Upselling, cross-selling, and running specials are important tactics used by retailers to compete for your business, and more of it. However, in a recent project called “The Great Retail Experience Race: Local vs. National” by customer service software authority Software Advice, it was discovered that small businesses are losing big against the big guys in utilizing these tactics. This is where 20 secret shoppers conducted 200 site visits to see if employees told them about sales, specials, or if anyone tried to upsell or cross-sell to them. The results: national stores outperformed the local shop in every category but one.
What stands out though is that local stores had more opportunities to upsell customers because their employees talked to customers more often than those of national stores, yet they failed to capitalize on these opportunities. Hyken was asked in a video interview why he thought local stores failed to match national stores in these tactics. His response: “The national brands spend a lot more money on marketing, advertising and creating different kinds of promotions and specials. And when they create these, they expect their employees to push them and sell them. That’s a big part of what they do.”
In order for local stores to do better in upselling, cross-selling, and running specials, they must execute these three things:
Ask really specific questions. Find out what the shopper is looking for. From there, gather more details from your customer in order to find the right purchase for her.
Be consistent with deals at the register. That is, upsell to every customer. Even if the customer doesn’t take you up on the special offer at that moment, remember that customer if she returns changing her mind, and offer her the same special price.
Give a little to get a little. Sweeten the offer of your upsells. For example, if you are selling brewed coffee, yet also sell coffee beans, upsell the customer on buying a bag of coffee beans with her brewed coffee. But sweeten this offer by telling her once she is done with her bean bag, bring it back empty and she will receive a free cup of coffee. This makes the upsell that much more enticing.
Source: IndustryView 2013 | Small Businesses Lose Big to the Big Guys When It Comes to Presenting Offers
