Get Your Customers To Make Larger Average Purchases

Increasing the average transactional value of your customers’ purchases – getting them to spend more money when they buy something from you, happens to be the quickest and easiest way there is to increase your profits. One of the things that continually amazes me is the number of businesses that have extensive and expensive plans in place to acquire more customers.

Yet, very few business owners have paid much attention to this highly profitable and highly leverageable step of increasing the size of the order. If you think for a minute, about how easy this is and how profitable it can be you’ll see why it’s such a powerful concept. And you’ll also see why nearly every fast-food restaurant has embraced, has mastered, and requires that every person who takes orders understands and is proficient in the use of the “up-sell” and “cross-selling” principles.

Think back about your own fast-food restaurant experience. You drive up to the speaker and place your order… a sandwich and a drink. And then what happens? A voice comes back over the speaker and asks if you’d like an apple pie or fries with your order. That’s an example of cross-selling. Selling an additional product in addition to or beyond the initial purchase. Or they might suggest that you “super-size” or “giant-size” your order. That’s an example of an up-sell… increasing the size of the initial order.

In any case, if you take them up on their suggestion what they’ve done is just increase their profits substantially, since they made an additional sale but had no acquisition or marketing costs. They realize that a certain percentage of their customers will say “yes.” And the only reason they say “yes,” is because a suggestion was made to them. So they play the numbers game. And the result? Well, by being aware of what their customers might want but not ask for on their own, and then by asking questions or making suggestions they bring in a substantial number of dollars. And other than the actual cost of the product those dollars are pure profit.

Here’s another technique fast food restaurants frequently use. It’s called “bundling” or “packaging.” It’s where they combine a sandwich, a drink and fries, then throw in a couple of “bonus” items like maybe a cookie and a toy. They put it all together in one package and give it a name like “Happy Meal.” They’ll charge you less for that package than what each of those items purchased separately would have cost, but the total dollar amount you spend will be higher. And since there were no marketing costs involved other than the cost of the items themselves, it’s pure profit, and it goes straight to their bottom line.

Now, what does that have to do with you, and your business?

Well, you may not be in the fast food business, but the same principles can still apply. Just ask yourself this question: “What additional products or services do you have that would be natural complements to what your customers initially buy from you?”

Well, you know the answer to that and I won’t go into all the details here. But for instance, if you have the type of business that offers more than one product to your customers you have a tremendous advantage to capitalize on the up-selling, cross-selling and bundling techniques. Some types of businesses, such as insurance companies that may offer only one product or service can also benefit from these strategies by packaging certain policies that cover multiple family members, adding riders, or including other complementary services that go beyond the actual policies themselves.

Do these things seem like common sense to you? Well, they probably do. But as I mentioned before it’s surprising how few businesses make effective use these three simple principles. Think about it. In reality, you have an obligation to your customers… the people who trust you to provide them good quality products and services, give them sound advice and who hand over their hard-earned money to you… to make sure they get the very best value, the best use and the most enjoyment from their original purchase. And if you have additional items, either products or services, that can enhance their value, their use or their enjoyment, then your obligation is to do everything that’s reasonable and ethical, to see that they at least have the option of taking advantage of those items.

Again, it’s playing the numbers game. Some will take advantage of your offer and some won’t. But at least, you will have given them the opportunity, and you will have fulfilled your obligation to them. You haven’t made the decision for them. You’ve given them a choice and you’ve let them decide. If you come across as sincere they’ll not see you as being pushy, but they’ll realize that you are really trying to do them a favor… to help them get more value, more use, and more benefit from their decision and their purchase. And they’ll come back to do business with you again and again, and will refer others to you, as well.

Up-selling, cross-selling and bundling… these are only three of more than a dozen immediate, profit-producing methods you can use to skyrocket your business to the next level. If you do nothing more than find a way to incorporate these three techniques in your business (which you should be able to do within the next twenty-four hours), you’ll blast your profits completely through the roof.

Think about it… increasing your sales… increasing your profits… without increasing your expenses. It’s an exciting concept, and it can add an immediate twenty, thirty, even forty percent or more, in pure profits to your bottom line!