WHAT IS MYSTERY SHOPPING?

Also known as; Secret Shopping, Mystery Customers, Secret shoppers, Secret Diners, Customer Service Evaluators… The list goes on and on.  But what does it all mean? 

Mystery Shopping is the evaluation, collection and analysis of data relating to customer service levels.  Mystery Shopping can be performed on your business or your competitors business for comparative analysis. 

Primarily, Mystery Shopping began with companies conducting their own surveys to evaluate their customer service. Once these companies realised the full potential of Mystery Shopping and the valuable benefits they could receive from this data, Mystery Shopping was taken to a whole new level.  It became a service that was outsourced to larger companies who could employ greater numbers of Mystery Customers and who had the ability, not to mention the time, to conduct the surveys and collate and analyse the data. 

This allowed these leading companies to spend more time training their employees on good customer service practices rather than organising the evaluation process.  Outsourcing your Mystery Shopping will free up your valuable time and resources.  It will also ensure you receive a professional result and objective reports.

This popular service has now been adapted to include almost every type of business including retail, services, banking, display homes, hospitality, education and even theme parks and airlines. 

There are virtually no limitations to Mystery Shopping.

Different version of Mystery Shopping now include; visiting your premises in person, calling the premises to evaluate how well telephone inquiries are handled and now we can even evaluate the performance of your website, which is particularly useful if you use it to sell products.

Another addition to Mystery Shopping is to evaluate your competitors.  This is a fantastic opportunity to see what kind of service your competitors are offering.  If a customer visits your store then wants to "shop around," what level of customer service are they receiving elsewhere?  Performing Comparative Mystery Shopping will identify the strengths and weaknesses of your closest competition and the results will show you how to become the leader in your chosen field.

If you've never had surveys conducted on your company before, or if you have and you've been using the same company for an eternity, now is a great time to consider something new.  Customers are changing, their shopping habits are changing and their expectations are changing. 

Implementing a new Mystery Customer Programme is the first important step you should take to retain more customers and build customer loyalty.

Updating your old Mystery Customer Programme is just as important as up-dating your stock, your shop fit or your company image.  It should be done regularly and your programme should be a flexible addition to your company. 

Improving your customer service levels will make your business more profitable because;

"happier customers spend more money and return more often."