Mystery Shopper: What is it and what is its function?

Currently, in such a competitive market, the quality of services and products play an important and decisive role, without neglecting the attention of users or customers .

Therefore, it is essential to put yourself in the shoes of our consumers, this in order to identify various strengths and disadvantages.

This tool or strategy is called " Mystery Shopper ", whose literal translation is " mystery customer " and can be suitable for any type of business environment.

If you want to learn more about this tool, we recommend that you keep an eye on the information we have for you.

Also review:Lead score: what it is, its importance and how to apply it

What is a mystery shopper?

The mystery customer is a person who is in charge of impersonating a common consumer of any brand, product or service. Said mystery shopper may have more than one target.

In the same way, the mystery shopper works as an optimal methodology to evaluate the level of customer satisfaction, allowing the identification and resolution of the weak points (or disadvantages) of any business or company.

Other names of a mystery shopper

There are other names under which a mystery shopper can be known, such as:

• mystery shopper
• Mysterious buyer.
• Ghost customer.
• Hidden client.
• Hidden buyer.
• ghost shopper
• Spy client.

What is the role of a mystery shopper?

Mystery shoppers help companies to measure, evaluate and analyze the quality of service . This serves to guarantee that the standards established by the company itself are complied with, in strict order.

As mentioned above, the mystery shopper can serve more than one purpose when posing as a common customer. Mystery shoppers can analyze and evaluate the following items:

• Customer Support.
• Quality of service provided.
• Physical or virtual space of the store.
• Shopping experience.
• Presentation of the product.

What is the Mystery Shopper process?

Initially, the mystery shopper must act as a common customer or consumer.

In case of having a clear objective (such as consuming a certain product or testing customer service) then the mystery shopper should go directly to its end.

After finishing with the role of client, the mystery shopper must start from certain previously elaborated questions.

To generate and manage the information, it is necessary to answer some questions that allow the analysis of the experience.

Some of these questions may be the following:

• How many employees were in the business? Did it correspond to the amount that is supposed to be?
• Was the waiting time correct or were there delays?
• Was the attention fast? Was it effective and efficient?
• How was the attention of the employee?
• Did the person who attended us identify our need?
• Were the products that best match our need or request offered?
• What techniques did the person use to close the sale?
• Was there cordiality in the treatment?
• Did the clerk invite the customer back into the store?
• How was the store? Was it in good condition?
• Regarding the product or service, did it have a good presentation or is it what is sold?

Based on the information that is recovered from these questions, a report can be prepared that details the activities of the business collaborators, as well as the work environment itself.

Mystery Shopper Benefits

If you still have doubts, then we will present what are the most common benefits of this tool.

• Identification of weaknesses. Behind this tool, there is a spectrum of reflection that will help companies and their collaborators to notice details in their dealings with customers. In some cases, collaborators will notice that some aspects are not being fulfilled adequately.
• Adjustments in customer service and commercial system. If something did not add up from the mystery shopper's first visit, he will have the obligation to let the collaborators of the place know. This helps to leave behind bad habits or attentions.
• Reduction in the rate of claims and complaints. By detecting deficiencies in the service, it is possible to make the pertinent improvements and adjustments to offer a more comprehensive service.
• Objective assessment of the product and business. The mystery shopper, being an agent who has no relationship with the collaborators or the company, can offer an objective and critical report or analysis about the service.
• There is more teamwork. Whether before, during or after the mystery shopper, teamwork will focus its efforts to offer a good service to all customers and consumers.

Risks of a misapplied Mystery Shopper

While it is true, mystery customers are fundamental agents in the self-knowledge and evaluation of a business or company, they can also fall into a practice that compromises the nature of the organization.

Some risks of a poorly applied mystery shopper can be:

• Exposing confidential company information to others.
• By not counting partial transparency, the mystery shopper can provide erroneous information.
• The questionnaires with which the performance of each collaborator is evaluated may not comply with the correct measurement variables. This causes incorrect results to be generated.
• In case the mystery shopper does not have experience, he can be discovered, ending the nature of the practice.

Another much more general risk comes when the mystery shopper offers a report that is not what we expected, resulting in a lost investment.

Conclusion

To be a good mystery shopper, the following elements must be followed:

1. Visit the establishment.
2. Observe processes and activities.
3. Simulate the acquisition of a product or service, as well as not stop interacting with the environment.
4. Carry out a personalized questionnaire for that company and its collaborators.
5. Identify opportunities for improvement, as well as the main adjustments in your work dynamics.
6. Formulate a report or report from the results.

Similarly, it is important to have some experience being a mystery shopper, in order not to give yourself away and disrupt the activities of collaborators.

Written by Moises Hamui Abadi : I am an entrepreneur, founding partner of Viceversa and SoyMacho. After being in charge of several digital businesses and advising several other businesses; I decided to form MHA Consulting, a digital marketing consultancy dedicated to growing and empowering digital businesses in more than 7 countries and generating more than 1,500 million pesos.

Schedule a call with MHA and let us advise you so you can achieve your sales goals.