Mystery research
The goal of optimal
customer loyalty
Mystery
research is a successful and established research approach for objectively
evaluating service quality. The aim is systematic optimisation of service and
advisory standards and so ultimately enhancement of customer loyalty.
FairControl applies mystery research techniques at fairs (mystery visits), at the POS (mystery shopping) and to evaluate call centres (mystery calling). The performance features of FairControl mystery research studies are presented consecutively in detail with the example of mystery shopping projects.
What
exactly is mystery research?
Mystery
techniques are undercover consultation tests or test purchases for objective
measurement of your quality goals. This involves simulating typical
consultation situations directly on-site. The undercover survey guarantees
authentic situations without influencing employees in their activities.
Specially selected and intensively trained test persons are assigned as mystery
testers, who adopted a customer role precisely defined in advance. The quality
measurements are documented and statistically evaluated with the aid of a
standard survey sheet.
Wide-reaching measures to
ensure reliable results
The
validity of the results of mystery studies are dependent to an especially high
degree on how carefully and professionally the project is planned and carried
out. Because: No meaningful findings are obtained without a real mystery
effect. The credibility of the tester and the realism of the constructed
consultation scenario are central prerequisites for reliable results.
FairControl therefore places great importance on the selection of suitable
testers, the precise definition of authentic test scenarios and the intensive
training of the testers. We are especially intent on achieving the best possible
match between our testers and the respective customer profile. We assign
personnel who as far as possible belong to the target group you are aiming for
and are of a comparable background (e.g. interests, regional origin, age,
education, professional group, …). We verify the consistency of our results by
means of statistical reliability tests in which we test the match between the
testers’ measurements with identical deployment scenarios.
Specific recommendations
for action from implementation-oriented results
The
aim of our mystery analyses is to reveal specific service strengths, but also
weak points and potential for optimisation in dealing with customers. Here it
is important for us that our results are comprehensible and of practical use
and we point out the way to solutions with which you can bring about improvements
or perfect proven concepts. In the development of standardised survey sheets,
we pay special attention that all the relevant performance criteria are
represented precisely – and so take advantage of the special strength of
mystery techniques: the high degree of detail of individual observations.
Strongest
together: Mystery research and customer satisfaction surveys
Mystery
research lends itself as an ideal combination with classical customer
satisfaction studies. Whereas customer satisfaction surveys investigate the
subjective satisfaction of real purchasers, mystery measurements are objective
test documentations from the perspective of unbiased testers.