Will you be watching the Super Bowl on Sunday? Of course you will you and many millions of others.  No longer “just” a football game, this winter TV ritual is a feel-good medley of sports and entertainment, advertising and snacking.  If football isn’t your thing (or your own team isn’t playing!) you tune in for the clever commercials, or the extravagant halftime show.  As the daylong pregame show always proclaims, there’s something here for everyone.  On Super Bowl Sunday, how can anything top the Big Game in all its glory? Nothing can touch it, which is why competing networks run old movies and marathons of crime shows. Why burn something original when no one’s looking?

Still, there’s another event, on a different network, riding along for the hype to score points of its own. The annual “Puppy Bowl” on Animal Planet is just lots of cute footage of frolicking, adorable dogs, airing every Super Bowl Sunday.  It’s no ratings rival for the game, but instead enhances the day with some laughs and the “awwwww” factor.  Fans of both events routinely wander from one TV set to another, enjoying two kinds of fun.

Given the mega-success of the Super Bowl, you have to wonder why anyone outside the stadium, so to speak, would seek to grab any of its spotlight.  But the upstart Puppy Bowl, which has added new stunts and surprises each year, simply basks in the Super Bowl’s shadow. Rerunning the same sweet shots of pups, plus halftime-cheering kittens, even an anthem-singing parrot, the program never tries to outshine the NFL’s crowning moment.  And yet without the gaudy Super Bowl, Puppy Bowl wouldn’t exist, couldn’t provide the smiling extra points that parallel the Super Bowl’s dramatics.

Even if the competition looms large in your life, you don’t have to use all your artillery to outscore it. You can offer an alternative, something perhaps smaller, but strictly unique and separate from that other experience. Whether it’s personalized service or a revised bid for attention, those extra points will point up YOUR value, no matter what’s happening in the big game.

Contact Market Viewpoint today for a quote on mystery shopping your competition. You may be surprised at what you learn!

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.

The holiday season revolves around beliefs, traditions, and stories. Many are true and some have been fabricated; woven and expanded through years, some have become more than the originator expected them to be.

As managers, we believe we hire good, nice, honest people to service our customers. We spend time training them, showing them the ropes and teaching them what customer service is all about. Our belief is that they will present to our customer the true nature of our business and intent. People, however, are human after all, and many like to weave their own version of your business.

From our treasure trove of mystery shopping stories, we present you with:

Mythbusters of Mystery Shopping:

Real stories from actual mystery shoppers

Myth #1: Our staff is honest!

FACT: I was doing a fast food shop once and asked “what’s good?” to the crewperson. He replied “I wouldn’t eat anything here are you kidding me?” If that wasn’t bad enough, as I proceeded to a table to drink my coffee/eat a breakfast item, the manager’s wife came in with their baby. She handed it across the counter to an employee who waited on the next customer as she was holding the baby. This went on for about 15 minutes and the crewpersons kept handing off the baby behind the counter from one to another while the manager’s wife had something to eat in the dining room. If they only knew who was sitting there taking it all in….

FACT: I was sent to evaluate a bar. It was an age compliance shop, meaning, I was supposed to sit at the bar and order an alcoholic beverage. If the bartender didn’t card me, I was supposed to immediately ask to see his manager, and give then a red “try harder” card. If the bartender were to card me, he would be rewarded with a green “congratulations” card on the spot. I sat down and ordered a light beer, the bartender began pouring and didn’t card me. I asked to see the manager and presented the red card. The bartender turns to his boss and says, “Well, look at her. Come on.”. I was very insulted and the bartender was extremely rude with his statement. I’ve never been back and don’t plan a return visit any time soon. I’m young, I tell you!

FACT: Once I was doing a bar shop and things were going as to be expected.  Suddenly, the bartender pours himself a shot and does it.  He then hands one to a customer (whom he apparently knew) without ringing it in, and that customer did a shot.  The bartender ended up consuming three shots while I was at the bar – who knows how many he did after I left!  Needless to say, it was an interesting write up.

BUSTED: Honesty is good to a point! Used to enhance your staff, your business and your customers.  In all likelihood most of your staff is honest and discreet, no matter what their real opinion may be . . . but mystery shopping on a regular basis will uncover those who take it up on themselves to reveal a bit more than necessary!

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.

The holiday season brings to us endless stories in the media about what is going on in various industries, parts of the country, online and in retail stores. Our minds are bombarded with statistics, pictures, and facts – some true, and some not so true. What is a manager to do to determine where his or her establishment fits in among the rest? What is really making people go to the bank down the street – CD rates or the customer service? Does Superdupermart really have that much more inventory of the latest, hot gadget or toy?

We all know there are commodity items in each of our marketplaces that can be bought, purchased, rented and leased at similar prices. What separates you from the rest? More importantly, what is your competition down the street or across town doing differently than you? When you learn what that is – you then have real information about your actual competitors that will allow you continue to train and develop your staff to stay ahead of the pack, or to notch it up and find ways to stand out from the “other guys”.

Mystery shopping your competitors is a great way to get current information about your competition from the customer’s perspective. After all, isn’t the customer the one you are truly trying to please?  You will then be hearing straight from the customer what they hear at your place and your competitors – and what they want and expect from your business.

Our thanks this month to guest blogger, Diane Sweeney. Diane has been with Market Viewpoint for 10 years and is currently VP of Operations with our firm. 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 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.

Have you ever walked into a store with so much merchandise displayed that you didn’t know where to look? Or the seasonal decorations were so overwhelming, that you had no idea if they had the product you were hoping to buy?

Recently I stopped in at a local novelty, home decorating type of store. This is the type of store that you expect to have lots of ‘stuff’, but I literally could not get a cart down most aisles. Maneuvering around the merchandise and holiday displays was similar to getting oneself through an obstacle course, and not something I had planned on that day. I abandoned my cart, picked up what I had come in for, and headed to the checkout. A few other things caught my eye, and had the conditions been more welcoming, that final tally at the checkout likely would have been a bit higher.

Mystery shoppers can not only shine the light on your customer service issues, many companies also use it to understand what works or doesn’t work about their store environment, including parking, odors, and more. What appears to be pretty or easy to an architect or planner, is not always the same to a customer.

Holiday decorations make everyone smile – to a point. Remember, the purposes of your displays are to get customers to purchase and to create  interest in your service or product. If the amount of merchandise or information is too overwhelming, you may be losing valuable sales. So shine the lights on those items that are of most interest to your customer, but don’t make them trip over it!

Our thanks this month to guest blogger, Diane Sweeney. Diane has been with Market Viewpoint for 10 years and is currently VP of Operations with our firm. 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 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.