Knowledge

July 2010:  Low Hanging Fruit: These Stats Show Opportunities to Best the Competition

Jul 27, 2010 by Confero Inc.


The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) study for 2009 showed a strong correlation between increasing customer satisfaction scores and rising stock prices:

  • “As the stock market rebounded in 2009, the rewards have been greater for those companies with improving ACSI scores. On average, companies that did well in ACSI saw their stocks increase by 75 percent, while stock prices for those with declining ACSI scores rose just 22 percent over the same period.”

The 2010 American Express Global Customer Service Barometer survey this month revealed consumer views on the importance of quality customer service and how they believe businesses measure up. “A majority of Americans report that quality customer service is more important to them in today’s economic environment (61%) and will spend an average of 9% more when they believe a company provides excellent service. However, in a challenging economy where growth is harder to achieve, many businesses are missing out on this opportunity. Although only a little more than a third of Americans (37%) believe that companies have increased their focus on providing quality service:

  • “Almost nine-in-ten consumers (86%) report they’re willing to give a company a second chance after a bad experience if they’ve historically experienced great customer service with that company.”
  • “A negative service experience is an important factor for most Americans: 81% have decided never to do business with a company again because of poor customer service in the past.”

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ABCs of an Effective Mystery Shopping Program

Jul 27, 2010 by Confero Inc.

A: Allow time for consideration of mystery shop goals, survey question details and possible scenarios during the set up of a new mystery shopping program .

B: Build on the information that you gain from your mystery shops so that you can improve and redirect your program periodically.

C: Customize your mystery shopper survey to reflect your firm’s unique service and sales priorities.

D: Deliver mystery shop results quickly to location managers so that they can share with their employees.

E: Evaluate mystery shopping program goals every 4 to 6 months.

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What Would You Do With This Mystery Shopper Feedback?

Jul 27, 2010 by Confero Inc.


Mystery shop results help you understand, in detail, how your locations perform in terms of appearance, timeliness, and customer engagement through greeting, customer service and sales behaviors, product knowledge, friendliness and other factors. The results also provide invaluable information through mystery shopper comments. Open-ended comments reflect mystery shopper observations about what they saw and heard during the mystery shop visit. They include details that explain a low-scored area or in-depth comments on overall impressions about the visit.

Here are a few shopper comments from reports we have received in the past week or two. As you read them, consider what you would do if you read these comments about one of your own locations. Reward and recognize, or meet to discuss improvement?

  • I appreciated that I did not have to hunt for someone when I had a question. I was very impressed with the salesperson’s knowledge and willingness to help.
  • When I asked Sue for assistance, she was short with me and seemed annoyed that I interrupted her personal conversation.

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Confero Retail Compliance Audit Case Studies Show Reliability and Speed

Jul 27, 2010 by Confero Inc.

Over the years, we’ve been asked to conduct research with some very specific and interesting requirements. For example, Confero recruited smokers with specific types of health insurance policies in order to test and compare the effectiveness of public quit smoking hotlines. Often times, it’s not the project itself that is the most difficult for us, but the tight time frame that is the most challenging. Here are some examples:

  • Confero delivered results for a retail reset study involving 2,000 locations within 3 days, with only 2 days notice.
  • For a compliance project requiring quick turnaround, Confero deployed shoppers to test coupon acceptance at 900 convenience stores. Confero completed the work within the requested time frame, and delivered the final results to the client just 24 days after the project began.

If you would like to learn more about the types of projects Confero conducts and the time frames that we can deliver them, please visit our case studies .

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Three Myths About Mystery Shops - Don’t Believe them!

Jun 23, 2010 by Confero Inc.


Many people, both shoppers and clients alike, tend to make assumptions about the mystery shopping industry. We are not sure how some of these myths began, but we hope to clarify some of them. In this issue, we expose the following three myths:

Myth #1: The best mystery shoppers are “professional” shoppers who specialize in your industry.

With the right firm and the right quality control mechanisms in place, professional mystery shoppers are not necessary. If you’re seeking to gain objective information from a typical customer, look into a mystery shopping firm that deploys mystery shoppers with various backgrounds. A good mystery shopping firm selects shoppers with a demographic profile that matches that of your typical customer in terms of gender, age, language and other factors. Mystery shoppers with the right demographics and various backgrounds provide a more objective view of what the customer experience is really like at your stores. Those mystery shoppers who specialize in a certain industry can become just that – specialized – making them mediocre choices as shoppers who pose as average customers. If you seek critical feedback from an expert, send an auditor.

Myth #2: To exceed the competition, you need to compare your own results to your competitor’s results.

When you set up a mystery shop program, you need to consider your own unique employee standards. A mystery shopping company that works with you to create a customized survey will prove to be your biggest asset. Competitive information is critical; however a comparison of your results to a competitor’s results can sell your company short.

Why? Company standards vary, so chances are, no two surveys will be exactly alike in terms of questions asked and weighting of each question. You would not be making an exact comparison if survey questions or weightings vary in the slightest. And consider the possibility that your competitor may have standards lower than yours. If your firm exceeds the competitor’s results, it would be meaningless if you did not consider their standards high enough in the first place.

A more effective way to rise above the competition is to use customer satisfaction surveys to gauge the type of service that customers want, then adjust standards and measure them through use of a mystery shop program.

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