases, you make the repeat purchase invisible, and the customer gets their delivery on a schedule until they cancel. There's no need to keep going back to the customer to ask for permission, and their goods, like SaaS software, vitamins or access to an online forum keep rolling.
While these orders may not be as large as the initial one, their ongoing, hands-free operation makes them a low-maintenance bonus income each month.
3. Bundle common accessories
Instead of offering individual items, group several related products together and include a small discount. Lens cleaner, lens covers and a specialized strap could go with a camera. With an e-course, you can offer a special report, workbook, group of recipes, etc.
When you put two or more items together as a suggested purchase, people often feel like they're getting a bonus, even if they're paying for it.
4. More access
This bonus is great for electronic content (software, e-books, online courses) and for customers who have made large purchases. Create some VIP deal that gives them more features, more material, or special access to an inner circle of users. People love feeling like they're set apart from the crowd.
5. Customer loyalty points
Everyone's looking for a discount. One way to offer a better deal for bargain shoppers and keep them coming back to your store is to offer a loyalty program. For every purchase they make at your store, this earns them points toward a percentage or a dollar amount off a future purchase.
Most companies give $5-10 off for every $100 spent, but you should set the discount at a place where you feel comfortable. It should be enticing enough to make customers think of you before they place an order, but not so deep that you're losing money on the deal.
6. Add a format
For example, if a customer has just ordered an online course or book, offer it to them the audio or electronic version of it too. This is especially easy to do for e-formats that can be delivered online and automatically delivered via a download.
Apps Make Upselling Simple
Organizing and offering these specialized offers after a sale would be a real hassle to manage if you had to add coding for them individually and coordinate products with the most suitable customers. But a custom app can manage all of it, triggering the right information to the right people at the right time - automatically.
And when you make these bonus offers right after a sale, they feel more like a 'thank you' than a sales job. Leverage the people who are already at your site making purchases and boost your sales by 10-40 percent each month!
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You'll also receive my Daily Shopify Tips email. You can unsubscribe or withdraw your consent at any time.