In this age of hyper-competition, customer experience is a top factor differentiating one brand from another. Retailers failing to serve customers to their expectations and preferences cannot thrive in this market. Mystery shopping is a great way to measure customer service, operations, and compliance with the standard procedures in your stores. The research technique brings authentic information on business performance. Thus, the study is crucial for businesses to get information about potential customers and risks to make targeted changes to drive improvement.
Want to conduct this research in your retail stores? The first thing necessary is to design an effective mystery audit. Hire trained mystery shoppers to execute the program. They should be professional with an eye for detail and expert in maintaining anonymity. This way, you can gather quality information and use them to make strategic business decisions. Let us see how to conduct this audit effectively:
Know what you wish to evaluate
The first step of a successful evaluation is to define your goals and objectives. Know what you wish to evaluate in your retail business. Create a list of things to be evaluated, which may start from the cleanliness of the store to product layout, sales journey to safety standards. Set guidelines for mystery shoppers to follow during the assessment. Moreover, the checklists have to be precise to get the desired outcome in the audit. Apart from the written data, use photographs and videos to enrich the evidence in the report.
Instruct and Train Mystery Shoppers
The ultimate goal of this program is to collect authentic data. Conducting a successful mystery shopping is possible with professional mystery shoppers. Thus, there is a need to instruct and train shoppers to evaluate businesses on specified criteria. Following the guidelines, you can get the desired outcome in the program.
Schedule a visit
Once you are ready, schedule a visit for the mystery shoppers. Select the location to evaluate the different aspects of the store. Try to schedule the visit at different times of the day or week to get a clear picture while maintaining anonymity. This way you can collect quality and specified data for your business.
Compliance With the Standards and Industry Norms
Retail mystery shopping helps compliance with operating standards and industry norms. Mystery shoppers will observe the safety standards and adhere to set standards. The regular audit helps to be compliant with regulations and avoid penalties from the concerned department.
Choose A Trusted Mystery Shopping Service Provider
The execution of this program needs professional evaluators and expertise. Choose a trusted company to bring experience and skill to the table. Moreover, the company maintains a wide range of mystery shoppers that represent a wide demographic. By implementing the best practices, you can build a program that suits your business needs and specifications.
Design an Enriched Report
An ordinary report has little value for your business. Design the report to be suitable for collecting comprehensive data in the study. Make the data enriched with video and photo evidence. All these facts enhance the quality of the audit.
The report highlights trends, issues, and patterns of your business. Analyze the report to derive actionable insights to implement in driving improvement. Share the audit’s findings with employees and stakeholders to motivate the staff.
Final Thoughts
Conducting the audit requires careful planning and execution. A well-executed program can bring actionable insights into your business performance and customer service. Moreover, mystery shoppers can suggest changes to improve customer service and other aspects of your retail business. The above-stated steps can help your business conduct the program well and succeed in the industry.
