Losing Customers: How mystery shopping can help

Losing customers to the competition is one of the most frustrating aspects of business. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the most regular occurrences in every industry. With the increase in consumer empowerment through the Internet and the impact of globalization, people have more choice and more knowledge about what they want to be buying, where and when. Customers leave companies for all manner of reasons, from financial to personal. The important thing is to understand why in order to avoid losing more.

One customer jumping ship isn’t a big deal, but losing customers steadily or in a flood? That’s a problem. A serious one. It’s the sort of problem that can sink a company. It’s a symptom of a problem that needs to be addressed quickly, smoothly, and efficiently.

Thorough market research provides insights into shifts in the market, while mystery shopping solutions offer insights into customer mindsets. By learning to understand the subtle shifts in market demographics or simply the changes in customer requirements, a company can save its profit margin and steer itself in the corrected direction.

Mystery shopping, when performed on a regular basis throughout the year, can provide measurable data tracking the development and changes. This sort of regular testing can help a business choose the direction in which to turn – not in a month after the next strategy meeting, but immediately. Small changes, based on seemingly trivial feedback from mystery shopping solutions and opinion polls, can make all the difference if they are implemented quickly and correctly.

Businesses no longer have the luxury of sticking to a single battle plan for the next five years. The world is in the middle of an epic shift in dynamics, not just generational but technological – people change their minds from one week to the next, demands fluctuate, and needs shift accordingly. The world is a very different place from what it was two months ago, is your business keeping up? Often when a company starts losing customers it has little to do with the quality of their products or services, but more because the business strategy is out of touch with its demographic. This can be easily avoided with a quick checkup, a diagnostic, just to see if there are certain elements of a business that need immediate attention.

Something to keep in mind, especially this far into the holiday season where humanity is all about wanting and needing. Many people will make new year’s resolutions about taking better care of themselves, eating more salads, cutting back on the alcohol, maybe even to quit smoking. Congratulations and best of luck to everyone, but add another one to that list: to stop losing customers to the competition, to make your business the best business there is by taking a little more care of your customers.

To let people experience great service.