mystery shopping best practices
TRANSCRIPT
Kinesis CEM, LLC
Mystery Shopping Best Practices
http://www.kinesis-cem.com/Mystery_Shopping_Best_Practices.shtml
Eric Larse is co-founder of Seattle-based Kinesis, which helps companies plan and execute their customer experience strategies. Mr. Larse can be reached at [email protected].
http://www.kinesis-cem.comhttp://www.kinesis-cem.com/mystery_shopping.shtml
kinesis-cem.com 206.285.2900 [email protected]
Mystery ShoppingBest Practices
Several Tools are Available to Inspect or Monitor the Customer Experience
However,
No Tool Better than Mystery Shopping to Monitor Service
and Sales Behaviors that Drive Customer Experience Success
“You can expect what you inspect.”
W. Edwards Deming
Best In Practice Mystery Shopping
Identifies and Motivates Sales and Service Behaviors
Which Matter Most
Those Which DrivePurchase Intent
Behaviors Which Matter
the Most
Brand Customer Interface
Brand Customer
Defines Brand More than External Messaging
Behavioral Approach
Brand Customer
Mystery Shopping Measures Customer Experience from the
Brand Side of the Interface
Identify & Motivate Sales and Service Behaviors Which Drive
Purchase Intent
Types of Mystery
Shopping
In Person
Contact Center
Internal
Web Mobile
Life Cycle
Competitive
What Sales and Service Behaviors do You Expect from Employees?
Define Objectives
Some of the questions you might ask yourself look like this:
What specific service behaviors do we expect?
When greeting a customer, what specific behaviors do we expect from staff?
When meeting with customers after the greeting, what specific behaviors do we expect?
If a phone interaction, what specific hold/transfer procedures do we expect (for example asking to be placed on hold, informing customer of the destination of the transfer)?
Are there specific profiling questions we expect to be asked? – If so, what are they?
What closing behaviors do you expect? How do you want employees to ask for the business?
At the conclusion of the interaction, how do you want the employee to conclude the conversation or say goodbye?
Are there specific follow-up behaviors that you expect, such as getting contact information, suggesting another appointment, or offering to call the customer?
What other specific behaviors do we expect?
Define Objectives
Map Expectations
to
Questionnaire
Define Objectives
Keep it Simple
Anticipate the Analysis
What, How & WhyQuestionnaire Design
Objective Behaviors:
Backbone of Best in Class Programs
Measure & Motivate Expected Behaviors
Key Driver Analysis Linked Behaviors to Purchase IntentQuestionnaire
Design
Subjective Impressions
Rating Scales
Qualitative & Quantitative Perspective
Provide Means of Linking Sales and Service Behaviors to Desired
Outcome (Purchase Intent)
Questionnaire Design
Subjective Comments
Why Shoppers Felt the Way They Did
Qualitative Understanding of What the Shopper Felt as a Result of Customer Experience
Content Analysis Determine Qualitative Drivers of Desired Outcome (Purchase Intent)
Questionnaire Design
Anticipate The Analysis
Questionnaire Design
Score = Pts Earned/Pts Possible
Weight Behaviors Based On Importance – Importance Determined by Relationship to Purchase Intent
Don’t Average Averages – Calculate Each Hierarchy’s Score Independently
Scoring
What is a good mystery shop score?
Consider Distribution of Shops a Whole
Determine Percentile Rank of Each Shop
Determine Which Percentile Rank is the Appropriate Standard
Scoring
Maximum Possible Shop Distortion – A Measure of
Shop Reliability
Sample Plan1 2 3 4 5 6 7
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%100%
50%
33%25% 20% 17% 14%
Number of Shops/ Business Unit
3 Shops / Business Unit = Max ROI in Terms of
Reliability
Obtain Buy-in From the Front-Line
Provide Adequate Administration
Provide a Fair Dispute Process
Program Launch & Fielding
Build in Call to Action Elements
Designed to Identify Key Sales& Service Behaviors
Which Correlate to a Desired Customer Experience Outcome
(Purchase Intent)
Call to Action
Analysis
Shoppers are Asked, How the Experience Influenced Their
Purchase Intent
Cross-Tabulating Positive and Negative Purchase Intent to
Identify Experience Differences Between Positive and Negative
Purchase Intent
Yields a Ranking of the Importance of Each Behavior
Call to Action
Analysis
Follow-up Question Asking, Why the Shopper Rated Their
Purchase Intent as They Did
Responses Grouped & Classified into Similar Themes, and Cross-
Tabulated by the Purchase Intent
Produces a Qualitative Determination of What Sales & Service Practices Drive Purchase
Intent
Call to Action
Analysis
Identify Which Behaviors Have the Highest Potential for ROI in Terms of Driving Purchase Intent
Compare the Importance of Each Behavior to its Performance
Importance Determined By Relationship to Purchase Intent
Call to Action
Analysis
Map Importance and Performance in a Quadrant Chart
Identify Behaviors with Highest ROI Potential (Low Performance High Importance)
Call to Action
Analysis
Part of Balanced Score Card
Coaching
Taking Action
Maintain a Feedback Loop to Customer Expectations
Ensure Behaviors Measured are Aligned with Customer
Expectations
Periodic Reviews to Keep Program Relevant and
Useful
Plan for Change
Data Collection is a Commodity
Value Comes from a Partner Who Can Help
Take Action on the Results
Provider Selection