A customer walks through a buying decision and goes on a journey of availing of service to meet specific requirements. During this journey, the customer will experience all the aspects of a service a brand offers. To understand the satisfaction and brand value generated during this journey, a technique is used. It is called mystery shopping.
Mystery shopping is a unique marketing tool that can assist you to understand the level of customer experiences your brand is delivering. It is also an ideal approach to find out where the services you offer can be better. A mystery shopper is hired for the job and he follows the same path as a customer to provide data-driven feedback.
How does mystery shopping work?
Generally, companies hire top service providers to check the level of customer experience delivered in all their business points. This process enables a company to measure intangible customer experience and make it better.
A mystery shopping program is designed based on the predetermined factors of customer service and experience. A feedback form is generated using specific digital tools used by the mystery shopping service provider and distributed to professional shoppers. Reports are generated after every visit resulting in a strong database. Information is then extruded from the data generated to offer actionable insights. These insights are then considered to make necessary changes in customer services.
Common mistakes of mystery shopping
Here is a list of common mistakes that companies should focus on to avoid them.
1. Preferring home-grown approaches, not the scientific ones
Home-grown approaches will not offer proper analytics of the data generated. Thus, it will not be easier to conclude actionable insights. On the other hand, scientific approaches integrating digital analytics tools will ensure the best outcomes for a venture. It will save time, money and other resources and will deliver the right platform to make crucial decisions.
2. Not looking into the research experience
A service provider must have proper experience in developing a personalized mystery shopping approach. His experience will ensure the proper creation, deployment and implementation of the process. Moreover, he will also own a database of professional and experienced mystery shoppers for the service industry. Hence, the whole point of appointing a mystery shopping service will be served well.
3. Not monitoring mystery shoppers
Candidates appointed as mystery shoppers should be well-trained and smart enough to walk through the entire journey of a customer. Many service providers dupe clients by simply creating a made-up report or a general checklist resulting in an inappropriate process. For instance, a telephone mystery shopping process should be monitored by an experienced team leader to avoid common mistakes and to ensure that all the points of this project are touched.
4. Hiring own members
Companies often hire employees for mystery shopping. Even though it might be a good idea but a 3rd-eye view of a service provider will provide unbiased reports.
Avoiding these common mistakes will make the mystery shopping venture more fruitful. Hire an experienced service provider and evaluate customer experience to make your services better.
