What is upsell/cross-sell series?
It’s resource-intensive to bring in new leads and get them to convert constantly. And, it’s much easier to get already existing customers to buy from you again. So, you can use this upsell/cross-sell email series to get existing customers to buy more from you and increase your revenue.
🎯 The goal of this sequence
The overarching goal of this sequence is to get customers to buy more from your company.
Get customers to upgrade to a premium plan.
Get them to purchase add-ons or other products that'll enhance the performance or the product they have already got from you.
Recommended emails in this sequence: 4-5 emails
Optimum flow time: 2 weeks
Emails in this sequence
- Email # 1: New feature/offering
- Email # 2: Benefits or offers
- Email # 3: Social proof
- Email # 4: Address FAQs
- Email # 5: Nudge email
Email # 1: New feature/offering
📩 Why this email
Introduce the feature/offer - price, details. Explain how it works with their desired product plan. Or show how it is better than their current plan. Focus on one goal at a time, either upsell or cross-sell.
💼 Expert advice
"Start your upsell or cross-sell sequences based on the product usage window. For SaaS, it can be anywhere between 6 months to 1 year or even longer."
-Vikash Koushik, Microsoft
Email # 2: Benefits or offers
📩 Why this email
Provide exclusive offers for existing customers. Show them what features could help them, in what way, and how they can upgrade to get those features. You already have data on existing customers’ preferences, so customize the upsell/cross-sell emails to best suit their needs.
💼 Expert advice
Highlight how their current product and upsell/cross-sell feature works in combination. Tell them about the added benefit or advantage.
-Vikash Koushik
Email # 3: Social proof
📩 Why this email
Spending more money can cause some hesitation in users. To eliminate the hesitation, provide proof of the benefits of the feature through case studies, testimonials, reviews, etc. Try sending testimonials or case studies of brands in their industry, niche, or closely related.
💼 Expert tip
“I believe many SaaS brands underutilise social proof when it comes to product upgrades and cross-selling customers/users. Incorporate these elements into your emails to effectively communicate the value of what you’re trying to upsell/cross-sell.”
- Dan Siepen
Email # 4: Address FAQs
📩 Why this email
Your email #1 may not be enough to explain the product, so address all the frequently asked questions about the feature and give them concrete answers.
✅ Best practice
Don't go overboard with the questions. Keep it minimal, around 5-6 with short answers. Use this to handle customer objections.
Email # 5: Nudge email
📩 Why this email
Finally, nudge them to try out the feature or book a demo to know more about it. Add some more helpful resources on the feature if they don't want to talk to your representative.
⛔ Sequence exit
If they successfully upsell/cross-sell, you can send them to the customer Re-engagement flow. If they haven't send them to feedback series to understand what they think about the product.
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