In today's competitive landscape, B2B companies in the SaaS industry are constantly looking for ways to increase revenue and strengthen customer relationships. Upselling, a sales technique that encourages customers to purchase a higher-tier version of their existing product, has become a crucial strategy for achieving these goals.

The meaning of upselling

Upselling involves convincing a customer to upgrade from their current plan to a more advanced one with additional features and benefits. This can be achieved by highlighting the limitations of the current plan and demonstrating how the upgraded plan better addresses the customer's specific needs and helps them achieve their desired outcomes.

For example, a B2B company offering a customer relationship management (CRM) platform might present an upsell opportunity to a customer on the basic plan. The company could showcase the advanced features, such as marketing automation and in-depth analytics, available in the premium plan and explain how these features can help the customer streamline their marketing efforts and gain deeper insights into their customer base.

What is cross selling?

While upselling focuses on selling a higher-tier version of the same product, cross-selling involves promoting complementary products or services alongside the customer's existing purchase.Continuing with the CRM example, the company could cross-sell an email marketing service alongside the CRM platform. This approach leverages the existing customer relationship and presents a relevant solution that complements the customer's current needs.

For example, a B2B company offering a customer relationship management (CRM) platform might present an upsell opportunity to a customer on the basic plan. The company could showcase the advanced features, such as marketing automation and in-depth analytics, available in the premium plan and explain how these features can help the customer streamline their marketing efforts and gain deeper insights into their customer base.

Upselling vs Cross Selling

While both upselling and cross-selling aim to increase customer lifetime value, they differ in the type of product or service being offered. Upselling focuses on upgrades within the same product line, while cross-selling introduces entirely new products or services.

For example, a B2B company offering a customer relationship management (CRM) platform might present an upsell opportunity to a customer on the basic plan. The company could showcase the advanced features, such as marketing automation and in-depth analytics, available in the premium plan and explain how these features can help the customer streamline their marketing efforts and gain deeper insights into their customer base.

Choosing the right upselling platform for your B2B business

Several platforms cater specifically to the needs of B2B businesses looking to implement effective upselling strategies. Here are three popular options:

1. Obsidian:

Obsidian is a powerful platform that helps companies measure their customers in real-time. Obsidian ingests data from accounting, banking, CRM, and analytics tools to provide real-time visibility into costs and revenue attributed to each user action.This granular unit economics intelligence powers automated workflows, predictive analytics, and profitability optimization. This helps companies observe their customers in real-time and maximize their upselling opportunities.

For example, let's say a B2B company offers a subscription-based service with different tiers. By using Obsidian, the company can gain insights into which features are driving the most revenue for each customer. They can then use this information to identify customers who are using high-value features but are still on a lower-tier plan. These customers could then be targeted with upsell campaigns that highlight the benefits of upgrading to a plan that includes all the features they are already using.

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2. Mixpanel:

Mixpanel is a powerful business analytics platform that helps companies understand user behaviour and identify upselling opportunities. By analysing user data, companies can identify customers who are actively using specific features of their basic plan and are likely to benefit from the additional functionalities offered in the upgraded plan.

For instance, Mixpanel could reveal that a customer on the basic CRM plan is heavily utilising the contact management features. This data point suggests that the customer might be a good candidate for an upsell to the premium plan, which offers advanced features like lead scoring and marketing automation, allowing them to further optimise their sales and marketing efforts.

3. Hubspot:

Hubspot is a comprehensive CRM platform that offers a suite of tools designed to help businesses manage their customer relationships, including built-in upselling features. Hubspot allows companies to create targeted campaigns and personalised recommendations based on customer data and usage patterns.For example, Hubspot could enable a B2B company to automatically trigger email campaigns to customers on the verge of reaching their quota on the basic plan, highlighting the benefits of upgrading to a higher tier that offers increased storage capacity or additional user licenses.

For instance, Mixpanel could reveal that a customer on the basic CRM plan is heavily utilising the contact management features. This data point suggests that the customer might be a good candidate for an upsell to the premium plan, which offers advanced features like lead scoring and marketing automation, allowing them to further optimise their sales and marketing efforts.

4. Dynamic Yield:

Dynamic Yield is a personalisation platform that uses real-time customer data to deliver targeted product recommendations and upsell offers. This platform allows companies to dynamically display upsell messages on their website or within their application based on individual user behaviour and past purchases.For instance, Dynamic Yield could be integrated into a B2B software platform to display targeted upsell messages to customers who have recently accessed advanced features available only in the premium plan. This personalised approach can increase the effectiveness of upselling efforts by presenting relevant upsell offers at the opportune moment.

For instance, Mixpanel could reveal that a customer on the basic CRM plan is heavily utilising the contact management features. This data point suggests that the customer might be a good candidate for an upsell to the premium plan, which offers advanced features like lead scoring and marketing automation, allowing them to further optimise their sales and marketing efforts.

Conclusion

Upselling can be a valuable tool for B2B businesses to boost revenue and build stronger customer relationships. By choosing the right platform and implementing an effective strategy, businesses can identify upselling opportunities, personalize recommendations, and ultimately increase customer lifetime value.