Nine Things to Test when Creating Upsell and Downsell Messages
Upselling and even downselling can increase your average price point for every single order that your customers make. It also increases the lifetime value of every customer. When you have a well-thought-out funnel that includes the right offers at the right time based on your buyer’s journey, you will increase your ROI and bottom line. Let’s look at nine things to test for when creating upsell and downsell messages.
1. One Upsell versus Another – If you have two ideas for upsells for a product, why not include both and let them choose? This is a good way to find out which offer resonates more with your audience. You can do this in more than one way. You can run two different sales pages with the offers, or you can run one sales page and let them click what they want to order.
2. Price Points of Upsells and Downsells – Aside from the words you use, you should also test different price points for your main offer, the upsell, and the downsell. The rule of thumb is that the upsell should not be more than 25 percent more expensive than the main product. The downsell also should only be about 25 percent less.
3. One Downsell against Another – Not sure which downsell is best? Try more than one. You can do this by setting it up so that your viewer can check a box for the one they prefer, or you can run two different sales pages in which a different downsell is offered.
4. Bundled Offers versus Upselling – One thing you can try if you want to add upsells to your offers is to offer a bundled option in the shopping cart. So, if they go to buy your eBook, in the cart they can check to upgrade their order to the club which includes your book and membership.
5. Test the Relevancy of Your Upsells and Downsells – It’s very important when you create upsells or downsells that they’re relevant to your original offer in some way. You don’t want to offer something totally unrelated; it won’t make sense to them. To test the relevancy, try different offers to see which one resonates the most. You can even poll your audience in advance to find out what they like.
6. Try Different Calls to Action – Your CTA is an important component in ensuring that your audience notices your upsells or downsells. Ensure that all your offers are clear and understandable to your audience.
7. Test Upselling at Time of Purchase versus after Purchase – You can do upselling at the time of purchase or after they make a purchase depending on how your bigger and better product works. This is a great way to let them try out the first idea and then upgrade to save money on the better features.
8. Test Downselling at Time of Purchase Denial – Using your automated systems on your site, you want them to be offered the downsell the minute they choose not to buy. When they click away, a new page can pop up offering the downsell.
9. Test Downselling via Retargeting – Another way to do a downsell successfully is to use retargeting to market to people who came to your site and did not make a purchase. Offer to them an alternative product that is a little less expensive (or even free) to get them on your list.
Adding upsell, cross-sell, and downsell opportunities to your funnel will increase average order price, develop a bigger email list, and keep people excited about your offers. When you are careful about the offers you add, test each offer, and then use the best, you’ll see a huge uptick in orders.
