Upselling: Make More Money & Add Value to Your Crowdfunding Campaign

Whether you still have time left during your campaign, or you’re ready to transition your campaign to Indiegogo’s InDemand platform or move to your ecommerce website for continued pre-orders, you’ll want to encourage supporters to spend more while attracting new customers. Upselling is a great way to increase support for your project, while also building on the relationship your campaign created with your backers by adding increased value to their purchase.

What is Upselling?

 

Simply put, upselling is selling an upgraded version of your product, or additional items that are meant to be used with your primary product, thus increasing the overall spend a customer makes during or after your campaign. Depending on the type of product offered in your campaign, there are a number of potential upsells that could interest existing backers to increase their pledges while also enticing new customers to support you. Can you cost-effectively manufacture versions of your product in different finishes? Did your backers suggest extra items they wanted to use with your product that you could provide? Thinking along those lines will help you create an upselling strategy that adds value for both you and your customers.

Have a Plan

 

Trying to upsell your backers and customers without a strategy is like cooking without a recipe… you might end up with the meal of a lifetime, or you might get a kitchen full of smoke. Think back to when you prepared to launch your campaign. All the prototyping, design, pre-launch efforts and campaign preparation are what led to a successful launch. As your campaign runs, begin thinking of other ways your customers could use your product for upselling inspiration. Look at the comments left on your page for common threads. Once you determine the types of upsells you can offer, create a plan that includes what you will offer and when so that your upsells are released in a sensical order.

How to Upsell: Dos and Don’ts

 

When upselling after the campaign, you want to make sure to be thoughtful, not spammy. Be sure to engage existing backers thoughtfully and clearly outline what you are offering. You can promote your upsells in a variety of ways, including email blasts, social media updates, backer updates and new campaign page graphics (if your campaign is still live). For a deeper look at best practices when upselling, take a look at these dos and don’ts:

Don’t

 

• Offer unrelated Items: Don’t offer unrelated items when crafting an upselling strategy. If your product is a technology gadget, trying to upsell them a t-shirt, water bottle or other gimmicky branded object isn’t as relevant or motivating to backers.
• Be overly aggressive: Don’t try to upsell people before they’re committed. Offer your upsell to people who’ve either backed your successful campaign or placed an item in their cart.
• Make it about you: Focus on your customer by explaining why your offer is a win for them, and it will become a win for you.

Do

 

• Prioritize the customer experience: Offer premium finishes for your product or extra items that enhance their experience. For example, kitchen gadgets look great in black and white, but a premium finish could be metallic.
• Offer customized bundles: There’s a reason buffet diners are still popular. Let your customers choose the extras that fit their needs best.
• Limit the increase: Be careful to not upcharge too much. Aim to keep the increase less than 30% of what was originally paid so customers still feel like they’re getting a deal.
• Offer free shipping: Offer free shipping once customers hit a certain order total threshold. This is particularly effective if your add-ons are relatively inexpensive, and may incentivize customers to choose multiple extras.
• Work with a developer: If you’ve got ideas for additional products, but lack the manpower to make them a reality, hire a product development expert. They’ll take your idea and bring it to life for your customers.

Learn From Other Crowdfunding Campaigns

 

The great thing about creating a campaign now is there are plenty of examples, good and bad, to learn from. Take a look at these three successful projects and the add-ons they offered as upsells to their customers.

Fromaggio

 

This smart at-home cheesemaker raised more than $400,000 during its Kickstarter campaign, in part by the add-ons offered. An upgraded copper finish was included as a stretch goal and add-on during their live campaign. This let people choose the option that would look best in their kitchen. They also offered bundles of cultures and chemical ingredients needed to create cheese during the campaign. On their ecommerce site, each culture or chemical is sold separately. The convenience of selling these items with just one click encouraged customers to pledge more during the campaign and keeps them from turning elsewhere online now that they’ve transitioned to ecommerce.

Handy Gym

 

Handy Gym, a portable inertia-based gym system raised more than $380,000 during its Kickstarter campaign. They offered several pre-determined packages featuring discs and accessories that created the total gym, but also offered additional pulleys, resistance discs and storage solutions so their customers could customize their bundle to fit their individual needs. Their variety of add-ons let each user choose between upgraded pre-made packages or a middle-ground. When transitioning to ecommerce, however, Handy Gym didn’t make the same options as readily available. Be sure to offer the same add-ons on your post-campaign site as you did during the campaign.

Espresso Displays

 

Espresso Displays, an ultra-thin portable computer monitor, launched its campaign on October 14, 2019 and surpassed its funding goal in seven hours. As they planned their campaign, the team knew they wanted to offer the displays, a protective cover and two mounts to give backers options. To achieve this, the team offered their protective flip case and travel-friendly mount as add-ons from the beginning of the campaign. Encouraging backers to share the campaign with friends, Espresso Displays offered a stylus pen as a freebie once the campaign achieved $100,000 in funding. A second stretch goal featuring the chance to add on the Mount Pro, a fixed-mount system, was promoted and set to be unlocked when the campaign reaches $200,000 in funding. Not only does the second stretch goal encourage backers to reach the amount, it also generates more revenue from existing backers who choose to add-on the new mount option.

Get Started Today

 

Need help? Start a conversation with your crowdfunding backers and offer them exciting new opportunities with the help of Enventys Partners. When you recruit Enventys Partners, a full-service product launch agency, you’ll get expert advice on crowdfunding marketing strategy, post-campaign ecommerce marketing and product development – all lines of expertise that can improve your upselling strategy.

Enventys Partners is there every step of the way – at the beginning of your campaign to your end goal. Enlist the largest crowdfunding marketing team in the business to help spread the word about your campaign, so your post-crowdfunding business is successful for years to come! Request a quote today.