Can Mystery Shopping increase your Sales figures?
Have you noticed the main recurring question that every business has in mind, ‘how do we increase our sales?’
It is a common question posed to Mystery Shopping Companies, how will conducting Mystery Audits help my business to achieve higher sales figure? A majority of companies prefer to throw money on expensive advertising or some market research without real objectives, just a matter to say they have ticked the box and done, rather than spending on a less expensive option, the one tool of gauging their service delivery: Mystery Audits or Mystery Shopping.
How many times have you entered a shop and not one of the associates acknowledge you? And when they don’t acknowledge, an instant thought that crosses the customer’s mind is, do they want my business? Do they really care about me being here, in their shop?
Maybe the customer is in need of something, say either the product or service, but the business also needs customers. If the shop does not make the customer feel valued, will that customer return? No and that’s a loss to the business on account of a simple thing, acknowledgement or greeting. And that loss of a customer can create more losses by simply relating the same amongst family and friends and sales are sure to drop. Word of Mouth is so powerful, while it can create customers, it can create losses as well.
This is just one instance and there could be so many other instances that can cause customer footfall and sales figures to drop, which only an unbiased external source can see. According to a blog in ‘Feedback Plus’, sales go up in direct correlation to how customers are treated. Yes, there is no secret, if you look after your customers they will buy from you, recommend you and return to you. In the article written by the ‘Retail Doctor’ Aug 13, 2015, profit comes from the customer who wants to return and not from the promotion or discounts you run to entice new customers.
Mystery Shopping/Audits bring to the company’s attention, these little differences that can turn around the business to be a success. Mystery Shoppers are trained to give you specialized and specific feedback, this could be about employees, products/services, or competition. It gives the business an edge to stay ahead of the competition.
It is also the best way to create loyalty within your internal customers, it helps employees’ satisfaction when rewarded or given training. Employees are your internal strength and steps to success, if you look after your employees they will look after your customers, they will genuinely sell what the customers want, they will make them feel good and automatically the sales will up without the need of wasting advertising budget.
Another way, according to the feedback plus blog by Dave Agius, Mystery Shopping increases sales is, many of the shoppers are asked to make a small reimbursable purchase of say $5 and more than 50% of the time the receipt amount far exceeds the purchase value, well over $10. One retail chain with over 100 stores allowed approximately $600 for “reimbursable”. The receipts submitted were for over $1500. Ummm, I know a couple of our shoppers’ husbands who are not so impressed with their wife ‘keeping’ all the goods…
So, does Mystery Shopping increase sales? YES
Will you be making a return on investment when putting a Mystery Shopping programme together? YES
Will you see your workforce happier and selling more? YES
Will you see your customers return because they feel valued every time they come through your doors? YES
There is no question about it, having some real measure of your service delivery will definitely increase your sales and will shift the system to a service culture.
