The Post-Purchase Page That Generated $30,000 IMMEDIATELY — Varun Kundra | Why Cross-Selling Boosts AOV, What Makes Post-Purchase Upsells Work Best, How To Find The Right Cross-Sell Offer, How To Monetize Your Shopify Thank-You Page (#396)

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In this episode, we dive into how to create an effective cross-selling strategy to boost your online store's average order value. 

Our guest Varun Kundra, co-founder of AfterSell, shares practical insights on the psychology behind successful upselling and cross-selling. 

He explains different ways to implement these strategies - in cart, at checkout, and post-purchase. Varun also introduces an innovative "network offers" feature that lets merchants earn passive income by displaying relevant third-party offers on their confirmation pages. 

Learn how personalization, timing, and presentation can significantly impact your cross-selling success.

Topics discussed in this episode: 

• How to get the right cross sell offer. 
• What are the types of cross sell offers. 
• Why cross selling will boost your AOV. 
• How to implement cross-selling post-purchase. 
• Why post-purchase timing creates the perfect upsell opportunity. 
• How to monetize your thank-you page with other brands' products. 
• Why smart merchants are becoming mini retail media networks. 
• The most effective post-purchase upsell implementation revealed. 
• How to earn passive income displaying 3rd party offers on Shopify. 

Links & Resources 

Website: https://www.aftersell.com/
Shopify App Store: https://apps.shopify.com/aftersell
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vk1/
X/Twitter: https://x.com/varkundra

Get access to more free resources by visiting the show notes at
https://tinyurl.com/hha27ypz

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Transcript

[00:00:00] This episode is sponsored by Brevo. Time to take your marketing to the next [00:00:05] level. Brevo is the all-in-one marketing platform that helps you connect with customers through email, [00:00:10] SMS, WhatsApp and automation, all from one easy to use platform. Keep your customer data [00:00:15] organized, personalize every message and drive real engagement effortlessly.

Try Brevo for free, or use [00:00:20] ECB to save 50% on start and business plans for the first three months of an [00:00:25] annual subscription. Head to brevo. Today, you will find a link also in the [00:00:30] show notes.

[00:00:35] Hello, welcome to another episode of the E-Commerce Coffee Break podcast. Today we want to talk about ways on how [00:00:40] to increase your average order value, your A OV. Now a very effective strategy to [00:00:45] do that is to use cross-selling, and we wanna dive deeper into that, what kind of strategies you [00:00:50] can follow, and what kind of features you need to have to get most out of it.

For [00:00:55] that, joining me on the show today is Varun Kundra. He's the co-founder of After Sell a Shopify app [00:01:00] used by over 20,000 brands to boost average order value with an upselling and cross-Selling [00:01:05] After Sell was acquired by rta.com this year. And we wanna dive a little bit into this, and [00:01:10] I'd like to welcome Varun.

Hi Varun, how are you today? Hey, gloss. Thanks for having me. I'm doing great. Let's dive [00:01:15] into it. So cross-selling, upsell, cross-sell, all of that. Tell me what's the [00:01:20] psychology behind that? What is the thought process behind this whole [00:01:25] thing? Yeah, absolutely. So the context is that today, customer acquisition [00:01:30] costs are an all time high and they're ever increasing.

In that environment, it's really [00:01:35] important to maximize your A OV, right? You wanna make the most out of each shopper. And [00:01:40] one of the most compelling ways to do that is through upsells and cross sells. And you know, that's kind of [00:01:45] the thesis behind our whole business. We started the business about four years ago, and we started with doing [00:01:50] it post-purchase.

So that means right after you check out. We create this full landing page with [00:01:55] another offer, and then we also continue to grow that to check out as well as to cart. [00:02:00] So yeah, now we have a full upselling platform that's become the go-to platform in Shopify. [00:02:05] Mm-hmm. Why is it that customers often say yes to additional products?

I mean, they wanna [00:02:10] buy one thing in the first place and then there is something that make them buy more. How does that work? [00:02:15] Yeah, al that work the best are from people who really understand the consumer [00:02:20] psychology. So it's all about positioning and framing, right? Like if you're going through a [00:02:25] purchase and then you see, you know, right after you have a euphoria moment of completing the transaction, you [00:02:30] see a personalized, relevant offer with perhaps a discount or like a full [00:02:35] landing page that explains like why it's compelling.

That'll work a lot better than just, you know, some [00:02:40] random offer that. It doesn't really look nice or like have much accompanying copy or things [00:02:45] like that. Um, it's all about relevance and understanding, like why someone would purchase, [00:02:50] as you're saying. And the answer depends, per store depends per, you know, customer [00:02:55] persona.

All these things are, are important to maximize the effect of cross-selling and upselling. [00:03:00] You mentioned personalization. How important is that? How important is that you [00:03:05] get something for, I don't know, your user behavior, or how do you find out to [00:03:10] offer the right product? It is important. We try to enable it as much as possible.

Uh, like even, [00:03:15] even something as simple as having like the person's name on the upsell offer makes a difference. [00:03:20] That's what we allow merchants to do is like, you know, just saying like, Hey, Klaus, like you've unlocked X, Y, z [00:03:25] offer. That's more effective than just saying even locked X, Y, Z offer. Something as small as that [00:03:30] makes a difference.

And on a deeper level, we have, uh, we have a system where people can [00:03:35] create different funnels. So different customer journeys can be targeted with different [00:03:40] types of offers. And the more you're able to tap into that, the more you're able to, you know, understand those [00:03:45] customer journeys and show different offers that are relevant for those types of customer journeys, [00:03:50] the more effective you'll be.

I wanna learn a little bit more about these different funnels. Now obviously these [00:03:55] funnels might have different entry points. We're talking about in card, about [00:04:00] checkout, post purchase, upsells, confirmation pages. There's different ways to do that. [00:04:05] Talk me through the different ways on how to get some one to buy more.

So, yeah, there's a bunch of [00:04:10] different ways. So it starts with cart. Uh, so we have a full slider cart product where we allow [00:04:15] merchants to create a cart that feels on brand, and then also has these ways to boost AOVs. [00:04:20] There's direct, like upsells and cross sells. So at the bottom it's like, you know, it kind of shows a carousel [00:04:25] where there's a bunch of additional items that you can add to cart.

We also have this concept of [00:04:30] add-ons where it's a bit different, but it's also an upsell, but it's a bit different in the way it's [00:04:35] implemented. It's more used for things like. Shipping protection or extended warranty, or these [00:04:40] kinds of like things where it's not a direct new product. It's kind of like enhancing what you're already [00:04:45] purchasing in some way.

Then in checkout, we have offers that are like almost part of the [00:04:50] checkout, so it feels native, you know, it feels like it's. Just right there [00:04:55] at the right moment. And then lastly, post-purchase. Like I mentioned, we have a full page [00:05:00] where we can kind of create a landing page, and I think that's actually the most effective for [00:05:05] generating additional revenue just because it's right after the [00:05:10] transaction.

So, you know, whenever you buy something, there is a little bit of a dopamine that happens and that [00:05:15] that kind of primes the, the shopper to see this offer and be receptive to it. And also it's like a [00:05:20] full page. So there's really nothing else to be distracted by or think about. Okay. The [00:05:25] dopamine kick makes me almost feeling bad as a marketeer, but it definitely works now [00:05:30] if I don't have a product to upsell.

I understand you came up with something that I [00:05:35] have never heard before, so basically you can have products from someone else in there. What is [00:05:40] that about? As you mentioned earlier on or now, part of a larger company called Rocked [00:05:45] and Rocked was really an enterprise company. What they do is they, they show.

Third party [00:05:50] offers on sites like Best Buy, Ticketmaster. Uh, so you'll be browsing [00:05:55] on these sites. You'll check out, and then when you complete your purchase, they'll show you an offer from [00:06:00] another blue chip company. Like they'll show an offer from HelloFresh or Audible or Disney [00:06:05] Plus. And this is pretty interesting because what's happening here is we're [00:06:10] allowing these sites to become.

Basically retail media networks like on Best Buy on [00:06:15] Ticketmaster. Now they're leveraging that really valuable real estate they have for other companies. [00:06:20] So now it's basically an advertising model where Disney Plus Audible, all these [00:06:25] companies will pay per click for the shoppers on Ticketmaster, on Best Buy.[00:06:30] 

You know, this is, like I said, very interesting and it's very valuable for [00:06:35] these enterprise brands. Uh, but we noticed it wasn't a thing on Shopify, so we kind of [00:06:40] wanted to steal this idea that worked so well in the enterprise and bring it to this ecosystem of [00:06:45] emerging brands. And that's kind of how the whole acquisition came about.

That's what we're focused on, you know, in the [00:06:50] next couple years. Okay. How do I find this third party [00:06:55] brand that has something that works with my product as a cross-sell, as an upsell? How does that [00:07:00] work? Yeah, great question. So that's really rock's job. The job of, of our product is to make [00:07:05] sure that the offers are personalized and are relevant.

There's hundreds of advertisers. So [00:07:10] there's enough breadth out there that you know, there will be something that is relevant. For your store and for your [00:07:15] shoppers. And that's also just like really very much in like the long-term incentive of our [00:07:20] company, right? Like if we can't show personalized relevant offers, those offers won't [00:07:25] convert.

And if they won't convert, then you won't be happy as the merchant and the advertisers won't be happy [00:07:30] either. We are on the podcast, we cannot really show the app in real life. Um, talk me [00:07:35] through the, the way on how you implement that and how do you control it? There might be advertisers, but [00:07:40] having products that you don't want to have or the otherwise you wanna be picky.

How does it work? [00:07:45] Yeah, so the actual implementation for Shopify brands is within after sell now. So, [00:07:50] you know, you just install the Afterall app and there's a page for network offers and you can basically set [00:07:55] it up there. Yeah, you can block certain domains. So for example, if you don't [00:08:00] want some x, Y, Z advertiser, you can block that advertiser's domain and you can also block [00:08:05] verticals and sub-verticals.

So if you don't want a category of advertising, you can block that entire [00:08:10] category. And yeah, you can also make sure that the offers look like they're part of your [00:08:15] store. Um, so we allow merchants to kind of change the ui. The color is always kind of the things to make it [00:08:20] feel like it's part of the brand.

And that's another just important part for conversion as well. [00:08:25] Now coming back to increasing average order value, where do I earn as a merchant on [00:08:30] this kind of partnership? Yeah, so the way it works is that the advertisers pay per click [00:08:35] and then half of the revenue that's earned from that is shared with the merchant.

Uh, [00:08:40] so it's a 50 50 Okay. Rev share model. Um, and. For the merchant, it's pure [00:08:45] profit, right? Like there's no associated costs with, with doing that. And for us, um, there's, there's lots of [00:08:50] costs obviously, but uh, in a way it's really like the merchant gets 90% of the profit [00:08:55] and 10% of the profit goes to our company.

Can you give me an example? And you don't need to name the [00:09:00] brand on what kind of results a merchant saw by implementing this kind of [00:09:05] solution. Sure, happy to talk about some of the brands that that we work with. We work with lots [00:09:10] of top brands on Shopify True Classic Jones for Beauty Skims. I won't go into [00:09:15] their specifics like you mentioned, but basically it's based on how many transactions they have.

So [00:09:20] one of the largest brands we work with has like hundreds of thousands of transactions a month, and [00:09:25] so, you know, they're able to generate 30 cents for every single [00:09:30] transaction so that that can be like 30,000 a month in pure profit. Just from this [00:09:35] concept. And now a quick break to thank the sponsors of today's episode.

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Get started for [00:10:15] free or use code ECB to save 50% on starter and business plans for the first three [00:10:20] months of an annual subscription. Head over to bvo.com/ecb and take your [00:10:25] marketing further with bvo. You will find the link in the show notes. Okay. You know, that sounds very interesting. [00:10:30] How does the implementation work?

Do I need to do some homework or what's kind of the [00:10:35] setup structure to get it up and running? Yeah, we've made it as simple as possible. Um, so [00:10:40] it's within after sell, you install, after sell. There's a page dedicated just for this, this whole [00:10:45] concept of network offers within 10 minutes. You can enable it.

Basically that page, what [00:10:50] it allows you to do is, like I mentioned, kind of change the ui, change the colors, make sure that the [00:10:55] offers look like they're part of your brand. Um, and then you can also, you know, edit the verticals that [00:11:00] you want to show or, or block. Super simple. Mm-hmm. Can I do this on a [00:11:05] product level or a collection level, or is it just a general implementation?

How [00:11:10] far goes the, the tuning there? Yeah, so for network offers specifically, the idea is that [00:11:15] it shows on the order confirmation page. It's not based on like what's being purchased. [00:11:20] The offers that show may, you know, be personalized based on what's purchased, but it'll [00:11:25] be showing regardless of what's bought.

It's not funnel specific. Now what you can do is that you [00:11:30] can edit the visibility of the offer. So for example, let's say you just wanna do a test and you wanna show it for [00:11:35] half of your customers or 25% of your customers. You can edit that visibility within [00:11:40] the app so that you know for now you're testing, you don't wanna show it to everyone.

You can do that, but. [00:11:45] There's no like setup that, you know, you'll show X, y, Z offers for [00:11:50] specific products. It's, it's really like our job to, you know, [00:11:55] personalize the offers and make it relevant. Mm-hmm. Now I see there an opportunity to have it the [00:12:00] other way around if I, with my brand, want to be on the confirmation pages of other brands.

[00:12:05] Uh, yeah. You said Rocked is dealing with that. Is that possible and how does it work? Absolutely. [00:12:10] Um, it is possible. It's something that we're. Actively exploring right now. Advertising on Rock [00:12:15] has been mostly, like I said, in the enterprise and with these larger brands, but we are starting [00:12:20] to work with, you know, these emerging brands.

As an advertiser, it's kind of more of a trial period [00:12:25] for us, but absolutely something that's possible. Again, it just really depends on, you know, the [00:12:30] brand awareness and how, what specific offer they're trying to do, what success looks like for them. [00:12:35] Who's your perfect customer? Are there specific industries or niche that, um, are really working [00:12:40] well with that?

So I would say there's no specific vertical [00:12:45] or niche that works really, really well. Like honestly, our product has mass appeal. [00:12:50] As long as you have more than one product that you wanna. Upsell. It's usually pretty [00:12:55] effective, even if you have one product, you know, some, some people just upsell the same product.

You [00:13:00] could do that, and they have like a discount or they, they upsell like a, you know, a larger quantity of their [00:13:05] product. So really like, yeah, basically any store almost can use after sell. [00:13:10] Yeah. And we, we have stores like in, in basically all the countries that Shopify operates on. [00:13:15] Okay. Cool. That sounds good.

Tell me a little bit about the pricing structure. We price [00:13:20] based on order volume and based on what parts of our product are being used. So like I [00:13:25] mentioned, we have three components. Um, we have checkout, we have cart, and we have [00:13:30] post-purchase. And then our pricing is based on how many orders a month [00:13:35] the, the shoppers have.

So it goes from 35 to 800 now for [00:13:40] post-purchase, and I think it's about 35 to 200 for a cart. [00:13:45] Checkout is a flat $99 a month. Yeah, it's based on which modules are being used and then [00:13:50] the network offers that I talked about that one. There's no pricing 'cause we actually pay you as sub [00:13:55] merchant. Um, it's a way to generate, so, okay.

You mentioned before that you [00:14:00] can adjust the look and feel to your brand. Is this a no code solution [00:14:05] or do I need help from a developer or from your side? Yeah, so throughout the app and all the different modules [00:14:10] and ways that we help merchants generate revenue, we've tried to maximize how much [00:14:15] merchants can.

Personalize their offers and change the look and feel in a no-code way. [00:14:20] So whatever is basically possible within the Shopify's APIs, we've, we've tried to do. [00:14:25] Okay, cool. For me, it sounds like a great solution to, to bring just other [00:14:30] brands into your brand, other third party products into your brand, and then [00:14:35] basically, as you said, make a ton of money without any further work from your side.

Before we come to the [00:14:40] end of the coffee break today, is there anything else that you wanna share with our listeners? No, [00:14:45] honestly, like, uh, you know, happy to be part of the podcast. If anyone is, you know, has any questions, feel [00:14:50] free to message me. I'm on Twitter, I'm on LinkedIn. Yeah. Cool. Excellent. I will put the [00:14:55] links in the show notes, so then you will be just one click away.

A lot of people will come over to you [00:15:00] and check it out again after Sell hand. Also rocked out two companies that [00:15:05] are around for a very long time, so they're not new players in the market. And I think the [00:15:10] concept that you came up with is brilliant, just. Gives you a way to make more money [00:15:15] with not putting additional work on your plate.

So definitely something that merchants should try out. [00:15:20] Varun, thanks so much for your time today and hope to talk soon. Thanks. [00:15:25] Before you leave, don't forget to visit the sponsor of today's episode. Time to take your marketing to the next [00:15:30] level. REVO is the all-in-one marketing platform that helps you connect with customers through email, [00:15:35] SMS, WhatsApp and automation, all from one easy to use platform.

Keep your customer data [00:15:40] organized, personalize every message, and drive real engagement effortlessly. Try B Bravo for free or [00:15:45] use ECB to save 50% on starter and business plans for the first three months of an [00:15:50] annual subscription. Head to bvo.com/ecb Today you will find a link also in [00:15:55] the show notes. Hey Sia.

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