Marketing technologies: mystery shopping. Mystery shopping research Mystery shopping types

In the previous article we talked about the features of the customer service standard. Let’s find out what role the mystery shopper plays here.

Read the first part of the article at the link.

Mystery shopping method

TERM!

Mystery shopper (from the English Mystery Shopper/Secret Shopper, also an imaginary buyer) is a research method that is used to monitor compliance with the standard of customer service by salon employees.

A secret shopper can be any person who knows the service standard of a given organization, and his task is to check compliance with this standard. At the same time, it is very correct (convenient, profitable) to involve family or friends as a secret shopper. These are the people who will sincerely help improve the standard of service and give detailed feedback about all the shortcomings in the actions of your employees. At the same time, you can agree on discounts/additional procedures for working as a secret shopper. It is important that your family members or friends do not let anyone know who they are to you.

BY THE WAY!
If you need to automatically calculate the salaries of your employees, keep records of goods, cash flows of a beauty salon and see the balance of mutual settlements, then we recommend trying Arnica - beauty. In Arnika this is implemented as simply and conveniently as possible.

In contrast to the test purchase used in the USSR by OBKhSS employees, the data obtained as a result of inspections of secret shoppers is used to improve the quality of service and increase customer satisfaction in the organization being inspected, to improve the professionalism of employees, and also as an audit of retail outlets.

INTERESTING!

There are various terms to denote the mystery shopping method in Russian: mystery shopper, imaginary shopper, mystery shopping, secret client, secret shopper, hidden shopper, control client, anonymous shopper, etc. The terms mystery shopper, mystery shopper are most widely used in the Russian market , secret guest.

Mystery shopping research can be used for a wide range of purposes.: to evaluate the personnel training system, personnel motivation; as part of programs to increase loyalty to the company’s brand or product; to evaluate the use of POS materials and promotional materials; for the purpose of analyzing the quality of work of competitors; to stimulate product sales; to assess the quality of processing applications from the website or telephone operators. Thus, this promotion can be used to solve a huge number of salon tasks.

How to train mystery shoppers

1) They become familiar with and learn the standard of service almost by heart;

2) learn by heart a checklist (or evaluation form), which is filled out immediately after visiting the salon when leaving it;

3) a sound recording device is provided (to write a detailed report on the promotion);

4) complex situations that a mystery shopper can create for staff are discussed in advance in order to test their conflict tolerance/working with complex objections.

INTERESTING!

Mystery shopping can become additional income for students, neighbors, colleagues from other partner salons, or even regular customers (for a discount). As a rule, one check costs from 500 to 1,000 rubles. depending on the complexity of the checklist.

Of course, the haircut is paid for by the “hidden”, the money is then returned. BUT!!! You can try to agree not to pay for the work. This option is suitable for students.

Outsourcing

“Mystery shopping” monitoring can be done independently or outsourced, that is, a professional provider organization can be involved in the work. The budget and scope of work depend on certain parameters. These are different prices, but in the end you get a more accurate result.

Although we all need to understand that the work of a secret shopper is the subjective opinion of one person. Therefore, the more detailed the checklist, the more detailed and objective the answer. And the most accurate material in this case will be an audio recording.

Mystery shopping inspections can be carried out not only through visits to the sites being inspected, but also through telephone calls, emails, etc., depending on the service procedures being inspected. The objects of the study are salespeople and consultants at retail outlets, telephone managers and consultants, online consultants on the website, processing applications by email and through the order form on the website.

By the way

Offer it to the client online, perhaps in the online management system for the Arnica beauty salon. What is especially convenient is that it does not require the participation of an administrator. This means no one will forget to ask or allow negative feedback to get lost. Each rating is tied to the service provided or a specific specialist.

Additional evaluation criteria

  • compliance by employees with etiquette standards (friendliness, friendliness, etc.);
  • discipline;
  • employee appearance and compliance with the company’s corporate style;
  • employee compliance with performance standards;
  • cleanliness and order in the premises and at employee workplaces;
  • customer service skills,
  • speed of service;
  • auxiliary and promotional materials, etc.

IMPORTANT!
When introducing two tools (standard of service and mystery shopping promotions), it is important to remember: what is not controlled is not executed.

The most effective way is to combine internal and external control procedures.

Internal control is ensured by monitoring the work of employees by managers; the results are recorded in specially designed forms.

External control – is ensured by conducting special programs by external specialists (Mystery shopping, survey of real clients after a visit).

Benefits of use

1. A store of experience: the knowledge necessary for the staff remains in the salon, is enshrined in the standard and is passed on “inheritedly” regardless of changes in personnel.

2. Control and motivation: provides the ability to control the sales process, as well as create a motivation system, since standards are directly related to assessment and training.

3. A clear work goal for employees and increasing employee loyalty to their salon. This brings stability to his work and saves managers time

4. The standard encourages the organization’s management to constantly think about what mistakes employees may make in servicing a client, and when and how to intervene in the service process in order to prevent such errors (proactive strategy).

5. Quick inclusion: the standard is a practical tool for adapting new employees to the team and involving them in the business process of customer service at the proper level.

6. Customer trust: the standard brings order to business, and this gives customers confidence that the company's employees know their business.

In other words, the standard sets the ideal way for staff to work. This contributes to the professional growth of employees, satisfaction of motives for self-development and self-realization, thus ensuring the stability of the enterprise.

Text:Elena Tropin a, magazine expert, HR director of the Special Economic Zone “Titanium Valley”

Mystery shopper

Mystery Shopper (Mystery Shopping, Mystery Shopping, Mysterious Shopper)

“Mystery shopping” is a type of marketing research used to comprehensively assess the quality of service in your company or in competing companies.

Is it important for you to keep abreast of what's happening in your company? Do you want to see everything that happens “when the boss is not around”? Are you making every effort to increase demand and don't understand why sales are stagnant? Don't you understand why customers are leaving for your competitors? Use the Mystery Shopping service and get answers to your questions.

The essence of the method

A “mystery shopper” - a typical representative of your target audience - comes to the point of sale. The visit takes place according to a special scenario, developed in advance taking into account all the designated tasks. Based on the results of the visit, a questionnaire-report is filled out, reflecting all the impressions of the “buyer”. Based on the results of all visits, a comprehensive report is compiled.

Method application options:

“Mystery shopping” allows you to evaluate the quality of the service provided to consumers, in particular:

  • competence and professionalism of the staff,
  • quality of service,
  • stress resistance of staff, ability to resolve conflict situations,
  • level of professional knowledge of personnel,
  • appearance of the staff (neatness, cleanliness, uniform),
  • general environment in the room (cleanliness, order, temperature, absence of odors),
  • display of goods (presence of all items, clarity, correctness of display, absence of “overdue”),
  • courtesy of the staff,
  • staff speech (literacy, clarity, use of special terms),
  • ability to work with assortment (knowledge of positions, possession of information about positions),
  • compliance of personnel actions with various instructions,
  • providing information about the product (both by the seller and through advertising),
  • reaction to “problematic” situations (return of goods, defects, “accidental” damage to goods),
  • speed of service,
  • communication between staff, etc.

Advantages and capabilities of the method:

  • Allows you to clearly track all the weaknesses of the staff.
  • The visit and assessment of the situation is carried out by an independent and impartial “Mystery Shopper”, which eliminates any possibility of “manipulation of facts”.
  • Allows you to compare the level of service with competing companies, determine their strengths and weaknesses, understand what you can learn and what is already your advantage.
  • The method is suitable for all B2C areas and for many companies operating in the B2B sector.
  • “Mystery shopping” allows you to assess the qualification level of not only sellers, but also any of the existing departments.
  • Awareness of employees about possible “Mystery Shopper” checks helps improve the quality of staff work, which directly affects sales growth.
  • It is possible to check not only sellers of goods, but also companies providing services: beauty salons, help desks, delivery services, etc.
  • Based on the assessments received, it is possible to develop new or adjust existing training, motivation, and personnel certification programs.

Options for Mystery Shopping checks:

  • Direct interaction. The competence and professionalism of employees who directly interact with customers (sellers, consultants, managers) is checked.
  • Indirect interaction. Departments that do not have direct contact with consumers are subject to inspection, but their work has a significant impact on the impression of the company. The accounting department, security service, cleaning service, claims department, personnel department, etc. are subject to inspection. Even the work of branch directors and top managers can be checked.
  • Audit of retail outlets. Your customers' retail outlets are checked for the availability and completeness of the assortment, the presence of promotional products, the correctness of the display, etc.
  • One-time check. The mystery shopper makes one visit to each retail outlet.
  • Multiple check. “Mystery shoppers” come to each retail outlet several times.
  • Extended verification. Several waves are carried out at certain intervals. This allows you to evaluate the changes that have occurred since the last verification.

Test location options:

  • direct visit (“Mystery shopper” personally comes to the point of sale),
  • remote visit (“Mystery shopper” conducts an inspection by phone call),
  • return visit (a company employee comes to the home of the “Mystery Shopper”: couriers, delivery services, cleaning services, repair services, etc.)
  • online visit (Internet services are subject to inspection: the work of managers of online stores, operators of “question-answer” services, etc.).

Reporting options:

  • questionnaire,
  • voice recording,
  • video recording,
  • photo report,
  • screen prints,
  • receipt and store products.

LLC "Forbo Eurokol Rus"

Forbo Eurokol Rus LLC is part of the international Forbo group of companies and specializes in the production of systems for laying floor coverings.

Our company occupies a leading position in the Russian Federation in the market of adhesives and materials for preparing substrates and laying commercial floor coverings.

By developing our own production at a plant in Russia, we pay special attention to promoting advanced materials and finishing and construction technologies. In this regard, the high product competence of our partners plays a decisive role for us.

In the person of the ScanMarket agency, we found a professional and interested specialist who introduced us to the possibilities of mystery shopping. The results of the study prepared and conducted by the agency among our dealers in 2016 largely exceeded our expectations and pushed our company to rethink our dealer sales force training programs.

The employees of the ScanMarket agency and director Alexander Krivosheev have an excellent command of market research methods, are deeply immersed in the specifics of the customer’s business, and work with passion.

We plan to continue cooperation with the ScanMarket company and recommend it as a professional, reliable and motivated partner in the field of mystery shopping research.

LLC "JUNG"

The JUNG company is a German company founded in 1912 by Albrecht Jung. The company is an expert in the field of building automation systems and switches in exclusive design. JUNG develops and implements intelligent, energy-efficient solutions for private households, infrastructure and public buildings. Among the company's developments are KNX touch panels (for Smart Home systems), the JUNG Bus building management system (a version of the Economical Smart Home), solutions in the field of lighting and curtain control, climate systems, integrated solutions for connecting multimedia equipment, systems security. JUNG brand electrical installation products are a combination of high technology and exclusive modern design. All JUNG products are manufactured in our own plant in Germany. At the moment, the company is headed by Harald Jung, the grandson of the founder. The company's head office is located in Schalksmühle in the Sauerland region.

The JUNG company has representative offices in four cities of Russia. The company's head office, showroom and KNX training center operate in Moscow, where courses on building automation technology are held.

In 2017, together with the ScanMarket company, a mystery shopper audit of our distributors, partners, integrators, and retail outlets was carried out in Moscow. Based on the results obtained, we were able to optimize our training on the company’s products and sales of our products, and the data obtained also allowed us to adjust the work of distributors and eliminate the weaknesses of our partners. “ScanMarket” have proven themselves to be highly qualified professionals on the issue of “Mystery shopping”, they have qualitatively compiled questionnaires for different types of our clients, selected the most suitable “mystery” shoppers and developed the most plausible scenarios. After collecting the questionnaires, we carried out an in-depth analysis of the data obtained. We are completely satisfied with our cooperation with ScanMarket.

Due to the fact that at a given moment in time the prices on the market for goods and services are approximately equal, manufacturers, in order to maintain their existing market share and attract new customers, need to provide quality service that is an order of magnitude higher than that of their competitors. In modern conditions, it is the level of service that is one of the main competitive advantages; it is organizations that should pay attention, and most do, to assessing the quality of service. One of the most targeted methods for assessing personnel working with a client is the Mystery Shopping method.

Mystery shopping is a research method used in an organization to evaluate personnel. The essence of the method is that an independent expert acts as an average client and objectively evaluates the work of the staff and the appearance of the office.

This monitoring allows you to evaluate the quality of service, customer interaction skills, the appearance of the staff, the behavior of employees in conflict and non-standard situations, the design of the hall, and the degree of effectiveness of trainings. The result of staff assessment using the mystery shopping method is usually a cozy atmosphere in client-oriented institutions, specialists become an order of magnitude more competent, try to advise clients as best as possible, and checks can also identify factors that influence the client’s interest, but do not depend on the service, for example, the location of the organization, work schedule, room cleanliness and much more. Due to the fact that each inspection is unique and unique, it can show the condition of the premises and the quality of sales and consultation functions performed by employees at a random point in time, and this information is very important for the complete picture of service in a given company. The disadvantage of this technique is that every opinion of every individual buyer, whether secret or not, is subjective.

This technique was first used in America in the 70s. The use of this technique is associated with the first sales of color televisions in the United States. Incompetent salespeople told customers that there were engineers sitting in a special room in New York who were working on setting the color gamut of every television that would be sold in the future. Because of this, Americans who bought televisions did not even try to tune them, but immediately filed complaints with the manufacturing company, which then began sending its people to stores to check the quality of service and the accuracy of the information that sellers provide to their customers. This method has proven to be effective, since sooner or later the owner of any business is faced with the need to check and evaluate the personnel working in his organization. There is no point in doing this yourself; sending friends or relatives is also only a temporary option, since the staff will learn their faces after a certain period of time. That is why the concept of this technique came in handy.

The mystery shopping technique is used, as a rule, to evaluate the performance of personnel in companies that provide services and sell goods. Basically, the method is used by owners of company networks. In practice, it has been found that personnel who know that they are being observed and their work is being assessed by an independent expert will perform at the proper level. Although the staff themselves experience only discomfort from this method, the method itself is very effective, it allows you to identify those employees who are not able to conscientiously perform their job duties. After such checks, some of the staff may be fired or their position and work function may be reconsidered, but the other part will perform their work functions better and will be more friendly towards clients than before.

Stages of conducting personnel assessment using the Mystery Shopping method:

  • 1) Determining the purpose of the inspection.
  • 2) General familiarization of mystery shoppers with organizations, the operating principles of these organizations, and the specifics of the goods and services provided.
  • 3) Development of criteria for evaluating personnel based on an analysis of their activities.
  • 4) Development of criteria for assessing the external and internal appearance of the organization’s office.
  • 5) Generating and approving so-called “legends” that secret shoppers will use during their visit.
  • 6) Creation and approval of checklists (questionnaires that secret shoppers will fill out after visiting the organization’s offices).
  • 7) Carrying out an inspection and filling out checklists by secret shoppers after each visit.
  • 8) Analysis of monitoring results, preparation of a summary report and recommendations.
  • 9) Transfer of a summary report and recommendations to the customer.

If we summarize the results of studies of companies in various fields of activity, we can identify typical work features, problems and mistakes of personnel interacting with clients:

  • · Very often, along with the external manifestation of goodwill and politeness, it coexists with a lack of interest in identifying the client’s needs.
  • · Sales managers often lack in-depth knowledge about the competitive advantages of the product or service provided, and have little knowledge about the products and services of competitors.
  • · Often the staff disdains the corporate style of clothing and does not wear badges. This is due to the weak level of development of corporate culture, control and incentive systems.
  • · Drawing up regulations for all structural divisions, writing more detailed job descriptions for employees in direct contact with clients.
  • · More attention to personnel selection.
  • · Introduction of corporate service quality standards.
  • · Review of the control evaluation system.
  • · Development of corporate culture in organizations.

The Mystery Shopping technique has many advantages and is capable of most fully and comprehensively assessing the work of employees interacting with clients. Recently, this technique has been very actively used in customer-oriented companies, which allows improving the quality of service and increasing the competence of employees.

In a crisis, it is very important to develop a business not only from a quantitative side, but also from a qualitative one. Only those companies that, in addition to a good assortment, offer high-quality service and full-fledged service can withstand competition. To understand how objectively the company’s activities are assessed, you need to carefully monitor your work at each stage. This can be done using the “mystery shopper” technique.

Who is a Mystery shopper?

You can check the condition of the retail space, the availability of assortment, display (if we are talking about selling goods), as well as the quality of work of employees, including product knowledge, competence, friendliness, politeness and other characteristics important for work, with the help of a specially trained agent, who is usually called in business circles, a secret shopper.

Why are secret inspections needed?

With the help of the mentioned agent, the employer can:

  • analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the enterprise;
  • obtain information about the performance of a specific employee;
  • plan staff training;
  • create a motivation system consisting of bonuses and fines;
  • evaluate additional aspects of the work, such as the appearance of employees, the cleanliness of the sales floor, the completeness of the assortment, the correctness of the display, the presence of POS materials, etc.

Often, a secret shopper, whose reviews are used to monitor the state of affairs of competitors, is able to suggest which practices and tricks are suitable for adopting them. In addition, a manager or analyst can use it to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the company being audited and, against this background, improve their business in order to achieve a leading position.

In other words, a mystery shopper gives you the opportunity to see your business and your competitors’ business through the eyes of a consumer.

How to choose a person to be a mystery shopper?

The work of a secret shopper, despite its apparent simplicity, is quite complex and scrupulous, so choosing the right candidate is half the success of a marketing campaign. So, what requirements should be placed on a person who secretly collects commercial information?

  1. Honesty is a prerequisite, because... False information will not only not bring any fruit, but may even harm the business. In addition, a false assessment of a mystery shopper is deeply immoral, since the professional fate of a particular employee directly depends on his authoritative opinion.
  2. Memory and observation. Since the expert will have to remember about 50-70 parameters, he must have an excellent memory in order to be able to remember not only the standards by which he will evaluate, but also their implementation. In addition, the mystery shopper must be extremely detail-oriented, which will help supplement the report with criteria that may not have been considered when these standards were compiled.
  3. Acting abilities or psychological flexibility. As a rule, information that they are being checked leaks to employees, so they expect the secret shopper fully armed. In order for the mystery shopper's report to be objective, he must not declassify himself. Therefore, a person must be relaxed, psychologically flexible and even artistic to some extent. He should appear in the image of an ordinary consumer, calmly ask questions, listen with interest to the answers, doubt, be surprised, bargain, in general, behave like an ordinary client. By the way, many employers ask to test their employees for stress resistance; to do this, the expert must portray a dissatisfied, annoying or even scandalous client.
  4. Impartiality. The mystery shopper must objectively note the facts, without taking into account his own emotions. Even if the seller is rude, this does not mean that, for example, he is not competent in his matter or that there are complaints about his appearance. And vice versa, if a person is psychologically sympathetic to an expert, this does not mean that you need to turn a blind eye to dirty clothes or outright ignorance of your business.
  5. Discipline. The work of a secret agent is difficult to verify, because... he himself is an inspector, so a person applying for this role must be disciplined and responsible, strictly adhere to the script and submit the results of the work on time (no more than 12 hours after the inspection).
  6. Competence. Naturally, a secret shopper, whose feedback can affect the work of the company as a whole, must master the basics of the profession and clearly understand the specifics of this area. He is also obliged to correctly express his thoughts.

Based on these characteristics, the mystery shopper for verification is often selected from the ranks of the company itself (if the company is large, with an extensive regional structure) or an adjacent one (if the employees know each other well). Often the employer also resorts to the help of specialized agencies with a whole staff of such employees.

How to prepare a Mystery shopper for a visit

Regardless of whether it is a hired professional or your employee, the mystery shopper must be briefed before visiting the location. Let's analyze this preparation step by step.

  1. The agent must be familiarized with a questionnaire of key questions that he must answer (pay attention). For convenience and better memorization, they are divided into blocks.
  2. The mystery shopper must identify an individual need. Imagine that he is a real client. What would he like to purchase in this store or what service would he like to receive? For reliability, it is better to choose what really interests the expert.
  3. Based on this need, a realistic scenario is created. For example, a person came to buy a TV. Where would he like to put it (in the living room, kitchen)? How far away is the sofa from which he will watch it? What would he like to watch on TV (news or HD movies)? Every detail makes the story more trustworthy, and the seller will not have the idea that he is being checked, which means he will behave naturally, and the results of the check will be reliable.
  4. Depending on the number of questions, the time of visiting the location and its duration should be planned. Visiting hours are also taken into account - early in the morning when there are no buyers, or during rush hour.

What to look for?

When creating a profile for a Mystery shopper, as a rule, certain points are highlighted.

An important point is how employees comply with etiquette standards (greeting the client, friendliness, willingness to help). In other words, when a client appears, the employee is obliged to say hello, give him the opportunity to look around, and be on hand while he gets acquainted with the assortment. At the same time, on the one hand, he should not be indifferent, and on the other, he should not bombard the buyer with offers.

Will the employee be able to identify the customer's need? To do this, he must ask several questions about preferences (manufacturer, brand, color, size, etc.). Determine what is more priority for the client - price, prestige or quality. And most importantly, offer 3-4 varieties of goods that will meet these requirements.

It is important how the presentation and sale of the product proceeds. The seller must not only describe its advantages in a clear, short form, but also be able to demonstrate them in action. A successful presentation determines whether the client will understand that this product is exactly what he was looking for. This also includes the employee’s literacy and clarity of speech.

As already mentioned, working as a secret shopper often requires putting the seller off balance in order to test his resistance to stress. And this is not about rudeness at all. You can often hear questions from secret shoppers: “Why is it so expensive?” or “Why did my friend’s model break down?” In these cases, a good seller should have reasoned answers that can dispel doubts. For example, the answer to the first question: “Yes, it’s cheaper on the market, but our price includes a warranty and after-sales service.”

Equally important is the ability to unobtrusively and non-aggressively persuade the client to buy. Even if a person has not decided to purchase a product, the seller must be as friendly as possible to ensure that the buyer returns again.

The employee’s appearance, compliance with the corporate style, and the neatness of the workplace are also assessed. Some clients are not willing to wait, so the auditor must consider the speed of service and the worker's availability to the client. Delays, hitches, and especially errors at the stage of paperwork and payment are unacceptable.

How not to declassify yourself, or what behavior is unacceptable?

Common Mystery shopper mistakes are:

  • over or underestimation based only on one’s impressions, but not on objectivity;
  • defiant behavior, when an expert with his entire appearance shows that he is a special person requiring special treatment. He asks atypical questions with virtually no answers (for example: “What kind of material are the laces of these sneakers?”), insults the seller, and threatens his status.

It is not correct to look too closely at a badge in an attempt to remember the employee’s name. And nervousness, illogical behavior and untimely questions reveal an expert as an inexperienced secret shopper. Also wrong:

  • excessive competence, when an expert knows the product better than the consultant himself;
  • lack of interest in consultation when, during a conversation with the seller, the mystery shopper considers the floor or other store employees.

What does a Mystery shopper do after a visit?

Immediately after visiting the location, the agent is recommended to fill out a questionnaire, so to speak, based on fresh impressions, before many details of the service are forgotten. The expert gives assessments and answers closed and open questions. By the way, the mystery shopper, whose payment for services depends on the completeness of the research, must leave his own comments.