There are many factors that work together to make a mystery shopping program successful. However, no matter how much support your program receives from management, it will not be sustainable, consistent and successful without the full participation of your frontline staff.
The MSPA (Mystery Shopping Providers Association) commissioned a study in 2005 to quantify the mystery shopping market. The study conservatively estimated the U.S mystery shopping industry at $600 million and growing (The MSPA now estimates the number to be closer to 800 million), with mystery shopping companies growing at an estimated 11.1% between 2004 and 2005
A comprehensive mystery shopping program uses a combination of components that work synergistically to develop the vital data store managers need to effect change. One of those components is IVR (interactive voice response).
Unfortunately, some IVR vendors have chosen to position IVR surveys as a replacement for mystery shopping. This is erroneous, since these approaches provide different types of data, one based on subjective recollection and the other based on objective observation.
Further proof that the scope and advantage of mystery shopper programs extends well beyond that of a perfunctory customer service evaluation is their effectiveness as a tool for conducting competitive audits - and for building a body of competitive intelligence that can be used to inform your own product, staffing and service-based decisions as well as long-term strategic development.
As we’ve talked about before, the best users of mystery shopping programs offer additional methods to capture data that can be used to make necessary improvements. The reason why these different strategies work together to create such a comprehensive program is because they offer a variety of perspectives that, when combined, give great insight into the total customer experience. For the most part, mystery shopping programs look at the customer experience from the viewpoint of the customer and that of the store staff.
Once upon a time, you could enter a store and expect to be met by a friendly, helpful sales associate. Today, in many cases, you’re lucky if you can even find a sales associate to ask a simple question.
In a study conducted by STORES/BIGResearch, 19% of shoppers believe rude employees are at the core of poor customer service. With the next overly-indulged generation of sales associates about to come of age, today’s customer service is not likely to improve.
Integrity is a big word when it comes to mystery shopping programs. In terms of the shopper, the data and of course the provider. A program’s success is directly linked to the “buy in” from associates. If they do not believe in the program; How can the program work?
Choosing a Mystery Shopping Provider can seem like a daunting task. There are many to choose from who all seem to offer more or less the same services. What are the best criteria to use when making your choice? Are there specific points to consider? Of course there are. Here are the top five mistakes many companies make when choosing a provider.
While some people may say retail is retail, there’s actually a marked difference between outlet stores and traditional retail stores in terms of traffic, customer relationships and frontline staff performance.
The typical outlet shopper isn’t as much interested in assistance from staff as they are in finding the good bargains. They’re more willing to search through merchandise for good deals and don’t expect to receive the same level of personal attention as when shopping in a retail location.
One of the most beguiling and frustrating elements of a mystery shopping program is the dreaded Request for Score Change. More gray hairs appear on the heads of mystery shop managers over this than any other element they must deal with.
And how the Request for Score Change is handled is crucial to the success of the mystery shopping program. It’s the proverbial ‘fork in the road’: will this task be used to give the program teeth, or will the program become a joke, subverting the lofty goals and aspirations held by all concerned?
