Marketing Calendar 2025
Cross-sell
Cross-sell…
You’ve probably seen it in action without even noticing. You’re buying a new laptop online, and just before you check out, you get a suggestion: “Want to add a wireless mouse or laptop sleeve?” That’s cross-selling in action, offering a related product or service that complements what your customer is already buying.
Cross-selling encourages customers to purchase additional, related products alongside their main purchase. It’s a classic revenue-boosting tactic across industries from retail and e-commerce to software and financial services. The goal isn’t to push random extras but to recommend goods that make sense together. If done well, it feels helpful, not pushy.
It works best when it’s driven by data and customer insight. Randomly throwing a list of options at users won’t move the needle. But if your CRM tells you that customers in finance often buy Service A and Service B together, that’s a clue. Smart cross-selling leans on segmentation, user behaviour, and even predictive modelling to surface timely, relevant offers.
Importantly, cross-selling isn’t the same as upselling. While the two are often lumped together, they’re different tactics. Upselling is about encouraging a higher-value version of the product someone is already using (e.g. “Upgrade to Premium for more storage”). Cross-selling is about offering an additional product or service that complements.