Looking for ways to implement membership upsells? Here are some great and proven strategies to upsell in your membership program.
Whether you want to sell more products or get existing members to upgrade their tiers for more revenue – it works the same way. Let’s get right into it!
How to Upsell in Your Membership Program
Email Marketing is Your Best Friend
Email marketing is one of the most effective and proven ways to upsell within your membership program.
As Mike Maynard, CEO of Napier, points out, email marketing has been around for decades, and its key strength lies in the ability to segment, target, and personalize messages to your audience.
While trends like TikTok or REDNote may come and go, email marketing remains just as powerful as ever.
Since you’re already marketing to your existing members, they’re “warmer” leads and more likely to respond to upsells, especially when you know their preferences and can offer personalized rewards.
Segment, Personalize, Reward
To really succeed in upselling within your membership program, segmentation and personalization are key, no matter which channels you use.
It’s like trying to sell adult diapers to 18-to-25-year-olds in a pharmacy – it just doesn’t make sense!
The best way to personalize your upsells is through a CRM that collects data and builds customer profiles in real time. But even without one, you can still get creative.
For example, using a POS (point-of-sale) system can help you track what members are interested in.
Let’s say you want to upsell hotel suites in a specific location; you could filter your members by things like their preferred locations, travel dates, and spending habits.
Then, you can reach out to them directly with deals that match their preferences, using their email or phone number.
Offer a Free Trial of Premium Goods & Services
Offering a free version or at least a free trial of your membership program is one of the best ways we’ve found to naturally upsell.
When members can try out certain benefits without committing right away, it not only makes it easier for new members to join but also warms them up to the idea of upgrades or additional upsells.
A great example of this is Grab, which started as a ride-hailing app but has grown into a major lifestyle platform.
They offer “Grab Unlimited,” a membership that gives discounts on minimum spending for GrabFood, their food delivery service.
For example, with a minimum spend of around $5.65, members get $1.60 off – nearly 30% off.
Paid members get 15 of these discount vouchers a month.
Grab uses this to target people who already use their food delivery service, offering these promotions to help them get used to the perks, which ultimately boosts their membership numbers and increases customer lifetime value.
Bulk Deals & Bundle Upgrades
Another upselling strategy we love to use for our clients is bulk deals and bundle upgrades.
While this is often seen as cross-selling, it’s also a great way to upsell.
The trick is to really understand what your customers want, offer them a great deal, and then encourage behaviors that lead them to spend more.
One simple way to do this is by rewarding members for bringing others in.
For example, let’s say you’re offering a hotel deal where members can get a second room for 40% off.
This encourages them to invite friends or family, and once they get used to traveling with others, they might continue doing it, even when there’s no discount.
You can also bundle in extra perks, like offering a free spa day with a hotel stay.
This not only gives them something extra to look forward to but also builds a habit, making them more likely to book the spa again next time.
It’s a great way to upsell and increase the value of your customers over time.
Utilize Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)
Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is a powerful tool you can use in your upselling strategy, but we recommend using it carefully and not overdoing it.
FOMO creates a sense of urgency by using time-limited offers, pushing users to act quickly or risk missing out.
While it can drive quick action, if used too much, it can lead to member burnout and frustration, causing them to leave or not renew their memberships.
That’s why it’s important to strike the right balance between creating urgency and maintaining a positive customer experience.
If you’re using FOMO, pair it with other communication channels like email, SMS, or social media, especially if users have more time to make a decision.
For immediate action, popup notifications work well—like the flash lunch promotion we mentioned earlier with GrabFood.
Adding a countdown timer on your landing page or in your email is another effective way to spark FOMO.
Don’t believe us? Take a look at any successful FOMO campaign, and you’ll see it’s a must-have feature!
Brand Higher Tiers With Exclusivity & Luxury
If you want to upsell your members to higher tiers, it’s all about how you brand those tiers.
Depending on your business and industry, giving your higher tiers a sense of luxury and exclusivity can really encourage top-tier customers to upgrade.
A simple but effective way to do this is by using tier names like “silver,” “gold,” or “platinum” (you’re probably already doing this).
But you can take it further by adding phrases like “limited to XX members,” tapping into that FOMO strategy we mentioned earlier.
To really highlight the exclusivity and luxury, focus on adding value-added perks that go beyond your core offerings—things like premium customer support, complimentary gifts on arrival, or exclusive lanes that let members skip the line.
These small but meaningful touches elevate the experience for your members, making them feel special and deepening their loyalty.
Implement Controlled Friendly Competition (Leaderboard)
Another great way to subtly upsell to your members is by introducing friendly competition.
One effective method is using a leaderboard system.
This approach works well because it displays rankings based on different criteria, such as within circles of friends and family, by city, state, country, or even globally. The criteria can be tailored to your specific goals.
For instance, in a hotel membership program, you could base the leaderboard on points earned or the number of benefits redeemed.
This encourages members to earn more points or claim specific benefits, with many motivated by the idea of being just a few points away from climbing to the top.
The “just a few more points” mentality is a powerful upselling tool. It not only drives engagement but also gets people talking about the leaderboards outside of your membership community—like in Facebook groups (see the example image below).
This buzz is also a great way to raise awareness and get members interested in promotions and special deals!
Not Sure How to Upsell to Your Members?
If you’re feeling unsure about how to upsell to your members, don’t worry—you’re not alone. Getting the most out of your Reach out today using the button below, and let’s chat about how to level up your program – it’s free with no strings attached!
