So why bother with mystery shopping and how important is it for your brand? The answer is extremely important if you want to stay relevant and continue to evolve and adapt for your market. Let’s explore how this works instore for the retail brand.
What does the mystery shopper assess?
When customers cross the threshold of a store, that retailer is exposed right from the get-go. Everything about the company is laid bare so it’s important to get this right. We can have our mystery shoppers look at everything from the greeting on arrival assessed to the service, upselling, product information and expertise. It might be you want to look at the physical aspect of the business, how easy is it for your customers to find what they want. How is your layout helping your sales, is the signage clear, does your store flow in a way that facilitates sales? What about your packaging? Is it appealing to customers?
The Process
So, what happens and how does it help you as a business? The mystery shopper enters your store with a set of pre-agreed assessment criteria that we have developed together. They come away with scores on the areas you have asked to be examined. You then receive a report with all the detail you need to see your business from the perspective of the customer. This may reinforce what you knew you were doing well but it may flag up aspects that need improving. My View has partnered with some of the world’s most recognized brands to provide insight and analysis on the level of service their team are providing to their customers, through Mystery Shopping and CX initiatives.
The benefits
Once you are armed with this key data about your store as well as staff performance and service you can put this into action. The evidence from a neutral party who has engaged with your brand provides value that will empower you. In this economic climate it really is a buyers’ market where competition is stiffer than ever and anyone who wants to succeed must act and respond to the market. A growing culture of reviews means complete transparency and retailers cannot put a foot wrong. We know that if one person has a bad experience, they will tell everyone they meet or worse, it could end up as a review on your website for all to see. Mystery shopper allows you to see potential issues before a customer experiences them.
Buying trends
This is the holy grail of sales, imagine if you can predict where the market is headed before it happens. Therefore, a boots on the ground approach through mystery shopping has so much value. How our customers shop and what it is that is important to them is an ever-evolving commodity. Mystery shopping can put your brand ahead of the competition arming you with the tools to react to changing consumer behaviour especially as the shops reopen post lockdown and we face the new normal.
