How To Use Mystery Shoppers Effectively
Although Mystery Shopping has been used as a tool for evaluating customer service for decades, it is evolving to keep pace with the other technological advances we’ve experienced in the last 15 years. Mystery shopping is an extremely simple concept that has been used widely in the service industry to evaluate the overall experience of the customer and in some cases, how the employees will react when presented with particular scenarios. Trained shoppers posing as normal customers are hired by either the company itself or through a service company specializing in mystery shopper programs.
The mystery shoppers normally receive some type of training that will prepare them to evaluate their shopping experiences and are compensated either with cash payments or through the reimbursement of the products or services they are evaluating. As with all traditional areas of market research, the mystery shopping program is evolving to keep pace with the changes in the marketplace. Mystery shopping programs are currently being used in several industries, including but not limited to retail sales, hospitality, property management, the banking and finance industry, entertainment, travel and even the medical industry. Shopping programs can be used to measure customer service, product quality, sales performance and in some cases even as a tool with which to monitor a company’s competitors. In today’s environment, the increasing use of the internet as a shopping venue, has many retailers focusing once more on customer service which in turn is leading to an increase in the number of companies using mystery shoppers.
Due to the amount of time required to effectively manage a shopping program, it is often more cost effective for business owners to hire a service company that specializes in collecting this information than attempting to do it themselves. Many market research companies offer these services, as well as companies that specialize in training and temporary employment agencies. As the demand for mystery shoppers continues, we are seeing several companies evolving that specialized just in running these types of programs. When attempting to determine how or who you want to hire to run this type of program for you, there are several considerations to be evaluated. First and foremost, you need a company that will not only run the program on the background by tabulating and distributing the data, but one that can also help you create the guidelines for the evaluations on the front end. The company you choose should be able to provide information on their shoppers. Who are they, how do they select them and whether or not they have a large enough pool to draw from to suit your needs.
It is extremely important that the reporting is provided in a timely manner. It does no good to present the results of a shopping experience, two months after the fact when no one can actually remember the visit. You’ll also want to choose a company that understands your type of business and can provide references for similar businesses they have serviced. They should also be willing to guarantee the objectivity of their shoppers and be willing to offer a re-shop if the circumstances warrant it. An effective mystery shopping program has several criteria. Most importantly, the objectives of the program must be clearly defined and communicated to all employees that could be involved. In most cases, mystery shopping programs include rewards for employees who are involved in shops that meet certain criteria.
It is important to make sure that all employees are aware of the criteria being measured and the expectations of the management team. It is also extremely important that the results of the mystery shops are presented to the employees in a positive way. Mystery shop results that have been used to punish or discipline employees will lose their effectiveness very quickly. Scoring systems tend to work the best, however, it is important to use a good mix of both closed and open-ended questions on the evaluation. Measurements should be provided to alleviate any bias. Keeping the questionnaire simply will make it much easier for the shopper to complete. You will also need to make sure that your shoppers are being providing with specific instructions and the opportunity to ask any questions before they agree to the project. In most cases, a mystery shopping program requires an extended commitment of time.
The program is best used over the course of several months or even years as opposed to being a one time check. The basic concept of the mystery shopping program is first; to provide a measurement of service levels, secondly; to identify potential areas of improvement and finally; to provide follow-up and feedback on the effectiveness of the training.
About the Author: Jude Bayley is a seasoned Market Research Professional specializing in broad market mechanics related to market entry, cost of production analysis, consumer surveys, research methodologies, data analysis, economic modeling and online research.
Tags: market research, marketing, Mystery Shoppers