Market research is one of the prime pillars of developing a strong marketing strategy that establishes a business in a competitive market. In this aspect, what will an established brand do to become better and survive the competition? Why do big brands still conduct market research even though they are present in multiple locations?
Well, brands keep on evaluating their customer service and customer experience at regular intervals to keep an eye on the performance of multiple business locations. This survey also leads to the identification of changes in consumer behavior based on demography. One of the prominent market research tools used to evaluate customer service and experience is mystery shopping. This tool is used by credit unions, banks, restaurants, retail stores, educational facilities, etc.
Importance of mystery shopping
To understand the importance of mystery shopping, let us take a look at the services offered by a mystery shopping company.
1. In-person mystery shopping
A visit is paid by professional mystery shoppers to brick-and-mortar stores in different locations. They interact as customers with the employees, understand the modus operandi, evaluate the various factors predetermined by the brand for evaluation and submit reports.
2. Telephone mystery shopping
As the name suggests, a mystery shopper will call a customer service unit and evaluate the whole process according to the predefined factors of this venture. He measures the efficiency of the support agent and rates it as per the factors mentioned in a questionnaire.
3. Hybrid secret shopping
This service assigns professional secret shoppers to walk through the entire journey of a customer. This service enables brands to evaluate and measure all the aspects related to end-to-end customer experience in multiple domains.
Measuring different aspects of mystery shopping
The experience of a customer depends on different factors related to his journey from availing a service. These factors need to be evaluated as a part of market research so that a brand can easily understand the level of customer experience.
We all know that customer experience is the base of a business’s success. A brand spends a fortune to acquire customers and develop a fair share of a competitive market. Hence, gaining new customers and retaining existing ones will need a proper definition of marketing strategies. The development of such strategies needs information and mystery shopping is the key.
Brands and companies hire professional mystery shopping services based on the area to be covered. The service can cover a city or even multiple countries. Professional mystery shoppers are appointed to visit or call service points and fill up the questionnaires designed to generate data by using specific digital tools.
This data is then evaluated during an audit. Quality analytics leads to the generation of data-driven reports that brands use for designing actionable insights to make customer service and experience better.
Considering the outcomes, a brand gains a competitive advantage by evaluating its position in a specified service industry. It strengthens its core to deliver a better customer experience and fortify its image in the market.
