Mystery Shopping: A New Year – Time to think about THE END
This final week of the year tends to be a time of reflection for many and we would like to add one more thought to that list. The End result.
Eureka! You’ve decided to run a mystery shopping program so that you can see your business through your customers’ eyes. But what will you do with the data you receive? Who is receiving it? How will it be distributed? Which departments can utilize the information? Are you going to share it with the individual employees – and use as a reward and recognition program for them? Or will you keep the information for senior management to understand what the customer likes and does not like? There are countless ways to make use of the information the shoppers provide.
Take a moment to consider some of the application of your mystery shopping program:
Human Resources:
Development of training programs
As a companion to the review process
Understanding staffing needs
Marketing:
Defining customer wants/needs for product
Development of marketing venues that the customer notices & prefers
Compliment to market research data
Operations:
Monitor facility conditions
Improve customer retention methods
Ensure product/service quality
Inclusion of a mystery shopping program into your organization can benefit all areas of the company, not just one management need.
We all look forward to a new year, a new start, a new perspective. Make 2010 the one where your organization will focus on the customer perspective – and watch sales and customer satisfaction grow to new heights.
Wishes for a Happy New Year to all!
Our thanks this month to guest blogger, Diane Sweeney. Diane has been with Market Viewpoint for 10 years and is currently VP of Operations. Diane has worked in marketing and human resources for all of her career. She also runs a nutrition consulting firm, Healthy Solutions. Her life-long love of writing now has a venue as a she blogs for Market Viewpoint, her own website, and those of friends. The service industries and the health of the human spirit are topics close to her heart.
