Mystery shopping sounds exotic, secretive and, well … mysterious.
What it really is, however, is a form of market research that has far reaching effects on all aspects of your business.
Everyone and everything … from your custodial staff to the CEO and Operations to Finance is affected by the results of a mystery shopping program. Mystery shopping research provides you objective answers to critical issues within your organization.
Mystery shopping uncovers issues that regular customer surveys cannot.
Let’s be truthful here.
When you ask your current customers what they think of your business or their recent experience more often than not, you get the happy face, or the sad face. And the comment ‘you are wonderful’ or ‘c’mon, you’ve got to do better’ may give you some insight – but not actionable feedback.
The truth is with customer surveys, you are relying on a person’s memory to recall what happened. They are not looking for it while in your store, on your site, or on a call.
The responses on customer surveys are subjective based on a person’s prior experience with you, their mood that day, and their willingness to fill out surveys.
Mystery shoppers however are sent in to your establishment to look for specific actions and listen for specific words. Mystery shoppers are contracted to let you know if these things did happen or not. AND tell you how it made them feel.
5 Reasons Your Company Should be Mystery Shopping
If you contract for the services of a mystery shopping company, you will:
- Show your employees that what they do and how they do it matters
Mystery shopping is not spying on your employees. It is doing research to find out how a customer interaction creates a relationship and a paying customer. If something in the employee’s approach needs to be adjusted, you have real data to use to prove it. An employee who knows your purpose is to better serve the customer should not be intimidated by the thought of mystery shopping. Rather they should know how to learn from the feedback provided in reports.
- Show your customers that you care about how they are treated
Customers who know you conduct regular mystery shops know you care about them, your customer. This creates a sense of reassurance in doing business with you.
- Create a consistent pattern of excellence across all platforms
Whether you have 100 locations or 1, your customer needs to expect the same experience at every store – and on every platform. If a person does not have a similar experience in your store, on the web, and on the phone, they will likely move on to someone who can offer that sense of familiarity.
- See your business through your customers’ eyes
You may ask, isn’t that what I do with customer surveys? See above – there are a variety of things that can affect a customer’s recall of an experience. The mystery shopper will be there to understand what the experience is really all about. And let you know what works, and what doesn’t.
- Increase revenue and customer loyalty
A regularly scheduled mystery shopping program assists management in making decisions for operations, marketing, human resources and financing. Implementing changes as the customers’ needs change increases revenue and customer loyalty.
Not knowing what your customer experiences or their reaction to an interaction in your store can be a mystery. Mystery shopping, however, is a revelation into those experiences – and provides the data for you to provide sound, critical solutions.
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Angela can show you how mystery shopping can create customer loyalty – and increase your bottom line! Contact her today to schedule a free consultation.