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Klixxx Magazine Archive - Gay |
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Porn & Fries
by Brandon Palmer
It's probably the most famous upsell line in history, and it rarely
works any more. As consumers become more sophisticated, the days of
the hard sell are over. Now it's all about offering your customers
options. What if that same cashier had said, "Would you like fries
with that, or would you prefer a fresh garden salad?" I very likely
would have answered, "A salad would be great, thanks." When creating
upsell strategies for your adult site, the same philosophy applies.
Find out who your customers are, and what they want, by increasing
their choices.
"The hardest part is convincing the surfer that your content is what
he really seeks," says Tala Cather, owner of Talawolf Enterprises,
which runs ethicalporn.com and naughtyfables.com. "Once he's there,
though, it's not as difficult as you might imagine to upsell him.
Give him incentives to purchase the bigger sale. Make it worth his
money," says Cather, "For example, the three day pass is nice, but
it's such a better deal to purchase the month, because there's too
much stuff on your site to see in only three days. If he goes for
that, then he'll probably go for the six-month, because your content
changes often, there's live chat, and interactive stuff."
Danny Collins, Head of Sales & Marketing at Fresh Photos and S.I.C.
Cash, agrees with the philosophy that more is more. "We are constantly
on the lookout for new products that will complement our existing
products," says Collins, "It is a disservice to both yourself and
your loyal customers not to offer them the opportunity to benefit
from further services and more products. Once inside our member sections,"
he explains, "our visitors are offered toys, personals, live chats,
and many more great adult products. The trick, however, is not to
get carried away. First and foremost, the customers should get what
they pay for, and once that has been accomplished, we kindly offer
them more."
As long as these offers are made in a skilled and unobtrusive manner,
it would seem that everyone feels upselling is a crucial part of doing
business online. "Upselling is never a bad idea," says Mark Hovanec,
co-owner with Barry Clifford of Scorp15 Ventures, which owns and operates
StudNextDoor.com. "When you buy a car, for example, they ask you for
the extended warranty, paint sealer, alarm, you name it. They ask
you until you scream stop. Do the same," says Hovanec, "When you work
hard to get someone to your site, take the full opportunity to maximize
the sale once they are there."
It may be good business practice to upsell, but it can have the opposite
of the desired effect if it's not done carefully. "Upselling backfires,
when the customer is misled," says Hovanec, "I have been to some sites
that hide check boxes or agreements- and when you buy, the amount
is more that you thought you were agreeing to. Deception pisses off
a customer, and will cost you chargebacks. In the adult biz, that's
death. It's hard enough to get merchant accounts, without doing something
stupid to jeopardize your lifeline!"
The rule is to never get greedy, because today's consumers can see
through bad intentions far more easily than ever before. "We have
to use tact when someone has already spent money," says Collins, "That's
where some sites may get into trouble. Upsells represent a decent
chunk of revenue, but no one is going to make a living from upsells
alone. You have to keep your customers happy so that they will all
stick around a while. If you plaster upsells all over your member
area, at the expense of usability and site quality, you're going to
start losing members very quickly."
If you find yourself losing members, or experiencing a decline in
traffic, it's important to monitor these changes to the finest detail.
That way, you can track the cause more easily, and react on the spot.
"Building Internet traffic is a numbers game," says Hovanec, "Our
site has been up almost a year now, and each new source of traffic
brings a surge, then it levels off. So as we add them, we increase
in increments. We use an analysis program to track our site traffic
in extreme detail," he explains, "So we can tell daily what page performs
or not. It's like product placement in a grocery store, except with
the Internet you can change pages almost instantly, and track the
results of the change overnight."
As analysis technology evolves, there are an increasing number of
aspects to focus on, so keeping informed is paramount. "Many webmasters
of a couple of years ago were inexperienced," says Collins, "and many
companies had no people with any real sales or marketing backgrounds
to employ basic concepts. As we continue to adapt to a more difficult
economy, and as the industry matures, we're beginning to see much
more refinement and efficiency in the way webmasters convert and recycle
subscribers. Technology has definitely played a role in influencing
an increase in the ability to upsell products," he says, "and today
it's easy to find scripts or payment processors, for example, that
will allow the webmaster to attach ads to welcome e-mails, and farewell
e-mails after cancellation. Content management programs allow us to
easily target and rotate our upsells among a large variety of niche
Web sites. The possibilities for technology to increase the effectiveness
of upsells are relatively limitless."
In order to create that effectiveness, however, you need to do your
homework. "The first thing any successful webmaster will suggest is
that every page creates an opportunity to spend money," says Hovanec,
"So show value and do research. Look at your competition and learn
from their experience and their mistakes. Trust me," he says, "you
will make enough of your own. Don't waste them on things that are
easy to avoid, and remember that unless you are doing an information
site, or non-profit venture, you are creating an e-commerce site.
Everything you do on the site should in some way contribute to your
goal to make money. Does that preclude branding or image? No. All
these things, including product and brand loyalty, contribute to success,
but they are only a part of the bigger picture. When you start, you
have no name recognition, and success alone will build that. Making
money is what will keep you around."
Upselling effectively is indeed a key factor in making that money,
and creating longevity is what we all desire. "Always create with
upsells in mind," says Collins, "And continually think to yourself,
'What can I offer my customers in addition to the things they've already
purchased?' Any time you allow a customer to make a purchase and then
go away," he says, "you've cost yourself another potential sale. So
target your upsells. It's doubtful you're going to sell many strap-ons
in the membership area of your gay site. Find products that complement
the items or site memberships you're selling, and always keep a sharp
eye out for fresh and unique products."
Remember, the Internet, unlike television or print media, allows for
two-way communication, so use it. Upselling is no longer about grabbing
an extra dollar from your customer on their way out. You might get
that dollar, but if they're not happy about it, you'll never see them
again. What it's really all about is offering options to your customers,
so you can discover who they are and what they really want. When you
understand that, everybody wins.
KarenJ has been making sites for women for 4 years, and worked as a freelance journalist prior to that. She jointly runs For The Girls (www.forthegirls.com) a premium paysite
designed for women.
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