What are mystery shopping programs?
Mystery shopping or ‘Secret Shopping’ is a process that allows business owners to keep abreast of the quality of service they are providing and identify any product knowledge, training or compliance issues. Shoppers gather data in a number of ways such as asking detailed questions, making a purchase or registering a complaint. The data collected can be for the business owner's store or for competitors.
In essence, mystery shopping allows business owners to ensure their staff are delivering on their brand promise. Typical industries where mystery shopping programs are implemented include retail, hospitality (restaurants, hotels etc), banking, airlines and other service industries.
Why should organisations use mystery shopping?
Mystery shopping provides an ideal method for organisations to measure their customer's experience, right from first impressions to purchase and after-sales service. The data collected provides a snapshot of a brand in action, allowing stakeholders to identify problems in the sales process and take appropriate action.
What are the advantages of MYSTERY SHOPPING programs?
Undertaking a mystery shopping program offers many benefits to businesses such as:
Improve customer satisfaction: Create an exceptional customer service culture, gain more repeat customers and referrals while attracting more new customers and increasing profits.
Maximise advertising spend: Ensure the branding promise is delivered on the retail floor.
A competitive edge: Understand how your business performs in relation to customer service, pricing, product quality and more when compared to your competition.
Identifying problems: Early detection of potential problems.
Identify training needs: Reduce training costs by identifying specific training needs.
Reward high-performing staff: Sales numbers don't always tell the full story. Know who your high-performers in customer service are and reward them accordingly.
What can be measured WITH MYSTERY SHOPPING?
Some of the elements which can be measured include:
Sales performance: How are your sales staff performing? Do they have sufficient training? How do they interact with their customers? Are they building rapport? How do they handle objections and complaints?
Product knowledge: Do all staff have the required product knowledge? Are they able to recommend appropriate products? Can they upsell?
Store presentation: Is the presentation of your products, store and staff up to standard? Are there any issues relating to cleanliness or hygiene?
Delivery and return procedures: How are issues relating to repair, warranty and installation handled?
Product quality: Is the presentation of your products, store and staff up to standard? Are there any issues relating to cleanliness or hygiene?
Buying experience: Is the overall purchase experience positive? Do procedures need to be modified? Are add-on sales opportunities being capitalised on?
SOLUTIONS
Competitor Mystery Shopping
“Whether it’s Google or Apple or free software, we’ve got some fantastic competitors and it keeps us on our toes.” – Bill Gates. Understanding your competitors and what makes them successful in the eyes of the customer gives you great insight. Investing in competitor mystery shopping allows for better understanding of your potential market share.
Being aware of your competition’s products, services, prices and customer experience credo is a basic necessity to stay abreast of the current market and to ensure you are providing your customers with the best possible service or product.
Competitor mystery shopping ensures you stay abreast of your competitors, keep your customers satisfied and gives you insights to increase your market share. Are there opportunity gaps in your service and product offering? Mystery shopping provides accurate, measurable data on your competition, allowing for strategic and informed business decisions.
ID Compliance Mystery Shopping
ID or Age Compliance should be front of mind to any retailer within the alcohol or tobacco industry. Using mystery shopping to ensure the correct checks and protocols are being enforced is not only proactive, but averts future risk.
ID Compliance mystery shopping provides important intel and helps to avoid penalties, fines or the potential loss of licence. Being able to select shoppers aged between 18 – 25 years old allows issues to be addressed with staff before regulatory bodies become involved.
Compliance checks can be used as a stand-alone program or be incorporated into your current mystery shopping program. Data can then be evaluated and analysed for a range of insights used for training, strategy or compliance regulation reporting. Documenting your good track record and forward-thinking, committed approach.
SUPER SHOPPER
Super Shoppers are skilled secret shoppers that make detailed observations above and beyond regular mystery shopping. They provide careful feedback on the customer experience and can supply appropriate and subjective information to assist with strategic planning and development.
Unlike mystery shopping where specific pre-determined standards are assessed, a Super Shopper takes a more qualitative approach and is able to report on a series of detailed assessment criteria identifying specific problems and missed opportunities.
Our Super Shopper program provides businesses with the observations and recommendations they require to better understand what drives outstanding customer service and successful sales.
CALL CENTRE MYSTERY SHOPPING
How important is the Call Centre interaction for your brand/business? For many businesses this experience is the only source of personal interaction your customers have with you.
Do your call centre staff deliver the brand promise? With the potential to influence large volumes of customers on a daily basis, it is essential the actual customer experience is in line with the planned customer journey and brand promise.
Mystery shopping provides true insight into how employees are interacting with customers, giving you a complete measure of service.
Call Centre Phone mystery shopper assessments can explore; wait time, compliance to operational protocols and brand standards, accuracy of information provided, upsell/add on skill, follow up measurement and outcomes for different times of the day and days of the week.
Whilst post customer satisfaction surveys can have poor uptake rates and are often completed by customers with negative experiences, mystery shopping provides a qualified and thorough evaluation, negative or positive!
Phone Mystery Shopping
The unique customer experience interaction that occurs during a phone call is a critical element to the customer journey. For some businesses this experience is the only source of personal interaction your customers have with you. In other cases the outcome of the call will determine the customer’s next steps.
Do your staff deliver the brand promise when they are speaking to potential customers? Mystery shopping provides true insight into how staff are interacting with customers, giving you a complete measure of service.
Phone mystery shopper assessments can explore: wait time, compliance to operational protocols and brand standards, accuracy of information provided, upsell/add on skill, follow up measurement and outcomes for different times of the day and days of the week.
WEB and EMAIL MYSTERY SHOPPING
Web and Email enquiries are a golden opportunity for you quickly and easily build customer rapport and brand loyalty. Unfortunately for many businesses, this opportunity is either lost or turned into a business detractor.
Mystery shopping the email enquiry journey from the moment the customer clicks on your website to the return response has the ability to showcase exactly where your staff and processors shine as well as where and how practices can be improved.
Mystery Shoppers are fully briefed on your service standards and are provided with pre-determined enquiries providing you with a full experience spectrum.
Web and Email enquiry mystery shopper assessments can explore; website navigation, ease of enquiry process, date and time response, accuracy of information provided, compliance to operational protocols and brand standards, follow up and outcomes in different times of the day and days of the week.
LIVE CHAT MYSTERY SHOPPING
Customers use Live Chat to obtain instant answers in real time. But how often is this really achieved? Live Chat has the potential to assist your customers exactly when they need it and when the personal assistance of Live Chat is delivered efficiently and accurately, it leads to a higher probability of purchase and higher overall order value.
What if customers aren’t getting their queries answered adequately? What impact does a poor Live Chat service do to your brand promise? Mystery Shopping can help ensure Live Chat is working effectively for your business.
Live Chat mystery shopper assessments can explore; wait time for first response, handling of specific enquiries, accuracy of information provided, compliance to operational protocols and brand standards, upsell/add on ability, follow up measurement, website navigation and outcomes in different times of the day and days of the week.
CLICK AND COLLECT MYSTERY SHOPPING
Click and Collect offers consumers an easy option for product purchase and collection fulfillment, at the same time offering retailers reduced operational costs and the opportunity to influence impulse purchases.
Mystery shopping has the ability to measure that the Click and Collect process, and help ensure the brand promise is being delivered.
Click and Collect mystery shopper assessments can explore; website navigation, ease of purchase, product quality, product reality versus expectations, pick up experience and outcomes in different times of the day and days of the week.
Home Delivery MYSTERY SHOPPING
Home delivery today is no longer a luxury, and is simply viewed as standard practice. With modern smart devices and an abundance of delivery businesses offering anything from chocolate ice cream to pet food, from washing machines to long stem red roses, customers’ expectations are rising.
To gain the competitive edge businesses must provide customers with the best possible customer experience – product purchase must be conducted with ease, the delivery journey must be clearly and concisely communicated and delivery quality and timing must be on point at the final destination.
Home Delivery mystery shopper assessments can explore; product quality, website navigation, ease of purchase, product journey communication, delivery instruction follow through, delivery fees calculation, upsell/add on skills and outcomes in different times of the day and days of the week.
Finding the best MYSTERY SHOPPING Company
The Realise Group have been developing mystery shopping programs in Australia for over a decade 20 years and helped many of this country’s leading brands understand exactly what it is they’re delivering to their customers. Contact us today for more information.
The Realise Group is a member of the Mystery Shopping Professionals Association (MSPA).