How video can improve cross-selling processes

Summary

Cross-selling strategies are all those that aim to propose a product or service related to those he has already purchased (or is about to purchase) to a customer. The effectiveness of these processes is based on two fundamental pillars. The first is knowing the characteristics and behavior of your target audience. And this, in the digital age, is made possible by Big Data analysis. The final objective? Personalization, therefore addressing everyone in a specific and one-to-one way. The second pillar is about choosing the right means of communication and the right channels: for this, there is no more effective tool than video. The union of these two pillars has a name: personalized video; the ultimate boost for any cross-selling strategy.

We may not realize it because we are immersed in it: the truth, however, is that we live in an era of change that is unprecedented in human history. The age of Digital Transformation.

We’re used to it by now; we all live in the physical world and the digital world simultaneously; and this complicated period triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has made this all the more apparent.

And yet, if we stop to think about it for a moment, this is a relatively “young” revolution that has changed the face of our world in the space of two or three decades.

And that’s not all. The interesting fact, for those in business, is this: the opportunities to be exploited are still enormous. And the fruits to be reaped, in many cases, have not yet been planted.

That’s why, today more than ever, the winners will be those companies who know how to keep their eyes open and intercept trends before the competition.

In the world of marketing, in particular, if we have to identify the most solid and disruptive trend, it’s clear: the revolution starts from the analysis of digital data and reaches the new centrality of the customer. No longer just a “target” nor a number among thousands, but finally and again a “person” with his individual characteristics, needs, and desires.

In this post, we want to talk about this by focusing on a specific topic, one that is concrete and increasingly crucial for companies in any sector: cross-selling strategies and how video can improve cross-selling. These strategies can receive a really important boost if you learn how to effectively use video… and personalized video in particular.

But let’s proceed in order.

What is cross-selling? And why is it important?

We already addressed the issue of up-selling which, as you can see, has a strong relationship with cross-selling.

Let’s start by quickly focusing on the difference between these two types of strategies that, of course, can be implemented simultaneously.

Up-selling processes are aimed at selling a superior and more expensive version of a product, service, or experience that the customer already has or is about to purchase. In short, we’re talking about the “premium” versions, which are fundamental – to give an example – in subscription-based business models.

Cross-selling, on the other hand, is based on selling the customer a product or service related to one they’ve already purchased (or are about to purchase).

In short, we’re talking about something very familiar to everyone, something very common to all of our online shopping experiences.

But this is nothing new, after all: you know what’s been happening in McDonald’s restaurants for decades? You order your sandwich and the cashier asks if, for a small extra charge, you’d like fries to go with it. You almost always say yes.

Perhaps it is the best-known example of cross-selling, and it has been working since well before the invention of the web.

As is often the case, therefore, we have limited ourselves to transporting what has always been effective into the new digital world: doing old things with new and increasingly powerful tools.

With advantages both for companies (i.e. those who implement these strategies) and customers (the target to which they are addressed).

The dynamic is, to all intents and purposes, a win-win.

And it’s certainly not us saying it; it’s the data that tells us how video can improve cross selling. Here are some statistics to consider:

• Up-selling and cross-selling processes increase a company’s revenue by an average of 10% to 30% (source: Forrester Research)
• The odds of selling products or services via up-selling or cross-selling to an existing customer are 60-70%. The chances of selling a product or service to a new customer range from 5% to 20% (source: Altfeld).
• Amazon has stated that as much as 35% of its revenue comes from up-selling and cross-selling strategies (source: ai eCommerce).

These are very telling numbers that need no further comment.

But, at this point, you need to ask yourself the most important question: what is the key to making your cross-selling strategies work?

The answer is very simple: know your customers. Their characteristics, their behaviors, their habits, their previous purchase history. And here, in this direction, the most powerful ally for all marketers is once again digital.

The path to be followed is very clear: the starting point is data; the finishing point is the individual.

It’s all about data and personalization

We opened this post by highlighting how the Digital Transformation has forever changed the face of the world where we live and where we do business.

But what is the driving force behind this revolution?

Big Data. That is, the enormous amount of information, the digital traces that we all continually disseminate online: when we search on Google, when we geolocate, when we make purchases (in fact), when we use apps of any kind, when we interact on social networks, and much, much more.

This information is the most valuable asset for any type of company today. You have to learn how to collect it at all points of the Customer Journey, and in omnichannel mode. Above all, then, it’s about learning how to interpret this data in a functional, deep, and dynamic way.

This is the first indispensable step towards understanding one’s own audience: therefore for any effective cross-selling strategy.

But, indeed, that’s only the first step. After data collection comes segmentation.

Not all customers are the same. Everyone is unique. But many have characteristics and behaviors in common.

Dividing the audience of your users into clusters of people who share the same characteristics and behaviors has a huge positive impact on every marketing and customer service strategy, up-selling and cross-selling included.

The goal is to increasingly narrow these segments, breaking down the target audience into many micro-targets (which is why we prefer to talk about “Smart Data” or “Deep Data”rather than just “Big Data”).

In this way, purchase recommendations, related products, cross-selling, and up-sell actions become more and more targeted and effective.

The ultimate goal: to address each individual differently, based on their unique characteristics. In short, to establish a one-to-one, two-way dialog.

Today it’s possible; that’s what personalization means. And that’s what specialized companies like Babelee do.

But it’s not enough to know who you’re dealing with to put an effective cross-selling strategy on track. You need to know how to exploit the right communication tools, the right media: and in this field, the most effective medium in the digital world is – without a doubt – video.

What is the power of video? And how can it be harnessed to improve cross-selling?

We’ve seen it: the first decisive ingredient in putting an effective cross-selling strategy on track is knowledge of the target audience; or – better – micro-targets, right down to the individual person.

The second ingredient is choosing the right communication tool.

We’ve already mentioned it: in terms of effectiveness, video is unrivalled.

Here are just a few of them, but you can find many more by consulting these sources:

• 55% of people pay more attention when approaching videos than any other type of content (source: Omnikick).
• When viewing a video, the average user retains 95% of the message it contains; if we’re talking about text, this percentage drops to 10% (source: Insivia).
• More than 1 billion hours of video are viewed daily on YouTube alone (source: YouTube).
• About 100 million hours of video are watched daily on Facebook, and they are steadily increasing (source: 99firms).
• On Instagram, posts containing videos have a 38% higher average engagement than those containing images (source: Mention.com).
• Overall, 78% of online users watch at least one video each week. As many as 55% watch one every day (source: HubSpot).

Now, after reading these numbers, you won’t be surprised to read this other data, which emerged from surveys of leading marketers:

• 85% of marketers consider video the best tool for gaining attention online (source: Animoto).
• 87% of marketers use video in their strategies (source: Wyzowl).
• And 88% of them are satisfied with the ROI generated by video marketing campaigns (source: Wyzowl).
• According to 97% of marketers, video is fundamental to make customers have a better understanding of products and services (source: Hubspot)…and this is decisive for cross-selling.

Now let’s wrap it up. Is there a way to combine deep data analytics, personalization, and video? Yes: with personalized video.

We are talking about videos built entirely on the characteristics of the individual recipient, which can be distributed through the most diverse channels.

Personalized videos are handled by specialized companies like Babelee.

In this case, we’re talking about videos that are also interactive: the perfect place to insert suggestions, related articles, and calls-to-action that are tailored to the individual viewer, thus aiming for truly customer-oriented cross-selling campaigns.

It’s almost unnecessary to emphasize how highly effective tools of this type can be. It’s no coincidence, in fact, that personalized videos have been defined in a Forbes article as “the marketing breakthrough that brands need”!