A Mystery shopper can take one of two forms. The first is where you employ a company to perform a mystery shopper evaluation on your business, and the second is when the mystery shopper is employed to do an evaluation on your competitors' businesses. Sometimes the two are combined.
By doing a mystery shopper survey on your own business, you can gain a clear and objective overview of the areas where your business performs well and the areas that could be improved. Normally a mystery shopper survey starts with a telephone inquiry and is followed up with a visit to the actual business. The information collected can pinpoint problem areas immediately. It's the old adage of having a fresh pair of eyes looking at a business. We conduct hundreds of mystery shopper evaluations every year and they have proven to be an invaluable marketing tool for the companies that have had them done.
Generally they sign up to have the surveys done on a regular basis, normally every three months, to check if problem areas are being corrected and to ensure that other areas that have surveyed well in the past are maintaining their standards. Restaurants, in particular, benefit from these kinds of surveys, but they are in no way the only kind of business to use mystery shoppers.
When using a mystery shopper survey to evaluate your competitors' businesses, the objective is to identify areas where they are weak and your business is strong. The end result is that you can focus your marketing on your own strengths, knowing that this particular aspect of your business is more appealing to potential customers.
There are lots of companies that conduct mystery shopper surveys. As always, the Yellow Pages is the best place to find a few company names to get you started. If you have limited funds and would prefer to get a friend do do the surveys for you, it is important to ensure that they compare oranges with oranges. When doing a mystery shopper survey, the surveyor needs to be 100 percent objective or it will just be a waste of time.
If you are going to go to the effort and expense of doing a mystery shopper survey, you need to be open to the responses. It isn't the surveyor's fault if your business hasn't performed well, but it's a great opportunity to do something very positive.
Generally they sign up to have the surveys done on a regular basis, normally every three months, to check if problem areas are being corrected and to ensure that other areas that have surveyed well in the past are maintaining their standards. Restaurants, in particular, benefit from these kinds of surveys, but they are in no way the only kind of business to use mystery shoppers.
When using a mystery shopper survey to evaluate your competitors' businesses, the objective is to identify areas where they are weak and your business is strong. The end result is that you can focus your marketing on your own strengths, knowing that this particular aspect of your business is more appealing to potential customers.
There are lots of companies that conduct mystery shopper surveys. As always, the Yellow Pages is the best place to find a few company names to get you started. If you have limited funds and would prefer to get a friend do do the surveys for you, it is important to ensure that they compare oranges with oranges. When doing a mystery shopper survey, the surveyor needs to be 100 percent objective or it will just be a waste of time.
If you are going to go to the effort and expense of doing a mystery shopper survey, you need to be open to the responses. It isn't the surveyor's fault if your business hasn't performed well, but it's a great opportunity to do something very positive.