Blogs
Mystery shopping vs Customer Satisfaction
Customer Satisfaction and Customer ExperienceÂ
Customer Satisfaction (CS) and Customer Experience (CX) go hand-in-hand for a successful business.
They are like two eyes for a human and they are equally important for any company’s growth. Customer
Satisfaction starts when the Customer Experience ends. Mystery Shopping and Customer Satisfaction
surveys are some of the tools used for obtaining accurate data on a company’s operations and its
customers’ actual experiences.
In the Indian market, especially post-pandemic, we can see a dip in Customer Satisfaction for Indian
products. Most Indian businesses rely on foreign brands to gain Customer Satisfaction. They are unable
to get an appropriate Customer Experience from their business alone. Hence, we can see a big
dependency on foreign brands to be successful in the Indian market.
Customer Satisfaction and Customer Experience: How it is Measured & Implemented?
Customer Satisfaction can be measured by conducting surveys through various modes like email, social
media, post-purchase screen, phone calls, or in-app surveys. These surveys mostly denote the exact
perceptions of the customers from the products; or organizations’ point of view. The surveys are to be
kept brief and to the point so that customers don’t need to invest too much time to provide their
feedback. Usually, we see that the negative aspects of the feelings or experiences are pointed out by
customers in such Customer Satisfaction surveys. Hence, we cannot rely fully on these surveys. So, we
also need the help of Mystery Shopping programs to arrive at consolidated data.
How does Mystery Shopping help in Improving CS and CX?
Mystery Shopping, as we know, is a program implemented to get the actual employee behavior and
business standards in specific measurable areas. These programs not only give customers’ perceptions
but also provide an overview of the actual day-to-day functioning of the businesses. By adapting these
programs in various stores at different locations, an organization can get a complete picture of their
business from all aspects which can be used for strategizing their future marketing plans.
Mystery Shopping programs can be immediately implemented for training the employees, making changes in
day-to-day operations, and even getting good knowledge about their competitors in the market.
To be concise, Customer Satisfaction is required to a certain extent to understand the feelings and
expectations of customers which Mystery Shopping programs cannot fully provide. Similarly, Mystery
Shopping programs can provide realistic data to show what exactly the company is doing from the
operations and customers’ side. This data can be used to further improve the areas which need
betterment based on the Customer Satisfaction surveys. So, both Mystery Shopping and Customer
Satisfaction goes hand in hand to provide an accurate Customer Experience.
Conclusion
What is the main purpose to implement Mystery shopping services? This has to be determined by the brand first before chalking out any plan. For this, understanding the market is important. The brand’s current position in the market, its goals, and its competitors in the market. Once these aspects are determined, a clear goal-oriented Mystery shopping program can be sketched as per the brand’s requirements.
Â