News: Articles of Interest
TOPIC - How does mystery shopping work?
Getting the Maximum Output off a Mystery Shopping Agency
Mystery shopping is gaining its popularity day by day- especially
in the US and UK markets. It can be an excellent tool for getting
a detailed insight to customer feedbacks and evaluations- only
if they can be properly designed and utilized. It helps any organization
to refine their customer care services and link the evaluation
with the quality assurance department.
The success of any mystery shopping program is a function
of the following two factors:
-
The choice of an efficient provider
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Choosing the proper foundation while setting up the system.
Choosing the Appropriate Mystery Shopping
Agency:
There are many mystery shopping firms currently operating in the
market. They are available in all formations, sizes and offerings.
While some are really honest and stay dedicated to the clients'
needs, employ qualified people and provide skilled services- a
good numbers of frauds and inefficient are there as well. Without
having a good knowledge in the field anyone may have the chance
of being deceived. Here are some guidelines on how to choose the
proper agency:
-
Checking the previous record
of the agency: As a general rule, any pro in the industry
will tell you not to go for any agency which has a track record
of not more than three years. Three years is the minimum time
that takes for improving the shoppers' quality to an excellent
level, and it takes more experience to design effective surveys,
reports and questionnaires. All of these factors contribute
greatly to the level of accuracy and coherence of the report
which will reflect the measures you require.
-
Look for references: References
are important. Before signing up with them, ask for some contacts
of their regular customers who will be willing to provide references
for them. Make a few phone calls and query before signing the
contract. A note of caution here: it is very natural for the
agency as well as the clients to be unwilling to provide detailed
information on their mystery shopping experiences. This emotion
must be respected.
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Providers with experiences in
the similar field are better: When you are to shortlist
the agencies from which you will choose the one for your organization,
give preference to those who have prior and most experience
in the similar field, i.e. if you are in a pharmaceutical business,
ask for agencies who have previously worked with such companies.
Thus you stand better chances of getting a good evaluation.
Also remains the fact that, each agency has its own fields of
expertise. Choosing the one which have better hold in your background-
is undoubtedly the best option. Usually, the most professional
agencies will tell you their expertise and advice you your best
shot.
Note that, if any agency is claiming they are expert at everything-
that will sound just way too good to be true. So will be if
an agency claims they'll provide 24/7 services at the lowest
rates. Always remember- good stuffs have a price to be paid
for.
Setting up a proper foundation:
- Be candid with the agency:
After you have singled out the agency to go for- do ask them to
fax/mail you the signed copy of the agreement- which will be explicit
and non-disclosure. Once this has been done- now you can go and
share the internal information of your organization. The information
should include details on the following issues:
- list of locations
- product and service details as well as the upcoming strategies
- A thorough explanation of the key areas where the organization
seems to have weak links. They should be told the key points
and how you want to be evaluated. The best practice is to send
them a list of bullet-pointed issues, which requires feedback.
Being specific and concise is necessary hence so that the agency
can easily and clearly prepare the survey tools.
-
Prepare a thorough location list:
The agency will be sending their contractors in different locations
for the surveys- so it won't be wise sending them a location list
which is not updated. Make a thorough list of the locations to
be covered- if possible include a summary of each location describing
their ambiances, what to seek etc. Hence, sending soft copies
are better ideas- it will save the agency from giving manual input
in their system.
-
Report considerations: Explain
it to the agency at the beginning that who'll be the receiver
of the report. Also they need to know to what channel the report
will be distributed along the organization- whether it will be
kept to the directors only or will be distributed to the regional
managers as well.
- Scoring systems: Reports can
be prepared using different quantifying methods. The criteria required
can be ranked or scored. Which one is your preference- clarify it
to the agency. If your requirement is the scoring model than its
better if you assign the points for each factor. The points or the
weights should be assigned according the level of importance each
factor has with respect to your organization.
Interpretation of results:
A nicely designed mystery shopping system won't be enough if the results
are not read and analyzed properly. After all, it is for the results
for which so much hassle has been taken. Most of the times, reports
are presented with a comparison of the industry average- this help
the organization come up with strategies that will improve the scenario.
Every business needs to go for perpetual innovation in order to survive-
and mystery shopping helps them to achieve that.
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