The cross – selling or cross-selling is, in the sale of multiple products or services complementary to the same customer, and is an effective tool for the development of this.
Cross selling does not consist of “placing” more products to customers, since the main keys to its correct application are knowing the needs of our customers and satisfying them correctly.
Cross-selling strategies can be applied to companies of any size, from multinationals to SMEs, resulting in a perfect strategy in concentrated sectors or mature markets. A clear example of cross-selling is a recent campaign by a well-known telephone company, where they promote the acquisition of ADSL among their customers who already have mobile phone service. Another clear example is that of a hosting company that offers domain registration services to clients who have contracted the domain registration service.
Now that we have seen the definition of the concept, the benefits of applying a cross-selling strategy in the company are detailed below:
We increase sales:
The increase in sales will range between 10% and 30%, which translates into an increase in income.
We optimize costs:
There are two kinds of cost optimization related to cross selling, on the one hand the management costs will always be lower for customers with multiple products than for multiple customers with one product each. On the other hand, we find optimization in sales costs, since the costs of sale to a client in the portfolio will always be lower than those of a new client.
We create value for the client:
It is normal for a company that integrates a greater number of services or products into its client, which in turn allow satisfying a greater number of needs, generating a greater contribution of value.
We retain customers:
One of the main benefits of cross-selling is its high loyalty power, since our client, the more products or services he acquires, the greater his dependence as he satisfies more needs, and the greater the cost and disorder if he decides to change Of supplier.
On the other hand, cross-selling helps customers to be more efficient, since they use a single supplier for a greater number of products or services. Also, if any type of problem arises, it will always be quicker and easier to obtain a solution with one provider, than with several.
We know the customer better and provide new leads:
It is obvious that the more products and / or services we sell to our client, it will help us to obtain a greater knowledge about him and this in turn produces new “leads” or indicators of new sales.
Finally comment, that we can not only rely on applying cross-selling strategies, it is necessary to combine them with recruitment strategies, to obtain a perfect synergy, exclusive only to the winning companies.
