New research has revealed that 37 percent of consumers buying telco products are persuaded to opt for cross-sell opportunities such as TV and broadband packages after seeing deals online.
However, the findings by retail & telco technology experts Conversity show this figure stands at just eight percent for purchases made in-store when customers receive advice from a sales representative. This underlines how there is room for improvement in this area across all sales channels, and indicates a clear opportunity for retailers to empower their staff to deliver an omni-channel experience in a more effective manner.
In particular, the survey – which polled 1,000 consumers from across the UK – found that when focusing purely on millennials, the number of people persuaded to make additional purchases rose to 40 percent, and up to 42 percent for those in four-person households. This further underlines where physical stores should focus their efforts, and the opportunity to make a difference in this area, especially given the dominance of these demographics.
Laura Arthurton, CEO at Conversity said: “Selling mobile phones and contracts might be the bread and butter of any telco, but cross-selling related products and services – particularly persuading customers to choose a quad play bundle – is the holy grail. If you can cross-sell effectively and pull market share away from the established players, the potential for further growth can be massive.
“Our research shows that there is still room for improvement across the omni-channel when it comes to cross-selling. Retailers must empower their staff and they must be able to offer a unified experience across the omnichannel in order to maximise results, especially given the eagerness of larger households and younger generations to take advantage of these options.”
To support this point further, almost three quarters of consumers (74 percent) consider in-store sales associates taking time to understand their needs as important. This indicates a clear desire for personalised guidance as part of the in-store customer experience.
Alongside comprehensive training for staff to help them make the most of customer interactions, technology such as intelligent guided selling technology can be used to encourage more informative, productive dialogue between customers and sales staff. Having this technology to hand enables staff to deepen the relationships they have with the customers who value human contact the most.
Arthurton added: “It is clear that consumers are now often spoilt for choice when making complex buying decisions – therefore persuading customers to consider TV or broadband packages alongside mobile phone purchases is about going that extra mile to make sure consumers are given the right guidance at every stage of the buying decision. While online inevitably plays a crucial role in consumers’ everyday life, it is clear from our research that the human connection still has a crucial role to play.
“By embracing a more comprehensive approach to guided selling and personalisation, telco retailers can make sure that they are able to offer the right products and services to the right people, at the right time, which reduces the chances of them jumping ship to a competitor, and increases the chances of telcos being able to compete on much more than just mobile phones and contracts.”