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A mystery shopping report is as useful as the criteria which is based on. Send somebody into a store with a vague brief and you'll get a vague report — one that will be nice to read, but unhelpful in enhancing anything. Only businesses with well-explained, consistent mystery shopping evaluation criteria are the ones that actually gain real value from mystery shopping, and for which every visit is assessed in the same way and covers the same metrics, at all locations and with all evaluators.
Here are 10 criteria and why you should have a specific score on your evaluation scorecard.
1. First Impression
That first impression is setting the tone for the rest of the experience, and so it's typically the first thing a mystery shopping checklist checks off. This encompasses the speed with which a customer is met as soon as they enter, how welcome, sincere or scripted the greeting is, and the overall cleanliness, illumination and neatness of the store which creates a welcoming ambience.
This is a criterion that is scored almost immediately after arriving at the premises and takes place before the actual sale talk occurs, as they say, the first impression is the last impression! If the first impression is bad, it's difficult to overcome the idea and the customer may still feel negative for the rest of the visit, irrespective of what they say to the staff.
2. Staff Behavior
Staff behaviour refers to body language, tone and demeanour of staff during the interaction – their attitude, are they attentive and polite and professional or are they distracted and dismissive? This criterion also reflects some nuanced behaviors such as eye contact with the customer, staff's true commitment to the customer, and their ability to manage multitasking during peak times.
Staff behaviours are not always so straightforward to score like with checklist items as the focus is the quality of the interaction, rather than a yes/no. This is why anonymous evaluations conducted by trained mystery shopper agencies work so well here employees behave differently when they know they're being watched versus when they think it's a routine interaction.
3. Product Knowledge
Product knowledge will assess the ability to answer questions, ensure staff understand the features and benefits of the product and are able to make appropriate recommendations based on the needs of the customer. This is one of the most standard aspects in a mystery shopping review that is not often met because product training may not keep up with new products or frequent changes in portfolios.
This is usually assessed through specific, sometimes probing questions: which of two products is more effective, what are the technical features of the product(s), what are the compatible features or is there a particular use that is incompatible with the product(s). Low product knowledge isn't only going to lose a sale, but it's going to hurt the brand's credibility.
4. Response Time
Response time refers to the speed at which your customer is greeted at the door, waited on for help on the floor, or responded to via chat, email, or phone. This is important as it is one of the more objective and easily-measurable on the list — the response time can be timed and therefore businesses will have hard facts and not just subjective opinions.
One of the most frequent sources of customer dissatisfaction is slow response times, particularly in high-traffic areas where staff members are juggling multiple tasks and priorities.
5. Sales Process
The sales process criterion is based on whether staff engage in a logical, customer-focused sales process: assess the customer's needs before making a sales pitch, offer the customer the most relevant options, meet objections with professionalism, and help the customer make a buying decision without being pushy. A good sales process is consultative and a bad one is passively waiting for the customer to ask everything or too aggressively.
Mystery shoppers usually assess this from the first contact to the final conclusion, be it a sale or a definite next step for the customer to pursue.
6. Cross-Selling
Cross selling is the process of offering a possible additional product or service without being pushy or intrusive, e.g. an accessory to a main product, or a relevant add-on service. This criterion is significant since it directly affects the average transaction value, but often is omitted of staff who are not trained on the combinations or who do not wish to seem pushy.
The key to cross selling, as assessed in a mystery shopping, is that it should be a natural, helpful suggestion, not an upsell evaluators indicate whether or not cross selling was attempted, as well as how well it was done.
7. Complaint Handling
One of the most telling indicators is complaint handling, as evaluators will raise a concern, issue or objection, whether it is about the product or the price, and observe how staff members handle the complaint. Effective complaints management requires attention to listening, accepting responsibility, not passing on blame and providing a clear resolution process.
This is a factor that can distinguish between good and great staff, and it's much easier to take a common sale well than it is to take a frustrated customer graciously. Poor scores on this measure can manifest as poor customer retention even if other measures have been good.
8. Customer Satisfaction
Many individual criteria contribute to it, but customer satisfaction is usually measured as a global, overall impression at the end of the visit; that is, would this evaluator (now as a true customer) be satisfied with the interaction overall? This criterion serves as a valuable cross-check: a store may earn high marks on each of the checklist items but may not be perceived as having a strong performance overall, which could indicate that the store's performance was lacking on some of the finer details that the specific checklist items focus on.
9. Customer Loyalty
Customer loyalty assessment is closely linked to satisfaction and focuses on future measures such as the willingness of the evaluator to return to this store and to recommend it to others. In some mystery shopping schemes the employee's sensitivity to repeat visits to the business, including mentioning loyalty cards, or promotions, or the fact that they were welcome back.
This is important because no single successful sale or purchase can generate future sales, but the way staff act to make customers feel valued can do the job.
10. Visual Merchandising
Finally, visual merchandising evaluates how well the store is presented in the physical environment, including the organization of the shelves, the likelihood of signage being correct, product placement and overall visual appeal. While a great deal of attention can go into the staff interactions, a messy or poorly-cared for store environment can negatively impact the overall store experience and brand perception.
Mystery shoppers are usually assessing the consistency of the displays to the promotion, checking the consistency of the products displayed with brand standards, and the overall level of visual consistency of the store with the brand's standards.
Turning Criteria Into Consistent Evaluation
These ten criteria are only the beginning of the value that can be gained real impact comes from applying professional mystery audit services consistently across every visit, every store, and every evaluator. This involves adhering to a common scoring system for every participant, training the evaluators to interpret the criteria in the same manner, and analyzing scores over time, not as a stand-alone performance.
Also Read: Mystery Audit vs Retail Audit vs Compliance Audit
Conclusion
True to its name, effective mystery shopping is not about a visit to a retail store, it's about measuring the same set of mystery shopping evaluation criteria at every store you visit and at each time of visit and comparing results across stores and over time. Each of these 10 criteria reflects a different aspect of the customer experience, from the first impression to the way staff treat customers, the way complaints are handled, to how the store appears to the customers. So while some businesses are only interested in the bottom line of sales activity, others can gain a much more comprehensive and usable snapshot of the true situation on their store floor by keeping track of all 10.
