Haidan DongAs a print seller, getting clients to order more from you can be hard. After all, don’t print customers already know what they need before they place their order? The truth is, your clients think they know what they need. There might be print products that they aren’t aware of that could help them. It’s your job as the print seller to suggest ways to bring them more value. You’ll be helping both your client and yourself. So whether you’re a printer, print broker, or other type of print professional, it’s time to start upselling and cross-selling.
What are upselling and cross-selling?
Both upselling and cross-selling are techniques to increase your profits. Upselling is when you suggest an upgrade for a product that your customer is planning to buy. For example, if your client is going to order 14pt postcards, you can suggest that they upgrade to 16pt instead.
Cross-selling, on the other hand, is when you sell another product that goes well with the original order. A classic example is when you’re asked if you want fries with your burger. In the printing industry, this could be asking if they need envelopes printed with their letterheads.
Why is it important to upsell and cross-sell?
The best time to make more sales is when your customers have decided to buy something. At this point your clients are already in the mindset to buy. Upselling and cross-selling both have unique benefits. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Why is upselling important?
Here are 5 reasons why upselling helps you earn more from printing.
1. Better client relationships
Upselling based on your customers’ needs shows them that you care about meeting those needs. And once you’re able to meet them, they’ll trust you more in the future and come to your for their other print projects. This leads to a higher customer lifetime value.
2. Added value
Not only will you get more value out of the transaction, but so will your customers. For example, instead of ordering regular business cards, you successfully upsell spot UV business cards to them. Your customer hands them out and gets noticed because the cards stand out from the rest. They’ve received value from their upgrade.
3. Good use of investments
Maybe you have a coater or a cutter that is sitting in your facility without much work. Upselling is your chance to put your investments to good use!
4. A chance to try something new
Some clients want to try something new but are afraid. They need a little prompting. Upselling could be exactly what they need. Maybe this upgraded version of their printing was what they wanted all along—they just never had the chance to try it.
5. Business upgrade
Upselling helps take you to the next level of the printing business. It elevates you as a premium printer who is able to offer more luxury products in addition to your regular ones.
Why is cross-selling important?
Here are 5 reasons why cross-selling helps you earn more from printing.
1. One-stop shop
When your clients see that you’re able to provide a large variety of print products, they’ll be more likely to go to you for all their printing needs. They can get everything they need done in one place. They’ll eventually stop going to your competitors.
2. Money saver
You may wish to provide a discount when customers order an additional product or service with their original order. This helps them save money, but upselling can help you save money too! For example, you’ll be able to package products together and ship them more affordably.
3. Time saver
The same applies to time. Your clients will save time by getting more done all at once, and you will save time by printing everything for them at once. The more time you eliminate from quoting, setting up equipment, delivery, etc., the more time you have to focus on other tasks to grow your print business.
4. Spotlight unnoticed products
Cross-selling is an opportunity to introduce your clients to lesser-noticed products. Who knows? They might end up really liking these product suggestions and placing repeat orders.
5. Less price competition
Cross-selling makes it harder for your clients to compare prices with your competitors. They may know the cost of printing one pull up banner, but they’re less likely to know the special discounted price they’ll get when the banner is bundled with a set of flyers and a box of business cards.
The bottom line? Everyone wins.
Cross-selling and upselling are great ways for you to sell more print. These two golden techniques are important for printing companies that want to get more orders. If you never try, you’ll never know whether you could have gotten that extra order…
But what if you don’t have enough options to upsell or cross-sell? Not to worry—SinaLite prints over 1,000 types of print products with lots of customization options, all at wholesale prices available only to print sellers like you. Take a look at their full product catalog here.
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