Sales Loves MarketingCross-selling is offering a customer who is already buying from you a related product that goes with their purchase: a case with a phone, wine with a meal, implementation services with new software. It works when the extra item genuinely helps the customer, and it backfires when it is pushed regardless of need.
Below are examples from six industries, followed by what the good ones have in common.
What is cross-selling?
Wikipedia defines cross-selling as selling an additional product or service to an existing customer, either to increase revenue or to strengthen the relationship.
It is often confused with upselling:
| Cross-selling | Upselling | |
|---|---|---|
| What you offer | A different, complementary product | A better or bigger version of the same product |
| Retail example | Headphones with a new phone | A phone with more storage |
| SaaS example | A separate reporting module | Moving to the next plan tier |
| Goal | More products per customer | Higher value per purchase |
For the other side of this, read our guide to effective upselling techniques.
Cross-selling examples in retail
Checkout displays. Small, low-priced items next to the till, such as batteries, snacks or travel-size products, are the classic retail cross-sell. They complement what is already in the basket and cost little enough to add without thinking twice.
Phones and accessories. Someone buying a new phone is usually offered a case, a screen protector, a charger or headphones. Each one is useful to a new phone owner and cheap compared with the phone.
Appliances and protection. Wikipedia gives the example of a salesperson selling an appliance and offering an insurance plan that goes beyond the warranty.
Cross-selling examples in ecommerce
"Frequently bought together" and "Customers also bought". Amazon is the best-known example. Its item-to-item recommendation method, described in a 2003 IEEE Internet Computing paper by Linden, Smith and York, looks at relationships between products rather than between customers. According to Amazon Science, the algorithm had been in use for six years when the paper was published, and in 2017 the journal named it the paper that had best withstood the test of time.
Cart and checkout suggestions. A small add-on shown in the cart, such as batteries for a toy or a cleaning kit for shoes, can raise order value without distracting from the main purchase.
Post-purchase emails. A follow-up email a few weeks after delivery, suggesting refills or accessories, catches the customer when they are using the product.
Our post on growth hacking for ecommerce has more ways to test these.
Cross-selling examples in restaurants
Drinks with a meal. Suggesting a drink that suits the dish is the simplest restaurant cross-sell.
Starters, sides and dessert. "Would you like fries with that?" is the fast-food version. In a restaurant, a server recommending a dessert that suits the meal does the same thing more personally.
Meal deals and combos. Bundling a main, side and drink at a set price turns a cross-sell into a single, easy choice.
Done well, both sides win: the guest gets a better meal, and the restaurant and server earn more from the same table.
Cross-selling examples in banking
Banks have many related products, so the natural cross-sells are easy to see:
- A savings account for a customer who has just opened a current account
- Home insurance for someone who has just taken out a mortgage
- A business credit card for a company that opens a business account
Banking also shows the risk. In 2016 the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined Wells Fargo $100 million after employees, under pressure from sales targets, opened accounts customers had not asked for. Our article on cross-selling in banking covers the case and how regulators view cross-selling now.
Cross-selling examples in B2B services
Accounting and advisory. Wikipedia gives the example of an accountant who, while auditing a client, learns of other needs such as tax or valuation work and offers those services. (Auditors face strict independence rules here, which is a reminder that not every cross-sell is allowed.)
Agencies. An SEO agency offering content writing, or a web design agency offering hosting and maintenance, sells something the client already needs to get value from the first service.
Installation and training. Wikipedia's example of a customer buying air conditioners being offered a package with installation applies to most B2B equipment and software: the product is more useful once it is set up properly.
Cross-selling examples in SaaS
Add-on products. Many software companies sell separate products to existing customers, such as a CRM company selling a marketing or customer service module, or a project management tool selling a separate product for a specific team.
Integrations and marketplaces. Paid integrations or partner apps extend what customers can do with the core product.
Services. Onboarding packages, training and premium support are cross-sells that also help customers stay.
In SaaS, cross-selling usually belongs to account managers or customer success, timed to moments when usage data shows a need, such as a sales team that starts tracking support requests in the CRM.
What makes a good cross-sell?
The examples that work share four traits:
- Relevance. The extra product clearly relates to what the customer is buying.
- Timing. It is offered when the need is obvious: at checkout, during setup or when the customer hits a problem.
- Proportion. The add-on is usually small compared with the main purchase, or it clearly increases the value of it.
- Honesty. The customer can easily say no, and nobody is pushed to sell regardless of need.
Use your customer data to find which products are bought together, then test offers one at a time. Our guide to customer segmentation helps you decide which customers to offer what.
Frequently asked questions
What is cross-selling?
Cross-selling is selling an additional, related product or service to a customer who is already buying from you. A phone case offered with a new phone, or a tax service offered to an audit client, are typical examples.
What is the difference between cross-selling and upselling?
Upselling moves the customer to a more expensive version of the same purchase, such as a higher plan. Cross-selling adds a different product that complements it, such as an extra module or a service.
What is an example of cross-selling in B2B?
A software company offering implementation and training services with a new licence, or an accounting firm offering tax advice to an audit client. In SaaS, it is often a separate add-on product, such as a reporting or service module sold to existing customers of the main product.
When does cross-selling go wrong?
When the extra product does not serve the customer, or when sales targets push staff to sell regardless of need. Wikipedia notes that badly judged add-on sales can leave customers feeling poorly used and damage the relationship.