One of the best thing Businesses can do to increase their revenue and profitability is to sell more to their existing customers. Businesses use marketing to make money in 3 key ways. Firstly to gain new customers - this is the hardest and most expensive way. Secondly, to encourage existing customers to return to the store and buy from them again. Thirdly - and this is where ‘Cross-Sell and Up-Sell’ comes in - to increase the transaction value of each order.

‘Cross-Sell and Up-Sell’ is triggered when a customer adds something to their basket. It’s basically all about relevance, you’ll see what your customers have added to their basket and can offer them other relevant products/services they may be interested in. This is much more attractive to the customer compared to the hard sales pitch.

An example of ‘Cross sell’… If you were selling torches then your customers will need batteries. Therefore, when your customer adds a Torch to their basket, it's a great idea to say to them 'Do you want some Batteries to go with your Torch?' Obviously this is only if they do not have the batteries in their basket already, this is what one calls ‘Cross Sell’. You would all have noticed those common phrases and links you see when viewing items in your basket, like ‘people who bought this, also bought…’, or ‘you might also like…’, or ‘accessories to match’. These are popular phrases to use when trying to ‘cross sell’, as it is much more approachable compared to the hard sale.

At the same time, if someone is buying a £10/$10 torch from you - how do you know that they wouldn't buy a £100/$100 torch from you if they understood the benefits?

An example of ‘Up Sell’… Imagine if they added the £10/$10 Torch to the basket and it said 'Why not buy this Larger torch which has 10000 watts of candle power, lasts for 30 days on a single charge and can power your mobile phone!?' Clicking on this will replace the Torch originally selected with the more expensive one. This is called 'Up-Sell' and can be hugely effective. Even if only one customer clicks on the button then you have still made an extra £90/$90!

‘Cross sell and Up sell’ should defiantly not be a missed opportunity by any business. It’s a great way to make money by selling to your existing client base!