“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

Owning a business is a big endeavor. You want to make sure your business runs smoothly and that your employees are following your standard operating procedures to care for your customers in the manner you expect. Let’s take a look at the benefits of using mystery shoppers for your business.

1. Assess your competitors – Hiring a mystery shopper to assess your competitor is a good business move. You can assess how well your competitor is doing in key areas of product delivery and customer service to see how your business stacks up. It can also show you where you can improve to have an edge over your competitor.

2. Assess staff performance – How well is your staff performing? A mystery shopper can evaluate their performance based on criteria you provide. This gives you an inside view of how your staff is performing overall and in specific areas of interest to you. It also gives you an assessment of whether your staff is following guidelines and serving customers with excellence.

3. Assess new products or procedures – If you’ve recently introduced a new product or new procedures that don’t seem to be resonating well with customers, a mystery shopper could help give you valuable insight into why. Perhaps your changes aren’t being carried through properly or perhaps your employees are not promoting the new product according to your expectations. This kind of information can be invaluable in helping you make your new initiative more successful.

4. Assess the customer experience – A mystery shopper is the closest you can get to experiencing your business from the customer’s point of view. You’ll get a well-rounded report of everything from the customer service to cleanliness of the business to best understand what the customer sees and experiences. Once you know what the customer is experiencing, you can make changes to improve it.

5. Ensure compliance – A mystery shopper can document anything you want about their experience with your business, including the behavior and appearance of your employees. Using a mystery shopper can help you be sure your employees are complying with dress codes, standard operating procedures, best practices and service expectations. When you discover an issue with compliance, you can take measures to correct the employee(s) and bring your business up to your standards.

There are many benefits of using a mystery shopper for your business. You can get a look at your competition, make sure your staff is performing up to the right standards and assess the effectiveness of new products and procedures. Mystery shoppers give you an inside look at your business from a customer’s perspective that can help you make changes and make sure your business runs as smoothly as possible.