How to Leverage Cross-Sells and Upsells for Subscribers
Once customers become subscribers, most brands take one of the following approaches:
1 – “They love us, so they must want to hear from us all the time! Let’s email them as often as possible.”
2 – “We’ve got them! Let’s stop emailing them so they don’t get overwhelmed and unsubscribe.”
The right approach is somewhere between these two gut reactions. You don’t want to flood their inbox with a never-ending barrage of messages, but you also don’t want to cut off communication completely. The trick is to look at all of your communications and focus on the ones that will create value for both you and your subscribers. Two of the best ways to do that? Cross-sells and upsells. Let’s get into it!
Benefits of Subscriber Cross-Sells and Upsells
At the risk of stating the obvious, every brand wants to increase their revenue, and cross-sells and upsells are a great way to do that. It’s simple: Adding products or upgrading to a more expensive offering is going to drive up the order value, and higher order value over time will increase the LTV of your customers.
Subscribers in particular make great opportunities for cross-sells and upsells because they’ve already proven themselves to be your most loyal customers. They like what you have to offer so much that they want it shipped to their doorstep on a regular basis, so they’ll react positively to opportunities to try something new or bump up the value of their order.
Cross-sells and upsells are also a great way to integrate holistically with your subscriber’s lives and routines. Customers who already use your products on a regular basis may not have taken a look at your product catalog in a while. There could be products that would suit their needs perfectly, but they haven’t noticed them. Reaching out with additional product offerings will help them make the most out of your catalog and fulfill their needs on an ongoing basis. It also keeps things fresh and interesting so your subscribers will keep coming back to see what’s new.
How to Leverage Cross-Sells and Upsells
Cross-sells and upsells are only as effective as your strategy for utilizing them. Look at your product catalog to figure out the ideal cross-sell opportunities and when they make the most sense. For subscribers, you’ll want to wait until someone is receiving their second order to push other products so they’ve already had a good experience with your brand. If you don’t have obvious cross-sell products on your site, think about merch that complements your product line. For example, selling a branded shaker bottle to go alongside a powdered drink mix can create some added value and even increase usage of your product.
In addition to current products, consider some subscriber-only launches. Subscribers love having exclusive access to new or LTO products. By releasing limited amounts of product offerings exclusively for your subscribers, they’ll feel like they’re getting more out of their subscription without your brand having to give out free or discounted products. It’s a great way to show your appreciation and keep your subscribers coming back for more.
At Retextion, the ability to cross-sell or upsell is built right into the customer portal with a customizable carousel. You can select the products you want to feature when subscribers log in so you’re constantly presenting them with new, up-to-date products they can add to their order with the click of a button. It’s a great way to increase AOV, LTV, and revenue while creating an optimized user experience for your most loyal customers.
