Image for 8 Important Mystery Shopping BenetiftsThe value of using mystery shopping services is increasing as customer experience continues to be a key factor in building customer loyalty.

A mystery shopping program can prove invaluable in the following ways:

  1. Monitoring staff performance
    Mystery shoppers can monitor your customer service staff without skewing the results that might otherwise be attained when a company manager is the one doing the evaluation.
  2. Gathering unbiased information
    To gain a competitive edge, you need and want feedback from customers, but a trained mystery shopper will provide the right type of feedback without any of the biases a regular customer might provide.
  3. Identifying a need for development
    A mystery shopper will identify areas where you might need to enhance employee training or make investments in infrastructure – such as improved shelving or even the need for new hires.
  4. Making informed business decisions
    A mystery shopper may help pinpoint why one particular store is under performing, for example. A well planned mystery shopping program can keep employees on their toes all the time, not just when they know they’re being evaluated.
  5. Recognizing staff and boosting morale
    A mystery shopping program can be used in combination with an employee incentive scheme to reward those identified as performing well and to improve morale.
  6. Helping analyze the impact of changes
    If a mystery shopping program is implemented at the right time, you’ll be able to use the data collected to see the results of an improved training program, for example, or if other changes you’ve made have afffected the overall customer service experience.
  7. Speeding up your responses
    A mystery shopping program can uncover unknown problems so that quick measures can be taken to rectify them, or it can reveal when something is working well, enabling it to be implemented at all stores or branches, for example.
  8. Gaining a competitive edge
    The customized nature of the data that will be gathered by a mystery shopper will give you an edge over your competitiion if you follow through on it to improve the customer’s experience, and it can be a cost-effective way of doing so.