Boost Performance With Shopping Services

Do they greet the customer cheerfully? Talk knowledgeably about merchandise and services? Offer add-on sales to boost your average sales ticket?

It's tough to answer those questions on your own. Sure, you can have friends shop your futon store. But chances are your employees see them coming a mile away. Or, you can poll your customers. But shoppers often hesitate to reveal their true feelings. The solution for many futon store owners is to hire third party shopping services. Sometimes called "mystery shoppers," these services assign individuals to act as undercover customers at your futon store.

"Mystery shopping can answer some of the key questions that retailers have about their futon stores," says Howard Levinson, president of Howard Services, a Norton, Mass., mystery shopping firm which operates nationwide. "Is the staff performing good customer service? Following correct procedures? And are they dealing honestly with their employer?"

These questions have bottom line implications. Happy customers mean fatter profits. "Our studies show that it costs five to six times more to attract new customers than to keep an old one," says Levinson. "If you retain five percent more customers, you can increase your profits by 80 percent." When treated poorly, customers just stop shopping at your futon store without telling you why. "Nine out of 10 dissatisfied customers don't complain," says Levinson. "Of the nine who don't complain, seven will stop patronizing the business." Of the people who do complain, says Levinson, 75 percent of them will continue shopping at the business if their complaint is handled properly.

Services are priced economically do that the smallest of retailers can utilize them. The typical cost per visit is from $50 to $60. Many clients of these services have their futon stores shopped four or five times a month.

Here are five critical points to follow when dealing with shopping services:

Point #1. Know specifically what you are looking for.
Don't be vague when you describe the shopping service's mission. "It's best to have a specific idea of what you are looking for," says Dr. John Ford, president of National Research Corporation, a shopping service in West Palm Beach, Fla. "Write it down so it is incorporated into a contract. There's no point in funding a fishing expedition."

Point #2. Don't try to do too much.
Be specific, yes. But don't write up a long shopping list of things to find out. "Mystery shopping is not as easy as you might think," says Gary Harper, vice president of marketing services at Elrick & Lavidge Interserv Marketing Solutions, a shopping service in Tucker, Ga. "If you try to cover too much territory you will be asking someone to tackle more than they can remember. Don't forget: Mystery shoppers are not using a pad and paper as they walk your store."

Point #3. Select an experienced firm that specializes in mystery shopping.

"Getting the information you need comes down to shopper training, says Ford. "You don't want someone who doesn't know what they are doing." See the sidebar, "Selecting a shopping service.")

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