Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Importance of Mystery Shopping in Recession Stricken times

Recession seems to be getting over but it has left a huge scar in the face of the global economy and it is still unknown when and how rapidly this scar would be healed. In a year, it has led to the closing down of many big and small companies across the world therefore making many people jobless. Those that have survived this destructive blow have found out effective strategies to make the business survive. Most companies are employing varied market research methods for better business decisions. Mystery shopping is one such market research tool that is being widely used by companies of various domains. This is because it not only helps save time and money but also provides accurate brand analysis report.
Every business aims at getting more potential customers and retaining them by introducing products and services that meet consumers’ expectations. A brand’s popularity in the market can be judged by the number of people visiting the outlets and the rate at which they purchase its products or avail its services - this implies half the battle won. Mystery shopping plays a crucial role in the improvement of a business. In other words, mystery shopping provides companies with their performance reports – the outstanding services get recognized whereas flaws and unattended issues are checked.
Mystery shopping, also commonly called secret shopping can be taken up as a part-time or full-time job by any individual. In fact, it is an excellent source of additional income. Mystery shopping is the right job for those who have quality time to spare during the day or are willing to shop at various locations and want to make some extra income. It offers ample scope to earn more with time and also enjoy several benefits. Many mystery shoppers consider it as a unique and challenging paid job. Companies rely on this method for the proper evaluation of their products and customer service. Besides, it also helps companies ensure that their employees remain motivated to deliver the best quality customer service.
Several big companies hire market research or mystery shopping companies who design mystery shopping assignments and hire individuals for the assignments. The assignments are designed as per client requirement. Mystery shopping assignments are done secretly with the mystery shoppers disguised as regular customers. They need to observe the location atmosphere, quality of the products as well as that of the service offered by the frontline staff. This observation is required to be noted down in a report in details and with the correct use of grammar. The report is then submitted to the mystery shopping company who reviews it and forwards it to the client company. The client company ultimately takes further decisions to improve sales and customer relations, based on the information provided in the report.

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