Use case · existing customers
Cross- & upselling: how to offer existing customers the next suitable product
Your customers usually only know the product they already have. The PBM Campaign Platform offers every customer the next suitable product – with the argument that matches their profile, and only as often as makes sense.
Definition
What is cross- and upselling in customer communication?
Cross-selling offers an existing customer a complementary product; upselling offers a higher-value version of their existing product. Unlike a mass campaign, a cross-selling journey chooses product, argument, channel and timing per customer – and stops when the customer shows no interest.
Typical mistakes
Why do cross-selling campaigns often feel like junk mail?
Cross-selling rarely fails because of the product. It fails because of the way customers are approached:
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01
Scattergun.
All customers receive the same offer with the same argument.
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02
Wrong moment.
The offer arrives in the middle of a complaint or straight after the onboarding package.
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03
No exit.
Anyone who says ‘not interested’ receives the same offer three weeks later.
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04
Channel without a legal basis.
Emails to customers without the appropriate consent – a legal risk.
Sample journey · example
What does a cross-selling journey look like in practice?
Example: the fictional Regionalbank Musterstadt eG offers current account customers without an investment product a savings plan. All values are example values.
Profile · current account savings plan
- Trigger
periodic – the segment is continuously re-evaluated. Anyone who meets the condition today starts today.
- Segment
Current account for at least 12 months, no savings plan, no open complaint, no objection to marketing.
- Priority
low – onboarding, reinvestment and churn prevention take precedence.
- Re-entry
after 12 months at the earliest.
Steps · current account savings plan
-
Four checks before entry.
Data and consent complete? No previous run? No higher-priority campaign active?
Fields
- [Template fields]
- Argument
Field · argument · 3 variants
SecurityActive in preview
contact.risikoprofil == "konservativ"[Text of the ‘Security’ variant]
Tax advantage
[Rule on approved attribute]FlexibilityDefault
defaultPreview as
[Sample profile 1]
[Preview start]
[Text of the ‘Security’ variant]
Example · demo dataContent editor: ‘Savings plan offer’ template, ‘Argument’ field with the variants Security, Tax advantage and Flexibility (default) – each with its own rule. Fictional sample data. -
Choose the argument.
A rule chooses from the approved argument pool: Security for a conservative risk profile, Tax advantage for suitable approved attributes, otherwise Flexibility.
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Offer (email or letter).
Email only with express marketing consent. Otherwise, a letter is sent automatically. The sender is the responsible adviser. The link leads to the personal landing page with a sample calculation.
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Wait for event: landing page visited (up to 10 days).
Yes → step 6. No → step 5.
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One reminder with the second-best argument.
If there is still no visit after a further 10 days, the journey ends. No third contact.
Reminder 1 of 1
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Condition: lead score of 60 or more?
The score is built from responses such as visits, time spent on the page and use of the sample calculation. Yes → step 7. No → after 7 days, an in-depth follow-up (‘How a savings plan works’), then step 6 again.
SegmentWarm savings plan contacts (score ≥ 60)TargetGoogle Customer Match (example)- Identifiers hashed
- yes
- transferred without consent
- 0
Withdrawal removes from the audience immediately
Example · demo dataOptional: audience sync for warm contacts – identifiers hashed, 0 transferred without consent, a withdrawal removes the contact from the audience immediately. Sample data. -
Adviser handover.
The adviser receives a task with context: ‘Interested in savings plan, read the Security argument.’ The landing page offers an appointment link.
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Wait for event: contract closure reported (up to 30 days).
Notification from the core banking system via API.
Fields
- [Template fields]
- Argument
Field · argument · 3 variants
SecurityActive in preview
contact.risikoprofil == "konservativ"[Text of the ‘Security’ variant]
Tax advantage
[Rule on approved attribute] FlexibilityDefault
default Preview as
[Sample profile 1]
[Preview start]
[Text of the ‘Security’ variant]
- Identifiers hashed
- yes
- transferred without consent
- 0
Withdrawal removes from the audience immediately
Goals
Micro goals: landing page visited · sample calculation used · appointment requested. Primary macro goal: savings plan taken out.
Optional: customers with marketing consent and a high score can be synchronised as an audience with Meta or Google – identifiers hashed, a withdrawal removes them immediately.
Exit paths (exactly one reason per exit)
- Converted: contract closure reported – the journey ends immediately, even in the middle of a waiting period.
- Completed: no response after offer and reminder – re-entry in 12 months at the earliest.
- Negative outcome: the customer clicks ‘Not interested’ on the landing page – the journey ends with no further contact.
- Displaced: a higher-priority campaign starts – this one pauses or steps back.
- Adviser intervention: the adviser removes the customer from the campaign – permanently for this campaign.
- Withdrawal: stops everything immediately.
Variants
What does cross-selling look like in other industries?
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Insurers
InsurersCustomers with motor insurance but no home contents insurance. The sender is the servicing agency. Argument based on living situation. Macro goal: quote requested.
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Automotive & car dealerships
Automotive & car dealershipsWorkshop customers after their inspection. Offer of a maintenance package or seasonal tyre change. The sender is the location’s service adviser, in the dealership’s corporate identity.
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Banks & cooperative banking groups
Banks & cooperative banking groupsas in the example, plus per partner bank in its own brand and with its own adviser.
Personalisation
Which levers determine whether an offer is a good fit?
‘Individual for every recipient – but only with data approved for that purpose.’
- Argument from an approved pool, chosen by rule
- Product based on existing contract
- Sender responsible adviser
- Channel based on consent
- Timing outside ongoing service journeys
- Landing page with personal sample calculation
- Frequency limited by contact caps across all campaigns
‘Relevance instead of volume: fewer but better-suited contacts – across all channels.’
Campaign prioritisation
- 1 Churn preventionhigh
- 2 Reinvestment
- 3 Welcome series
- 4 Current account savings plan
Measure
Which KPIs show whether cross-selling is working?
| KPI | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Landing page visits per argument | Which argument works for which profile |
| Share of warm contacts (score above threshold) | How many show genuine interest |
| Adviser handovers and appointments | Whether sales is making use of the opportunities |
| Closed contracts (macro goal) | The actual success, attributed to the last contact before the contract was closed |
| ‘Not interested’ rate | Whether offer and target group match |
| Unsubscribes and objections per send | Whether the approach is too frequent or inappropriate |
| ‘Displaced’ exit reason | How often higher-priority campaigns took precedence |
No benchmarks without evidence – you define the target values yourself.
Preparation
What should you prepare for cross-selling?
Data
- Product holdings per customer
- Start of the customer relationship
- responsible adviser
- approved attributes for choosing the argument (e.g. risk profile)
- Consent per channel
- Objections to marketing
- open complaints
Consents
- Check whether the offer is a ‘similar’ product within the meaning of Section 7(3) UWG. If not, email only with consent.
Content
- Argument pool (three to four approved arguments)
- Landing page with sample calculation
- Letter template
- Mandatory notices
Rules
- low priority
- Reminder limit
- Re-entry block
- Threshold for adviser handover
Frequently asked questions about cross- & upselling
May I offer existing customers other products by email?
Only to a limited extent. Without express consent, Section 7(3) UWG only permits email marketing for the company’s own similar goods or services if the address was collected in connection with a sale, there is no objection and the notice of the right to object is given. For other products, you need consent. As of September 2026, not legal advice.
How does the platform choose the right argument?
Using rules on approved attributes. You define a pool of approved arguments, such as security, flexibility and tax advantage, and determine which argument appears for which profile. Optionally, the AI suggests arguments; only what has been approved is delivered.
What happens if a customer is not interested?
The journey ends. If the customer clicks ‘Not interested’ on the landing page or does not respond to the offer and reminder, they leave the journey with a fixed exit reason. A re-entry block prevents them from receiving the same offer again shortly afterwards.
When is the adviser involved?
As soon as interest is measurable. A rule-based lead score condenses responses such as landing page visits and time spent on the page. If it exceeds your threshold, the responsible adviser receives a task with context. In their customer card, they can see what the customer has read.
How do I prevent cross-selling from interfering with other campaigns?
With prioritisation and contact frequency management. Cross-selling is given a low priority and pauses while a higher-priority campaign is running for the same customer. Contact caps and minimum intervals also apply across all channels.