Having a physical store is not enough to upsell; you need a website and mobile ordering in place to get more orders. When your customers purchase something from you, other products appear as recommendations to encourage them to purchase it too. Upselling can be customized, and its benefits are enormous.
From clothing websites to restaurants, everyone uses upselling to gain more advantage. Upselling can be done in different ways, and the most common one is automatic upselling, where customers’ previous purchases are put under consideration to recommend products.
For a long time, restaurants have relied on taking orders through the telephone, reducing their chances of upselling products. However, as marketing advances, restaurant owners have more chances to beat the challenges and sell more in no time.
A lot of restaurant owners are now relying on the use of online software or third-party services to gain advantage from the growing demand and put all operations in place. Third-party services charge up to 30% commission; therefore, more and more businesses are moving to online ordering platforms.
What is Upselling?
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Upselling encourages customers to purchase a premium, upgraded version of the purchased product or purchase more items with it. Upselling is applied to the customer who has already purchased a product.
One of the biggest reasons behind upselling is to increase average order value. It’s important to put a robust strategy in place to get the most out of upselling. If you’re not using mobile or website ordering, you need to train your employees to upsell effectively.
Benefits of Post-Purchase Upsell
You can upsell a product before or after a purchase. While pre-purchase upsell is great for small items, post-purchase upsell is more effective. If a customer has already purchased something from you, then there’s no risk of losing the initial order.
You can make the most use of the thank-you page to upsell products to your customer. Wondering what the true benefits of post-purchase upsell are? Here’s a list of them.
1. It does not influence the original purchase
The original sales funnel is not disrupted with post-purchase upsell. The customer sees recommended products and adds them to the cart or buys an additional product from the thank-you page after the initial purchase. It’s a great way to increase sales without affecting the original purchase at all.
2. Increases the average order value (AOV)
Maximizing the average order of value (AOV) should be every business owner’s ultimate goal. The better your upsell techniques, the better are the chances that customers will shop more from you.
A lot of businesses run stats on the side of the screen saying ‘XYZ purchased ABC order’ or ‘X number of people purchased ABC item’. It’s a great technique that makes customers curious and encourages them to purchase the product themselves.
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3. Increases conversion rate
A lot of times, customers don’t know how many products you are selling. With upselling strategies in place, you can recommend a variety of products that leads to an increased conversion rate. Customers don’t have to go through your entire website to find a product, as it’s just a single click away from them. Also, they don’t have to enter their information all over again, which is a plus point.
How Can You Perform Upselling?
Using mobile and website ordering for restaurants is a great way to increase sales and attract more customers. People don’t like to research the entire internet to find your number or have time to visit your restaurant every time.
Upselling becomes much easier with an online platform as no representative is bugging the customer with unnecessary information. Unless your employees are well-trained, don’t put them up for upselling; otherwise, it can shoot back.
Here’s a list of ways through which you can upsell various products on your website or mobile ordering.
1. Bring Personalization into Action
Even if you’re not directly talking to your customer, you are still interacting with them through your online platforms. Personalization is the key to grabbing customers’ attention. According to an estimate, about 86% of customers say that their purchase is influenced by personalization.
Just like your customer don’t like to be bugged on the phone, they also don’t appreciate seeing useless or unnecessary recommendations online. If you’re only upselling with the sole purpose of generating revenue, then you won’t be able to offer value to the customer.
Upselling must be targeted to improve customers’ experience rather than annoying them enough to drive them away forever. The more you focus on improving the experience, the more you will be able to get customers’ loyalty.
If the customer experience is personalized, then there is a high chance that customers might purchase a more premium, expensive product from you. Focus on how you can assist your customer and leave everything out of the picture.
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2. Offer Value to the Customer
As mentioned above, offering value to the customer is the key to securing a place in their hearts. It’s not your food or restaurant’s ambiance that will matter at all if the customer leaves your restaurant unsatisfied.
When you’re upselling on the website or mobile, make sure not to upsell products that increase the overall order by 25%. Be it upselling or cross-selling; it should not exceed this number.
3. Use Data to Upsell Products
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Coming to an important tip, use data to upsell products on mobile or website ordering. A lot of big and small restaurants are opting for data-driven approaches to see how and what they can upsell to a customer. Don’t rely on your intuition if the data suggests otherwise.
Each customer has a history of purchases, and based on the data; you can get an idea of what your customer might like to order next. It’s especially important for restaurants because people don’t easily change their eating patterns. For instance, if your customer orders a specific sauce with a specific pizza flavor, then you might recommend it to them during checkout.
Make use of all the data available to your customer and use it to provide a personalized experience to your customer. The data-driven approach further helps you to form the right product pairings and increase your chances of upselling.
Moreover, use the data to update your upsell campaigns to get more conversions. Make sure that your upsell strategies are in place after analyzing the data, so there’s less chance of errors.
4. Utilize Email Marketing
Email marketing is another exceptional way to upsell products to your customers. If you’re introducing a new recipe or cuisine to your restaurant’s menu, then you can use emails to let your customers know about it. They will remember about it while buying from you, and there’s a high chance that they will add the new item to the cart as well.
You can also send discounts and newsletters to customers through emails to keep them hooked to your restaurant. Make the best use of email marketing to connect with your audience.
Is Mobile & Website Ordering Necessary?
Manager editing their restaurant's website
Yes, absolutely necessary.
You’re not living in the 70s anymore and with the COVID on the rise, online ordering is the safest way for restaurants to keep earning. With busy schedules and a hectic lifestyle, more and more people opt for takeout or get food delivered to their doorstep.
It’s often hard for customers to go out and pick up food from their favorite restaurant, so online ordering serves as just the right approach for them. If you’re just starting your restaurant business, make sure you have an operational website and mobile app to place their orders online.
Online ordering removes the location barriers and allows restaurants to serve more customers than ever. You can hire a digital team to look after your restaurant’s marketing and ensure a flawless online ordering system for your restaurant’s success.
Get a Restaurant Online Ordering Software to Devise Unique Upselling Strategies
There’s a lot that goes on behind the beautiful ambiance of the restaurant. Handling all tasks can become difficult, which is why food ordering software for restaurants is the perfect option for you. If you’re dependent on data to devise upselling strategies, then you need the best online ordering software for restaurants for it.
Luckily, MenuCRM is one of the best CRM for restaurants. It’s one platform that lets you connect with your staff/customers, gather customer information, design an appealing menu, stay active on social media, manage inventory, and more. It further comes with built-in loyalty programs that you can use to retain customers.
As mentioned above, personalization is important for a restaurant’s success. You can use the data obtained through this platform and use it in devising incredible marketing and upselling strategies. Get into your customer’s head with the help of this software and reap the benefits out of it.
Still wondering if it’s the right platform for you? Try out the free customized demo on their website to see if the software can meet your needs. You can even contact them to further discuss the platform.
