Mystery Shopping Professionals Association
How the MSPA helps guide and connect Mystery Shopping Companies
Happy New Year! Now that the holiday season is more or less behind us, it’s time to focus on moving forward into this brand new decade. What do the 2020s have in store for us all? Mystery shopping remains a valuable tool, allowing for companies in any industry to evaluate their frontline performance, product saleability, and a whole host of other areas. With the rise of new technologies, changes in demographics, and consumer demands, mystery shopping is changing to meet the shifts in the industry. This new decade holds a lot of new things in store for everyone, in our industry and in everyone else’s.
One of the ways in which mystery shopping companies navigate these changes and learn to adapt to them is through the MSPA – the Mystery Shopping Professionals Association – a worldwide trade association for mystery shopping companies.
The goal of the MSPA is to help companies in the mystery shopping industry – like AQ! – strengthen the global mystery shopping industry by combining effort and action. The Association aims to ‘improve and stimulate the acceptance, reputation and use of Mystery Shopping services worldwide’ . Their primary goals are listed as:
1. Establish professional standards and ethics for the industry.
2. Educate providers, clients and shoppers to improve quality of service.
3. Improve the image of the industry through public relations and conduct.
4. Promote members to other industry associations and prospect clients.
(Source)
For mystery shopping providers like us, the MSPA is a vital resource, providing connectivity with companies in the industry, software providers, and offering a useful foundation for our mystery shoppers. Among the many reasons why being part of any trade association, there are several key benefits we at AQ would like to highlight about the MSPA specifically:
1. Professional, Worldwide Network
Having access to a professional network in any line of work is important. In an industry like mystery shopping, where there is no true global player, having professional partners that have agreed on and adhere to the same standards and ethics provide for solid, trustworthy companies and suppliers which can be relied on. The MSPA allows for all mystery shopping companies, like AQ, to work under the single banner of ethics and global standards, ensuring that our clients and our mystery shoppers are all treated fairly and equally.
2. Annual Conferences
Every year, the MSPA holds several conferences, during which mystery shopping companies come together to hear about the developments in the industry. During these conferences, mystery shopping providers have the opportunity to mingle, network, and strengthen business connections. Since the MSPA has numerous branches all over the world – Europe/Africa, Americas, Asia/Pacific, the conferences take place in different locations and at various times throughout the year in order to best serve the region which they are providing for. With educational opportunities like workshops and skill training, the conference also allows the industry’s best technology suppliers and vendors to showcase their products; bringing everyone and everything for the mystery shopping industry together.
3. Training for Mystery Shopping Companies and Mystery Shoppers
In addition to the training sessions offered during the conferences, the MSPA has a host of educational opportunities available at other times as well. They provide regular workshops throughout the year, as well as a certification course for mystery shoppers, and e-learning courses for mystery shopping company employees on vital subjects such as Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a very important factor in all global mystery shopping providers’ day-to-day business.
4. Member Mystery Shopping Company Database
Furthermore, at its very core, of course, the MSPA has a database listing its member companies – this allows for prospective companies (and mystery shoppers!) to search for a mystery shopping provider that suits their needs.
What could be more important than ensuring that the industry you are part of thrives? By joining the MSPA, AQ and other mystery shopping companies all around the world, have the ability to influence the industry in which we work for the better. With the MSPA’s guidance and support, the mystery shopping industry grows and adapts year-on-year, changing to match the needs and requirements of our clients and mystery shoppers, no matter where they are or what industry they might be in.
