Mystery shopping and customer survey programs to enhance your business success

february 29 2008

I've always wanted a job as a mystery shopper.

Grown up between all sorts of shopkeepers I know how important it is to offer reliable outstanding service and treat even the worst consumers as kings and queens.

Our family has always been a nice mix of artists, teachers and shopowners.
Books, vegetables, bread, gloves, groceries and bycicles were the subjects when the family was together on long sunday afternoons.
They exchanged ideas for better display, little extra gifts, but above all, how to deal with people in such a way that they would buy, come back and spread the word.
No wonder my aunt was first saleslady for many years at a company that had shops all over the country.

She used her own customer survey program: asking the ladies what they wanted for the next season, how they wanted items to be displayed, etc etc.

I still remember how she told about the mystery buyer. The woman told my aunt she had been buying at her department before. My aunt saw right through the white lie. LOL!

Since then the whole concept of mystery shoppers has been in my mind.

One can send them to buy all kinds of items, from earrings, to furniture and refridgerators, to check if there's a gap between customers experience and what's intended to be delivered.
Well trained mystery shoppers can tell exactly what needs to be improved.

A mystery shopping company like Bestmark not only employs well trained mystery shoppers, but also has a reliable reporting system and outstanding customer experience measurement analysis.

The benefits for your company will be seen in customer satisfaction and a rise in sales.
Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of employees enable targetted scholing and training.
The economical benefits outweight the investments, whether you use mystery shoppers, web- and emailsurveys, intercept and exit interviews or other methods offered by Bestmark.