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marketplacefield marketing

an mystery shoppinghe ruth, andng explicit on wha twan t to knowyour in-storeence can help

mystery shopping.oragper, the lat est TV offering from reta il

ully o n to shop floors, she proceed s toeveryone from cleane r to chief executivesely where they've b een going wrong inBecause her reputation precedes her, Portas 'sin any store is likely to g ene rate

me's t i t le.While Channel 4 may make breathy

concept is nothing new.

Ian Oxley, head of membership, promotions

"Historically we monitored the broadero any trus t property - from arrival in the

However more tha n 10 years of this activityonly the wid est view of performance

V

\

figure focus

The ideal minimumlength of time amystery shoppingproject should last.

...stores visitedonce a month in anaverage retail projectwould cost 100,000to 250,000.

The amount aweekly, large scaleproject can co stin pounds.

The amount amystery shopperearns per visitdepending on theproject's com plexityand duration.

Source: Grass Roots and former GfK mystery shopper

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brand in the spotlight

W L O O KLIVER LU CASHEAD OF BRAND PLANNING^ N D INSIGHT

Secret service:Who said data collectioncan't be enjoyable too?

and made it difficult to pinpoint any particular

"We wanted to understand a customer 'sf the memb ership recruitment

ning programme tha t

The specificity of answers that mystery

ething that an opinion andThe high street bank Santander says that

busin ess, a s Steve Williams, director ofas al lowed us to set standards of

ck a theme that w e need to

MW: How do you use your Snapshotmystery shopping programme?OL: One of the beau ties of it is the store-levelfeedback. When you take customerexperience surveys you are applying oneexperience to the whole estate. Mysteryshopping is at store level and is actionable._ This campaign ha s been in action for fourrs and we'v e see n a gradual build in storeires since it started. Programmes like thismake u s increase performance in the rightplaces. For example, studies have suggestedthat a customer using th e fitting room istwice as likely to make a purchase than onewho doesn't. So we have to make sure thatwe exhibit consistent standards in that veryecific area across all stores.

V: How do you ensure a m ysteryshopping report is as accurate as possible?OL: There is a dow nside that this is just onevisit in one month and there is every

tackle, so in 2011 we are looking at th ecomplaints process."Williams found the mystery shoppersparticularly valuable during the merger processwhen the Spanish-owned bank absorbed theAbbey, Bradford & Bingley and Alliance &Leicester brands on the high street. "Using thefeedback from mystery shoppers in each of our1,400 branches over the last two years means wecan be specific to our staff about standards andwha t customers expect in a branch," he says.

When asked why this could not be achievedthrough surveys conducted among genuinecustomers of the bank - those with a genuinelyvested interest in the bank's improvedperformance - Williams refers to the benefitsof mystery shoppers. "The mystery shopper hasa list of questions which generate black andwhite answers and will give a clear indicationof how it is performing," he say s.Santander uses the agency Grass Roots tocarry out the undercover visits, and while itemploys people who are already customers ofthe bank, the agency says these people can work

possibility that the shopper could hit thestore on a bad day when circumstances arebeyond their control. But the visits do happeevery month so you'd hope that results wouleven out over the year.We try to overcom e p otential prejudices ofthe shopper by being as explicit as possiblein the questions w e w ant them to pose. Theresponses tend to be very black or wh ite toquestions such as: did you have eye contact athe till or is the store clean? Mystery shoppinworks best when it is operationally focused.It's important to understand its limitations.MW: Where can you take my stery sh oppinnext?OL: We're playing around w ith th e idea thatyou can still use real shoppers in themoment. Boots, for example, uses its receiptto commun icate with customers and invitesevery fourth to participate in an o nlinesurvey. The disadvantag e is that it is aretrospective view of the operation.

with a certain detachm ent and report backeffectively. With an increa sing p rese nce onlinbrand owners also need to address themultichann el issue. It is one thing to perfectthe in-store experience, but if the online storefails to match up to that it could be damaging.So most agencies insist they wiU also monitorcustomer interactions online.A carrot not a stic kA typical retailer with a presence on every mahigh stre et in the UK might exp ect to have e aoutlet 'shopped' once a month. Staff are awarthat it will happen but they have no indicationprecisely when or where. With an element of'Big Brother' about the process and the sensethat the shopper is there to test the staff andstore, could mystery shopping unsettleemployees and foster a 'them and us' culture?

New Look's head of brand planning andinsight Oliver Lucas says that staff at the fashchain must be considered as part of the proce"Mystery sh oppers have conno tations ofhitting staff over the hea d with their

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Engaging staffin a positiveway fosters anatmosphere ofcompetition notcoercion

i wrongdo ings," he says. "I t 's important touse it to engage employees in a positive way."To this end. Ne w Look's 'Snaps hot'programme scores each of its stores out of 100and fosters an atmosphere of competition, notcoercion. "Periodically those who achieve theperfect score - and it is possible - are invitedto head office and trea ted as VIPs for the day,"says Lucas.The National Trust's Ian Oxley agrees thatmystery shopping should act as the carrot ratherthan the stick as far as employees are concerned."The score is part of our annual rewards andrecognition programme and we often receiveemails from managers who point out, for

fact focus Typical mystery shopping programmes inretail involve o ne visit per store a month. Mystery shoppers are often interestedcustomers of the brand in question,recruited by agencies to fit a profile. Mystery shopping generally deliversresults that are operationally relevant,rather than softer measur es such ascustomer advocacy.t Because of the 'snapshot' effect of theseprogrammes, they are most effective whenrepeated over a period of time to g ive an

average, with a minimum period of at leasta year.

viewpointsIan OxleyHead of membershippromotions and eventsNational Trust

V w,. We are looking more to webhosting to get hold of data in a more efficientway It's about experiencing things face to faceand the mystery shop has to be as real and asauthentic as can be. W e are looking forinnovations in reporting and sha ringinformation, giving us better ways of a nalysingdata and making it as exible as possible soevery manager who needs to can interrogate it.Oliver LucasHead of brand p lanningand insightNew LookWe are aiming to get realcustomers to our website to report on theirexperiences through the use of incentives suchas prize draw s. W e're playing a round with amechan ic to drive customers to our site wherewe can get a real customer view but with theoperational accuracy of a mystery shopper

Steve WilliamsDirector of service qualitySantanderHaving focused very muchinternally over the last twoyears, we are looking for insights that can bedelivered by mystery shopping beyond ourbounda ries in services other than banking fothe broader view of service excellence.Ethie New tonCustomer research managereasyJetI'd ike to see the delivery ofinformation truly to move to rtiint!, using handheld devices ra ther than penand paper This would increase the exibilityof the mystery shopper and is particularlypertinent for disrupted journ eys. If a mysteryshopper can report their findings as they arehappening - such as frontline staff reactingpoorly to the bad weather late last year whenthe snow caused widespread disruption- we can make use of that and adapt ourcustomer approach.

example, that their team has achieved 100% inthe previous six mystery shopping sessions -which is effectively a perfect score for two yearsstraight," he says.Aiming for a perfect scoreAs a half-way house between the professionalaudit and the emotive, possibly inaccurate butnonetheless telling customer survey, mysteryshopping needs to be one of a number ofmeasu remen t tools , says The C o-operativeFood's head of strategy, insight and planning,Helen Bridgett.

"Mystery shopping provides an unequivocalanswer to the important question - was theservice that you received good enoug h?" shesays. "However, wider aspects of branddevelopment such as quality, trust or emotionalengagement with the brand are best reviewedusing other techniques. "

It is sometimes questionable, however, ifmystery shopping is delivering different enoughinsights to merit the time and effort spent on it,which me ans that real- time feedback should beused to get a broader picture.The Co-operative has integrated this type offeedback into the purchasing mechanic usingquestions on chip and pin machines.Bridgett says: "Pin pads help us get feedbackfrom several hundred thous and customers in thespace of a week. There is no other researchtechnique that enables a business to gauge itscustomer views on a subject, or product, asquickly or cost effectively."It can only ever be used to answer simple,on-the-spot questions, but the feedback fromthese is used to complement the rest of our

insight programme."EasyJet also puts mystery shopping data wcustomer surveys, using agency GfK to proviundercover shoppers willing to assess th e whservice and w hether they w ould therefore f lyto a destination.Customer research manager Ethie Newtonsays: "While customer survey information isimportant, we n eed the neutrality of the m ysshopper to get an unbiased view."A 'real' customer may have a perfectly gojourney overall, but if they experience less thperfect customer service at check-in that wiUcolour their view of the whole journey. We nean unbiased assessment of each customertouchpoint through the journey. "Cost and effectiveness is particularly pertiwhen assessing public services. Transport foLondon (TfL) recently undertook a mysteryshopping campaign reportedly costing lm.With frequent publicity about rising fares aover-budget repair costs, TfL must ensure itreceives value for money. A spokesperson forLondon Underground sta tes: "We're workingimprove the quality and cleanliness of Tubeservices and stations, the experience of ourdisabled customers, as well as the informatioprovided to Londoners."London Underground uses mystery shoppsurveys to monitor our performance and we tact on the results. The cost of such surveys isvery small fraction of TfL's 9bn an nual bud gSo, mystery shopping, like any insightprogramme - needs to provide value for monehave buy-in from those with the power to act the results , and must be an on-goingcommitm ent to measu re progress and succes

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