Upselling to Loyal Customers

Upselling is a great way to move new and innovative products and to pad your bottom line at the same time, but there's more to it than just offering specials and complementary products at the checkout.  Use your customer database to mine the purchasing history of your best customers, and then make them special offers for your typcial upsell products.

Instead of waiting until they come into the store, put together a special campaign (or even a "Preferred Customer Day") in which you offer your loyal customers a discount on some or all of the upsell items to thank them for their loyalty.  Maybe they always purchase the same types of items, but you think they would like another line of your products if only they would try them.  Then help them try them!  Give them a sample or a promo price and a special invitation.  If your hunch is correct, they'll not only buy more from you, they'll appreciate your thoughtfulness and become even more loyal.

This may seem like a simple tactic, but leveraging your upsell ideas with your customer purchasing history can open new avenues for sales of upsell items, increasing profits and customer loyalty.