When you, our UNDIRA friends, visit a shopping mall or a food court, you certainly don’t just go home with a single item. With every purchase you make, you’re sure to be presented with various other attractive offers to “complement” the item you’ve bought. For example, when you stop by a café to buy coffee, you certainly won’t leave with just the coffee. The barista might say, “Would you like a croissant with that? It’s fresh from the oven and pairs perfectly with the coffee you ordered.”

Well, UNDIRA friends, this example is one marketing technique known as Suggestive Selling. As the name implies, it includes the word “to suggest”. Suggestive Selling is a method used to run a business by offering additional products for purchase.

According to an explanation provided by one of the lecturers in the Management Program at Dian Nusantara University (UNDIRA), Mr. Muhamad Al Faruq Abdullah, S.Kom., M.M., this strategy is not simply one that can be implemented haphazardly at any time. Although it may seem like a simple technique, the timing and the context of the customer’s order are key factors in the effective implementation of Suggestive Selling.

This strategy is generally used to entice customers to purchase “complementary” products that are sometimes needed alongside the first product, even if the price differs slightly from that of the first product.

“Rather than waiting for the customer to ask for more later, the salesperson will suggest additional products that are likely to be useful or enhance satisfaction. Timing is, of course, crucial for Suggestive Selling to hit the mark, especially when the customer is in a good ‘mood.’ A single recommendation can significantly increase the purchase value,” said Mr. Muhamad Al Faruq Abdullah.

Beyond its core principle of complementing a purchase, Suggestive Selling also applies psychological concepts, specifically the idea that when someone buys an item, they are subconsciously drawn to promotional offers for additional items (whether to protect the main product or for other reasons). One relevant principle is the anchoring effect, which explains that the human brain tends to rely on and make decisions based on the first information it receives. For example, when a consumer buys a PlayStation 5 for 11,399,000, an additional offer such as a 3-game bundle worth 350,000 will feel like a great deal (especially when you consider that a single game costs 300,000).

The subtle use of psychosocial phenomena such as FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) among consumers can also increase sales opportunities and add value to the purchase. FOMO ultimately drives consumers to make a purchase right away.

Furthermore, effective self-service options and loyalty programs offered to customers can enhance the effectiveness of suggestive selling. Customers feel free to make their own choices without pressure from salespeople, which actually increases the likelihood that they’ll add more items to their purchase. Meanwhile, loyalty programs such as reward points, membership cards, or special customer vouchers make customers feel more valued and more open to offers for complementary products.

Ultimately, the key to Suggestive Selling isn’t about “selling more,” but about understanding customers’ needs and feelings. When offers feel like assistance rather than coercion, customers are satisfied, and the business profits.

Interested in exploring various real-world marketing and management strategies? From consumer psychology and marketing strategies to business management, you’ll learn it all in the Management Program at Dian Nusantara University (UNDIRA). Here, UNDIRA students don’t just learn theory; they also learn how to apply it directly in the real business world. Ready to become a professional who knows how to “read” the market?