A Complete Guide: How to Use Upsells and Downsells to Your Advantage

When implemented at the right moment, upsells can boost order value, customer lifetime value, and revenue.

There’s no difference in the coffee cup size, and you still get a sweet treat.

The outcome?

You choose the cheaper option, as you feel the first offer is too expensive for what you’re getting in return.

Note: It might sound a bit counter-intuitive, however, you have to consider situations where a customer simply doesn’t have enough money to purchase the more expensive offer.

The best time to use downsells is when:

Additionally, you can use downsells paired with high-priced products to get more sales by offering discounts, unpaid trial periods, free shipping, one-time deals, and other price-reduction techniques.

If executed correctly, your downsells can turn hesitant prospects into paying customers, and new customers into loyal customers.

So far, we’ve taken a look at some common, day-to-day situations where these sales techniques are used, but let’s see how they can benefit your business.

Both upselling and downselling are essential sales techniques to boost the bottom line (or net income) of your business — How exactly?

Here are some advantages of upselling:

When upsells are implemented correctly, they can create a higher profit margin for your business.

A successful upsell strategy should be able to convince a customer to purchase a higher-priced product, which ultimately increases the sales value of each transaction.

Upsell products tend to offer your customers more benefits, which then boosts the satisfaction and happiness that customers get from using your product.

For example:

Some online platforms offer basic and premium versions for the use of their tools.

Although the basic version is good, the premium version generally offers more advanced features and capabilities.

More benefits = satisfied customers.

Bolstering your customer satisfaction by selling a premium product is an exceptional way to strengthen your relationship with your customers and earn their loyalty.

A strong customer-business relationship can make future upselling easier since loyal customers are more open to paying more for your expensive products.

Additionally, upselling can add value to the lives of your customers, increase customer lifetime value, and increase brand loyalty at the same time.

Here are some advantages of upselling:

One of the primary goals of downselling is to acquire new customers.

People are often hesitant to spend a lot of money on products, especially when they’re new.

However, if your business sells a cheaper product as an alternative, it helps persuade them to make a purchase.

Pricing is an important factor in the purchasing decision.

When you offer cheaper alternatives, you create a clear pathway to getting customers to buy and, therefore, increase your conversion rate.

Different businesses use different ways of implementing downsells.

Some offer related products at a lower price, while others offer discounts or free trial periods to cater to budget-conscious customers.

This helps close sales and strengthens customers’ relationships with your business.

Customer loyalty is crucial for any business. In fact, according to research, 65% of your sales will come from existing customers.

Although downselling might seem counterintuitive, it’s a good way to boost customer trust and loyalty — How?

Offering products that are affordable and offer excellent value demonstrates your understanding of the budgetary constraints your consumers face.

This way, the customer's needs are acknowledged, and they’ll be more likely to do business with you (now and in the future).

We’ve already discussed the benefits of upsells and downsells, but marketers must tread carefully when implementing these sales techniques.

Here, we’ve compiled a list of best practices (with examples) for each technique.

Want to learn more about how to use upselling techniques in your online business?

Here are 4 examples from which you can get ideas:

Let’s see how you can earn more by charging less with the following best practices:

Additionally, systeme.io has loads of other features to help you build and grow your online business.

Creating an upsell and downsell with systeme.io is easy!

First, you'll need:

Additionally, all our plans include:

We ensure that you have a successful online business that is focused on producing valuable content using systeme.io.

It’s clear that upselling, downselling, and cross-selling techniques are super effective, but only when done right.

The proper application of these strategies in the right sales mix can increase bottom-line earnings by multiples.

So, why not give it a shot?

You might be surprised by the impact this can have on your bottom line!

Give systeme.io a go (for free!), add an upsell, downsell and cross-sell and see how your online business grows.