Mystery Shopping

Why Mystery Shopping matters How Mystery Shopping works Whom to connect with

Whether you’re a mystery shopping novice, expert, or anywhere in between, the following suggestions will ensure you’re getting more powerful insights and greater out your mystery shopping program:

Recognize frequently, Reward consistency: is critical: Most organizations excel at Rewarding consistency, often A well designed and executed mystery shopping program through a host of incentive-based compensation strategies will draw upon mystery shoppers that are current/poten- and plans. However, many overlook the importance of Rec- tial customers well before and after they complete a single ognizing the positive day-to-day customer experience achieve- mystery shop for your . However, mystery shoppers are ments in more systematic ways. The reality is that Recognition distinct from your customers in a very important way: they are is much more effective for driving sustainable customer experi- intentionally trained to make objective observations through ence improvements than are Rewards. Why? Because Recog- your brand/organizational lens. Measuring customer advocacy nition programs provide more frequent positive reinforcement within the context of mystery shopping provides an important and can be easily seeded within organization at the front lines dependent variable for analytical and statistical modeling pur- of service delivery. poses, and is essential for transforming data into insights.

Measure what you train to: Interactional touchpoints are of primary importance: Your customer service/experience training programs and Your associates, and their actions/behaviors in service to your materials are one of the best indicators of your Brand’s Promise. customers, are the most important and actionable drivers of By focusing on operational and behavioral standards that are customer advocacy. Resist the common temptation to measure clearly communicated in training, the operational feedback minimum customer experience expectations. Minimum provided through mystery shopping can be directly tied back to expectations demonstrate very little variability and are rarely existing standards, increasing the actionability of the resulting key drivers of customer advocacy. In addition, shortcomings data. There are fewer ways to lose credibility more quickly with in delivering minimum expectations will be identifiable well in the field than to hold them accountable to operational and advance of a mystery shop by business performance patterns behavioral expectations that they were never trained to. and/or field management representatives.

Rotate scenarios on a regular basis: Model results to business outcomes: Scenarios, or the more scripted elements of a mystery shop, Few things are more important than to demonstrate the Return are one of the most important aspects of program design. on Investment of your mystery shopping program. If your mys- However, when the same scenario is used time and again, tery shopping program cannot speak to the ultimate drivers of it provides clear cues to your associates as to the identity of business performance, it will be doomed for failure. Imperative the mystery shopper, which significantly diminishes program then is to routinely model and quantify the underlying relation- integrity. For mystery shopping to be optimally effective at ships that the key operational and behavioral standards from driving behavioral change, the identity of the mystery shopper your mystery shopping program have on unit-level financial per- must remain a mystery. formance. Actionable customer experience drivers of business performance will galvanize the focus of your entire organization in a way that few other things can.

SECOND-TO-NONE.COM Mystery Shopping

Why Mystery Shopping matters How Mystery Shopping works Whom to connect with

Uncover and act on the behavioral drivers of the customer experience. Mystery Shopping is integral to the heart and soul of Second To None, and represents the roots of our firm dating back to 1989. Over the past 20+ years, our holistic, customized and practical multi-channel Mystery Shopping solutions (e.g, On-location, Telephone, E-Commerce/Online, Call Center) have become renowned in our industry for uncovering the underlying behavioral and operational drivers of the customer experience that are ultimately responsible for driving customer satisfaction, loyalty, advocacy and revenue.

We truly pride ourselves on taking a practical approach to Mystery Shopping and accomplish this through our:

Integrated Program Design: Obsessive Focus on Data Integrity: We design and customize every aspect of your Mystery We employ a multi-phase quality assurance process that in- Shopping program around your organizational lens (how you volves the extensive use of statistical process controls, as well as view and interact with your customers) to ensure editing, clarifying and proofing by at least two different internal the resulting business intelligence is both relevant and quality assurance associates that have been trained on your actionable to your stakeholders in the field, while being program’s specific quality criteria. The end result is that each mindful of drawing the direct linkages back to how your Mystery Shopping report meets your exacting standards prior customers experience your brand. to it being released to you and your stakeholders in the field.

Extensive Shopper Network: Modular Questionnaires: With a network of over 250,000 mystery shoppers throughout We engineer flexibility into your Mystery Shopping the United States and Canada, we can confidently guarantee program using modular questionnaire applications that that we have shoppers wherever and whenever you offer 1) a ‘core’ module dedicated to uncovering and may need them. Second To None is also a founding member of tracking the most important behavioral and operational the International Mystery Shopping Alliance (IMSA), enabling drivers of the customer experience, and 2) ‘dynamic’ us to offer worldwide Mystery Shopping solutions in every questionnaire modules through which emerging initiatives major global market. can be quickly assessed and acted upon.

Comprehensive Shopper Management: Refined Shopper Selection and Training: Our shoppers are managed on a day-to-day basis by our team We customize the selection of shoppers for your program of internal field operations associates and are continually rated based on specific demographic and lifestyle characteristics of and ranked on several quality metrics. Shoppers’ performance primary interest. Eligible shoppers then complete a training on these quality metrics has a direct influence on their eligibility and certification module designed around the specific objec- for future assignments. Our systems also monitor shopper tives and requirements of your program. scoring bias (both positive and negative) and we regularly inactivate shoppers who display a tendency to consistently award high or low overall scores. SECOND-TO-NONE.COM Mystery Shopping

Why Mystery Shopping matters How Mystery Shopping works Whom to connect with

CONTINUED

Real-Time Reporting: Robust Analytics: Our CATAPULT reporting console provides you access to your We use a variety of transparent and best-in-class quantitative Mystery Shopping results in real- time, and offers a wealth and qualitative analytical tools that your team can understand of customizable and user-friendly reporting features that and that quickly transform Mystery Shopping data into cus- empower you and your field management team to take tomer experience insights, and always present analytic insights action quickly. to you in the simplest manner possible.

Your customers expect great service wherever they go. Thanks to our multi-channel solutions, we’ll be there too.

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SECOND-TO-NONE.COM Mystery Shopping

Why Mystery Shopping matters How Mystery Shopping works Whom to connect with

Optimizing the Customer Experience & nurturing Brand Advocacy is an art & a science.

Our Belief: Our Solutions: In distilling the operational and customer-centric best practices Second To None offers a comprehensive suite of integrated of many of the world’s most successful , we’ve unlocked and stand-alone Customer Experience Management services, the key to creating real, tangible ROI: Brand Authenticity » including Customer Feedback Surveys, Mystery Shopping and Advocacy » . Brand Compliance Audits. Solutions are highly customized and designed around our Holistic Customer Experience Manage- We believe customer experience optimization isn’t about col- mentsm methodology, where we model, measure and manage lecting an ever-expanding universe of data, but rather focusing the customer experience to better align with your brand prom- on exactly what is most important, from the right channels, at ise in order to create more authentic brand experiences. the right time, then drawing fact-based priorities and strate- gies from it and delivering relevant, actionable insights into The result is practical business intelligence delivered in real- the hands of those who need and can act upon them. Our time. We empower your organization to proactively manage solutions are built with a singular outcome in mind: To drive the customer experience by driving customer satisfaction, customer advocacy and sales in a sustainable manner. loyalty, advocacy and ultimately, revenue.

Our Analytics and Insights: Our Focus: The powerful, yet straight-forward and fact-based analytical Second To None’s substantial focus is with multi-location brands tools we employ allow you to continually align your predominately in the , restaurant, banking, insurance, organizational strategies and tactics to the most important healthcare and government industries. We are uniquely customer-centric experiences. positioned within the customer experience/voice-of-customer industry, for we adeptly design and manage organizationally- Second To None’s technology platform seamlessly integrates focused performance measurement programs (mystery the reporting and analysis of key customer experience shopping and brand compliance studies) as well as initiatives measurement solutions designed around the Organizational focused around the customer lens (customer feedback and Lens (Employee Behaviors/Operational Delivery) and the voice of customer programs). Our clients engage us for either Customer Lens (Perceptions/Feedback/Satisfaction). or both solution areas, as determined by their strategic needs.

We invite you to consider Second To None, and would enjoy the opportunity to have a conversation with you about how we can assist your brand in achieving your customer experience management objectives.

Jeff Hall David Robbins Chad Losey Founder & CEO VP, Client Services New Business Development 734.302.8401 734.302.8407 734.302.8414 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Second To None, Inc. 303 Detroit Street, Suite 1 Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104 | 734.302.8400 | Second-to-none.com