Field marketing services (Mystery Shopping)
The process of measuring and reporting covertly on customer service and sales standards at the ‘moment of purchase’.
A trained independent agency staff member posing as a genuine shopper or consumer is best placed to carry out this activity.
Mystery shopping has traditionally been carried out in the retail environment and in the business to customer environment but its use is now being valued across a much wider spectrum of customer service situations including Business to Business.
Types of mystery shopping:
Covert - purchase* made with no reveal and report made centrally
Covert and Reveal - purchase* is made, and after this there is a reveal. This is often with on-the-spot rewards. The report is then made locally and/or centrally.
* Not all mystery shopping activity includes a purchase.
Business's use mystery shopping both as an intrinsic part of their staff motivation programme and to measure customer service standards benchmarked across the business.
Mystery Shopping can be used to deliver:
Management focus
Staff commitment and involvement
Motivation for individuals and teams
Staff rewards
Ability to measure standards and training retention independently
Raised standards
