Keep Your Customers by Upselling, Cross-selling, and, Yes, Even Downgrading
Why do your customers drop their subscriptions with you?
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Have their needs changed? Are they unhappy with your products or services? Did they find a better price somewhere else? Or, have you just fallen prey to another company’s shinier object?
Unless you sell revolving doors, you don’t want new customers entering, only to exit weeks or months later. Your new subscribers selected you from myriad other companies in your market niche. It’s crucial that you understand their needs and preferences. It’s not enough in today’s globally competitive marketplace to simply provide good customer service, assuming that you will retain these customers.
Your subscribers are unique individuals and they want to be treated that way. You must adapt your products or services to meet their needs. You must serve them in a way that honors their preferences, not yours or those of other customers “like them.” In today’s world of micro-segmentation, you no longer have reliable customer avatars or customers “like them.”
There is a moment, just before you lose a subscriber, when you can win back their loyalty and keep their business. The solution is upselling, cross-selling, or, yes, even downgrading. Better to have a loyal customer who buys less than to lose a customer to your competition.
Upselling Your Value to Customers
Every business wants to upsell and bring in more revenue per client. But, how do you do that when your customer is about to walk out the door? Upselling is for the customer you have built a positive relationship with and who understands the value you offer.
The keys here are showing genuine concern for their revenue bottom line, not your own, and providing more value to your customer. You want to help this customer understand how you can grow with them. Forbes recommends
- Making the upsell relevant to the customer’s original purchase
- Helping your customers sell themselves
- Discounting your upsell
- Selling a solution
- Eliminating risk
Upselling moves a subscriber deeper into your business and brings you deeper into theirs. This mutual investment in each other’s business strengthens your business relationship. Neither one of you is likely to leave if you are essential to each other’s success.
Imagine a subscriber who’s been with you for one annual cycle. They’ve been satisfied with their experience with you, but they also met a sales rep from another company who has a shiny new object to offer. This is the perfect time to offer a free consultation to explore how you can meet their growing needs. And, if you cannot meet your customer’s needs, wish them well. Everyone respects a business professional who helps a client grow beyond them. Word-of-mouth referrals build your credibility and shorten the sales cycle tremendously.
At BluSynergy, we sell automated billing subscription services at a rich variety of charging models to meet our customers’ needs. We can expand, or contract, these models as your company grows and changes.
Subscriber Retention Strategy: Cross-Selling to Enrich the Customer Experience
Cross-selling is another way to strengthen your relationship with existing customers. Unlike upselling, which focuses on up-leveling existing products or services, cross-selling focuses on selling complementary products or services. Cross-selling, done right, enhances the customer experience, promoting a deeper emotional and financial connection between the consumer and the brand. Harvard Business Review suggests:
- Taking a balance-sheet view
- Creating dynamic, high-resolution customer profiles
- Focusing on discrete customer growth missions
- Just getting started
- Building a repeatable model
Consider a California wine subscription service that has a member who has been with the company for several years. The company just isn’t exciting them like it did when they first signed up. Nothing’s wrong, but the customer wants that new, shiny object experience again.
At renewal time, the company sends out an offer for a discounted annual subscription plus limited-edition, monogrammed wine glasses. The customer saves money and the glasses personalize the offer while alluding to memorable occasions in the future. The customer can picture himself or herself drinking from these beautiful hand-etched crystal goblets. And, every time they use these glasses, they will be reminded of the California wine company.
At BluSynergy, we sell automated billing subscription services. We can partner these subscription services with QuickBooks for easier accounting or with Salesforce for micro-segmentation and customer personalization.
Downgrading Takes the Pressure Off
Sadly, sometimes companies downsize or they need time to retool. Maybe they don’t need the fullness of your product line or services. Maybe they miscalculated their growth curve. Often, their decision-makers feel embarrassed or ashamed that they’re struggling. Rather than talking to you about downgrading, they start to explore other options with your competitors.
Ideally, you have built a strong relationship with these customers. You can make it safe and comfortable to explore ways to scale back with less expensive options. Inc Magazine has some great tips for helping your struggling customers.
Consider a premium subscriber who might be more satisfied going back to a basic service. It may feel like a loss to you, if you focus on the one-year revenue loss. But, if you consider losing years of revenue from this customer, you see that this is a smart business move. Plus, you’ve made your customer happy by showing them you respect them and recognize their needs. This is a perfect formula for retention, customer satisfaction, and word-of-mouth referrals.
Subscriber retention is the key for any successful business. Building a strong relationship with your new prospects lays the right foundation for customer retention. Ideally, you consistently communicate with them and you are aware of their needs, adjusting on the fly. If you find yourself at the tipping point, where they may walk out the door, you are able to effectively consult with them and retain their business by upselling, cross-selling, or downgrading.
Not sure how to close the revolving door on your business? Give one of our BluSynergy sales consultants a call today at 731-INVOICE (731-468-6423).