How to Sell Additional Services in the Template Marketplace
This article was authored by a member of the HubSpot developer community, John Aikin.
Selling on the Template Marketplace can be a profitable source of revenue for your business. However, there is a common misconception that the best way to do this is by listing a theme and watching the cash roll in.
Instead, if you sell additional products or services, you’re opening the door to potential long-term clients and a source of revenue that will compound over time. To do this, you must establish a clear objective, process, and roadmap. Read on to learn more.
Benefits of Selling This Way
Web Canopy Studio has participated in the HubSpot marketplace since 2014, and since then, our overall transaction volume exceeds 70K downloads, generating a total of $1.1M in revenue – but >99% of all marketplace transactions have been free. So where did the revenue come from?
Email nurture in post-sale customer acquisition from the marketplace allows us to build trust, authority, and community within our subscriber base. Furthermore, the above numbers don’t include leads generated through other channels –a primary source for most of our revenue.
Common Pitfalls of Marketplace Transactions
All too often, most providers experience the following obstacles:
- Difficulty generating passive income
- Inability to convert sales into long-term clients
- Struggling to keep up with business as usual
Ultimately, this leads to deprioritization and less investment in a project that you were once so excited to explore. But what can you do differently?
The sale of a theme or modules does not mark the end of your customer's journey. Adopting a customer-centric mindset will help you see that installing a template is one piece of a larger experience that should be memorable and satisfying. Roll out the red carpet, build rapport, and create an environment in which your customer eagerly awaits what’s next.
Building an Unforgettable Customer Journey
The secret to scaling a thriving business in the Template Marketplace is all about building strong relationships with your customers. By prioritizing their needs, you’ll create a repeatable framework that drives revenue and happy customers consistently – also known as the customer journey – which we’ve tested and outlined in four simple steps.
- Define the Goal. Start by understanding what success looks like for your customers. Consider gathering feedback by survey, email, or phone.
- Outline the major milestones. Break your customer journey into manageable objectives or waypoints –about three or four.
- Align milestones with your services and products. What might you build or offer that would help your customer achieve each milestone? Keep your focus incremental to ensure you’re building trust in a bite-sized way.
- Build an arsenal of content. Think about different types of content to accompany your products and services at each milestone –including answers to common customer questions.
What To Sell To Your Customers
You might be asking yourself – what could I offer to customers beyond the initial theme purchase? Here are a few tried-and-true focus areas:
- Courses on how to use the product
- Modules or other supplemental tools
- Integrations
- Automation
- Services for customer business gaps
- Migrations and system setup
- Full agency services
Fostering Long-Term Customer Relationships
Increase customer lifetime value. When customers feel valued and supported, they are more likely to continue doing business with you and make additional purchases. Over time, these repeat transactions can have a substantial impact on your bottom line.
Decrease customer acquisition costs. It's easy to think because a theme is purchased and installed through a completely touchless experience that your customer acquisition cost is $0. However, you have to take into account the cost of development and customer support. By focusing on building relationships and providing exceptional service, you can reduce customer churn and lower your customer acquisition costs over time. This strategic investment in relationship-building will pay off in the long run by enabling you to allocate resources more efficiently and boost profitability.
Enhance brand reputation. A strong track record of satisfied customers, glowing reviews, and positive testimonials will help establish your company as a trusted and reliable choice in the Template Marketplace. This reputation will also attract more customers.
Improve customer insights. By engaging with your customers, you'll gain valuable insights into their needs, preferences, and pain points. This information can inform product development, marketing strategies, and customer support initiatives, helping you stay ahead of the competition and maintain relevance in your niche.
Grow customer loyalty. Loyal customers are less likely to switch to competitors and more likely to forgive occasional mistakes or hiccups. They are also more likely to participate in loyalty programs and respond to upselling and cross-selling efforts.
Expand word-of-mouth marketing. Happy customers are more likely to share their positive experiences with your products or services within their personal and professional networks. This organic promotion not only helps increase brand awareness but also brings in new customers without significant advertising costs.
Strengthen brand advocates. Advocates share their experiences on social media, write reviews, and even defend your brand in online discussions, further solidifying your agency's credibility and reputation.
How to Get Started
It’s essential to build a roadmap around additional products and services to ensure increased customer lifetime value and long-term revenue growth. By anticipating customer needs and offering relevant solutions, you build trust and deepen customer relationships, which promotes loyalty and retention.
Additionally, a well-executed plan can reduce customer acquisition costs, as nurturing existing customers is more cost-effective than constantly seeking new ones. Lastly, satisfied customers are likely to spread positive word-of-mouth, expanding your reach and boosting your brand reputation.
Ready to master your product sales in a completely new way? Your journey to successful product launching starts here. Download this free checklist called The Ultimate Roadmap To Launch A Service-Based Product With HubSpot.