In Mystery Visits, the Mystery Shopper visits a shop or business to evaluate all aspects of the purchase experience or use of the service
Both in Mystery Visits and in Mystery Calls, a Mystery Shopper /Client acts undercover pretending to be a real customer. Through his knowledge and experience, the Mystery Shopper may carry out an objective and unbiased survey on the service and product, while maintaining the end customer’s point of view.
In the case of Mystery Visits, the visit is physically conducted in shops, retail establishments, chains, etc. The data and information collection by the Mystery Shopper allows to increase the level of customer satisfaction, the professionality and quality of the service offered. The suggestions resulting from the analysis are practical and objective and allow to improve the service and performance of in-store staff, also in comparison with competitors.
It is a methodology suitable to various sectors and companies such as Large-scale Distribution, Retail chains from Luxury to Automotive, to Bank branches, Health centres, Hotels, etc. Furthermore, depending on the goals, the methodology may involve the purchase of a product.
In Mystery Calls, the Mystery Shopper evaluates the telephone services offered by the company. The phone call made allows the analysis of the verbal contact with customers, the level of knowledge and experience offered by the staff. Besides, this survey methodology enables to verify the implementation of business, upselling, return, new contract promotion policies, etc.
By obtaining a clear perception of the service provided, benchmarking between operators may be carried out and the winning approaches may be identified to then train the staff through specific sessions.
Finally, it is also possible to conduct Online Mystery Visits, evaluations – with the eyes of the customer – of websites and social pages. More specifically, it is possible to investigate and collect inputs on the layout, on the quality and amount of information offered, on the user-friendliness of navigation and related payment transactions, etc. In such situations one may also predict online purchases and returns in order to evaluate the delivery service and the timing offered.
Who is the target of the Mystery Shopping service
The Mystery Shopping activity is addressed to all businesses with shops and sales networks and/or services for which it is important to understand how their end customers perceive their business and offer.
Indeed, besides being one of the most effective evaluation and monitoring methodologies, Mystery Shopping also allows to measure – and consequently increase – the quality of a service offered.
That of Mystery Shopping is a methodology adaptable to various sectors and companies such as Large-scale Distribution, Retail chains from Luxury to Automotive, Bank and Insurance branches, the HoReCa channel, etc..
Through Mystery Shopping companies may become fully aware of the increasingly complex and articulated interaction between staff and customers, highlighting its touch points. These surveys allow to highlight how these touch points are perceived and lived seeing the brand through the eyes of end customers and users, to act strategically in view of one’s own objectives and standards.
This methodology also includes User/ Customer Experience, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Journey surveys, etc.
How our Mystery Shopping agency works
Thanks to the experience of our Mystery Shoppers, about 8,000 (all carefully recruited, trained and present across the whole country) we manage over 10,000 Mystery visits per year in around 950 points of sale, divided between direct and franchising stores.
Based on the objectives to be achieved, we develop ad-hoc projects that consider the specific requests and needs of the end customer.
We take care of scenario development (i.e.: data collection, purchase, return, etc.) and of the design visits to explore in a standardised and consistent manner the different investigation aspects agreed upon and to provide a complete analysis.
Within our Database, we select the most suitable profiles for the survey, and, on the basis of the survey’s objectives, we properly train them through an in-depth briefing that the customer may attend.
Moreover, we always use a new-generation platform that stands out for the excellence of the services for Mystery Shopping programmes. It allows for an efficient tracking and data analysis also by the customer himself, thanks to simplified operations and optimum use of resources.
QUALITY IS OUR BUSINESS PLAN: as a matter of fact, besides monitoring the execution of the visits through direct and continuous contact with our Mystery Shoppers, we also take care of quality control of uploaded data. We carry out an in-depth Quality Check of all the questionnaires, in order to ensure consistency in data and research findings.
The data collected on the platform through Mystery Shopping Programmes are processed, analysed and above all translated into practical, objective and applicable suggestions allowing the development of the business, also in comparison with competitors.
To answer customers’ business questions, we combine our industry expertise with our decades of experience. These values guide us in everything we do and are the foundation on which our Mystery Shopping activity is based. Indeed, our goal is to provide new keys to increase business value.
What are the objectives of a Mystery Shopping programme
A Mystery Shopping project may provide useful information for the development of a company business at all levels. The starting point is a clear and shared definition of the objectives to be achieved and of the questions to be answered through such activity.
At KIK. we help focus business priorities and translate them into measurable and tangible objectives so as to have similarly solid data and evidence in response.
The evolution of shopping experiences and the presence of several channels requires companies to implement rapid changes to meet customer needs, to anticipate consumers’ expectations and provide them with unique services that stand out from their competitors. To this purpose the Mystery Shopping Programmes allow to:
In which countries we provide the Mystery Shopping service
In Europe the interest in Mystery Shopping is constantly growing. Indeed, the effectiveness of this tool is well known, allowing to verify on the ground – wearing the customer’s shoes – aspects that would otherwise be difficult to measure in an objective and unbiased manner, such as the seller’s attitude towards the customer and his interest towards his needs, the quality of the information provided, the ability to answer questions and requests for information, the verbal and non-verbal language used, etc.
For this reason, over the years at KIK. we have built our expertise in Mystery Shopping services. Thanks to our Database, we can cover the whole country, even in the smallest and most isolated parts of Italy.
Furthermore, thanks to our strong partnerships we can also operate throughout Europe and in many areas overseas. This allows us to directly carry out and manage multi-country surveys, useful for all Brands working nationally and internationally that want to ensure a consistent level of performance and service.
Via T. Tasso 50, 24121 Bergamo (BG) – Italy
Via San Raffaele 1, 20121 Milano (MI) – Italy
P.I./C.F. 04049500160
Capitale sociale € 10.000,00 interamente versato, Registro Imprese di Bergamo REA n. BG-430758
