Have you recently considered hiring a retail mystery shopper for your retail locations?<\/p>\n
A mystery shopper can do a lot for your business and improve the service that your customers get. Your customers already have high expectations when they walk into your store.<\/p>\n
They fully expect your business to understand their needs and provide excellent service<\/a> to meet those needs. Otherwise, they\u2019ll take their business elsewhere. A mystery shopper will help you ensure that you\u2019re meeting those expectations.<\/p>\n What else can retail mystery shopping do for your business? Read on to find out.<\/p>\n You\u2019re one person trying to manage one or more retail locations. The reality is that you can\u2019t be everywhere at once. You certainly can\u2019t be at your retail location 24\/7.<\/p>\n A mystery shopper can take some of the load off of your shoulders. You can see what\u2019s going on when you\u2019re not there. \u00a0<\/p>\n A retail mystery shopper gives you insight into the real customer experience. When you are present, your employees will be on their best behavior. You don\u2019t get to see what they do when you\u2019re not there.<\/p>\n It\u2019s like when the teacher walks out of the room, all of the kids act up. The teacher walks back in and the kids turn into angels.<\/p>\n A mystery shopper lets you see what happens inside your business when you\u2019re not there. Are your employees behind the counter texting or are they interacting with customers?<\/p>\n You know exactly what level of service your customers receive when you\u2019re not there.<\/p>\n A retail mystery shopper will go into your store, do a little shopping, and then answer questions about the experience.<\/p>\n They\u2019ll answer questions like \u201cdid I feel welcomed in the store?\u201d \u201cWas the location clean and tidy?\u201d and \u201cWas the restroom clean and stocked?\u201d<\/p>\n They\u2019ll provide feedback on the general conditions of the store and employee behaviors. Most of all, they\u2019ll answer whether or not it was easy to make a purchase at your store. \u00a0<\/p>\n Your business is like a ship. There are holes in your ship where money is draining out. Every year, businesses lose $75 billion<\/a> due to poor customer service.<\/p>\n That loss of money can cause your ship to sink. When you get the feedback from the retail mystery shopping experience, there will be some things that are a complete surprise to you.<\/p>\n Other things you may have known about, and now you\u2019re realizing that it\u2019s a much larger issue because it could be costing you money.<\/p>\n Retail mystery shopping will identify the holes in your ship, which gives you the opportunity to fix them.<\/p>\n Did you know you can use retail mystery shopping to assess your competition? Yes, you can.<\/p>\n You can understand what they do really well to emulate that in your own location. You can also gain insights as to what they do very poorly.<\/p>\n You can then use those insights to exploit them. For example, if there\u2019s an item that your competitors don\u2019t stock but people want, you can make sure that you always have that item in stock.<\/p>\n The danger with retail mystery shopping is that you\u2019re always looking for what\u2019s wrong with your business.<\/p>\n You can also use that as an opportunity to see what you\u2019re employees are doing right. You can then take the next step and recognize and reward those employees who go above and beyond for customers.<\/p>\n Employees that are recognized for a job well done feel valued. When they feel valued, they\u2019re more likely to be more engaged and loyal<\/a>. That employee loyalty turns into lower turnover, which will lower your HR costs.<\/p>\n If your retail location is under the supervision of a first-time manager<\/a>, they might not see all of the opportunities within your business.<\/p>\n For example, you might sell a shirt that is perfect with a certain accessory. A customer can come in and ask for this shirt.<\/p>\n The employee shows them the shirt but doesn\u2019t mention how well the accessory goes with the shirt. That\u2019s a missed sales opportunity that can be easily corrected.<\/p>\n Plus, making that recommendation shows that your staff is in tune with your customers\u2019 needs by making additional recommendations.<\/p>\n Retail mystery shopping can provide incredible information and insights into your business.<\/p>\n Like anytime you receive new information, you have a choice. You can act on it, or you can let it sit there and not make any changes.<\/p>\n In order for your business to reap the benefits of mystery shopping, you have to take action on the findings.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t have to change everything at once, but make one small improvement at a time.<\/p>\n The key to a successful retail mystery shopping experience is choosing the right company to work with.<\/p>\n Some companies offer a variety of services in addition to mystery shopping. A company like JM Ridgway<\/a> offers multiple services for businesses to gain customer insights.<\/p>\n The thing to remember is that the mystery shopping company you choose is aligned with your target customer. You want the mystery shopping experience to be as close to the real thing as possible.<\/p>\n Customers expectations are higher than ever. They know that they are in control, and if they don\u2019t get what they want or need from your business, they can easily go elsewhere.<\/p>\n If your business is bleeding customers and money, retail mystery shopping can help you identify ways you can improve the customer experience. That will result in better employees, happier customers, and more revenue.<\/p>\n Want more great tips? Check out this guide to help you manage your small business finances<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Have you recently considered hiring a retail mystery shopper for your retail locations? A mystery shopper can do a lot for your business and improve the service that your customers… Continue reading “Retail Mystery Shopping: 7 Reasons Your Small Business Needs These Services”<\/span> <\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2258,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2257"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2257"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2360,"href":"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2257\/revisions\/2360"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}1. You Can\u2019t Be There 24\/7<\/h2>\n
2. Insight into the Real Customer Experience<\/h2>\n
3. Professional and Thoughtful Feedback<\/h2>\n
4. You Could Be Losing Money and Not Even Know It<\/h2>\n
5. Get Competitive Insights<\/h2>\n
6. Opportunity to Reward Staff for Outstanding Work<\/h2>\n
7. Identify Training and Upsell Opportunities<\/h2>\n
It Only Works If You Use the Information<\/h2>\n
How to Choose a Retail Mystery Shopping Company<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Mystery Shopping Equals a Better Experience for Your Customers<\/strong><\/h2>\n