How can a brand reach its aim to deliver the highest level of customer experience? What are the factors that govern the experience a customer’s journey will enjoy? Well, answering all these questions can be a daunting task for the management. On the other hand, the evaluation of customer service experience matters a lot to develop and maintain the image of a brand in a competitive market.
It is the customers that decide the brand image. Based on their experience, they recommend a brand to others. They will also give valuable feedback that needs to be monitored. Sometimes, brands search for methods to evaluate customer satisfaction and experience on their own without asking a single question to a customer. It is possible by availing of a mystery shopping program conducted by professional service providers.
Factors considered for mystery shopping
The experience of a customer is defined by the journey of a buying decision. From entering a service location to exiting it, there are several factors that govern the outcome. These factors are determined and considered as the base of evaluation.
Mystery shopping research is conducted based on such factors. In the service industry, these are factors that should be monitored and evaluated from time to time.
1. Levels of service
There are multiple levels of service offered by a brand. For instance, a restaurant will include services such as customer interaction such as order receiving and catering on time, curb-side pickup, checking in and checking out, staff assistance, knowledge of staff, etc. All these factors determine how a customer will experience ordering and enjoying food on a real-time basis.
2. Availability
The availability of services and products in the business locations is also a prime factor. It is governed by resource management. The efficiency of inventory management, logistics, and various other domains can be measured by mystery shopping.
3. Workforce evaluation
The workforce needs to be evaluated on different levels such as knowledge, helpfulness, assistance, hospitality, efficiency to meet assigned responsibilities, hygiene, etc. A mystery shopping program will conduct vivid research to find the efficiency and productivity of a workforce.
The qualitative and quantitative approaches to mystery shopping
From the above factors, we can clearly understand how a mystery shopping venture can be qualitative, as well as, quantitative. The approach is designed by a service provider approached by a brand. The brand decides the factors to be measured qualitatively and quantitatively.
Based on the specific requirements, a mystery shopping platform is designed digitally and professional mystery shoppers are appointed to visit the multiple locations of a brand. They experience an entire journey of a customer and rate the service.
The digital platform is integrated with data analytics tools that provide insightful reports to the management. The management then follows the reports to check whether the brand’s service has achieved a decided benchmark. If not, new strategies are designed to achieve the same.
Thus, Mystery shopping is an innovative and flexible way to check the qualitative and quantitative aspects of a brand’s customer service.
