What are your customers true customer, donor and volunteering experience when visiting one of your stores.
There’s a popular saying in retail: that “the customer’s perception is your reality.” It doesn’t matter how wonderful your store is, deep down: customers aren’t impressed by things they can’t see and the same applies to donors and potential volunteers.
Attracting customers, donors and volunteers means providing a great experience to everyone who walks through the door. Word-of-mouth is a powerful thing, especially when you’re reliant on the local community. It’s much easier to retain existing customers and donors than it is to attract new ones. What’s more, and it takes months to find a new customer and potential volunteers , but just a few seconds to lose one. As such, it’s vital that you get your customer experience right.
What’s the Problem?
But how can you correct a problem you don’t know about? Senior management don’t have the luxury of time to examine their stores in great detail. Plus, staff members on the shop floor will naturally alter their behaviour when you’re around. This might skew your perception of the typical customer’s experience.
The reputation of your charity rests on how it is perceived by your customers, donors and potential volunteers. But how can you improve that perception if you don’t have a clear image of it?
It’s a bit like walking out of the house in the morning without first taking a look in the mirror: embarrassment can result!
Solution:
A Customer experience Mystery Shopper
A solution comes in the form of a customer experience mystery shopper report. Posing as a customer, a mystery shopper will visit your store. They’ll act like a mirror, reflecting what the shopper’s, donors and potential volunteer experience is really like.
A mystery shopper will know exactly what to look for. They’ll have no vested interest in the store, and thus they’ll report honestly and impartially. As a bonus, when your staff understand that any customer could be a mystery shopper, the quality of overall service tends to improve.
Of course, not all Mystery Shoppers are alike. Our Customer Experience Mystery Shopper is the sector leader, specialising in charity shops, carried out by a charity retail expert. They’ll provide exactly the feedback your store needs to improve.
Keeping it Positive
A mystery shopper is a valuable tool, but only if used in the right way. An excessively critical, nit-picking approach to mystery shopping can lead to resentment and dread from those working in store. It’s therefore important that mystery shopper experience survey should be viewed as a positive exercise, and an opportunity for improvement. We’ll be there to guide you through the options, and come up with a mystery shopper solution that’s appropriate for your stores.
Our clients value the insight provided by our mystery shoppers, and that they’ve been able to improve daily operations as a result.
Customer experience Survey
Our mystery shoppers can look at a range of aspects of your charity retail organisation, and their focus can be adjusted to match your previously identified areas of concern.
The process of donating items, volunteering, and the shopping experience can be audited in this way.
Donations
Was Gift Aid mentioned?
Was the donation process adequately explained?
Was the Point of Sale easily identifiable in the store?
Volunteering
How did the team respond to an enquiry about joining up?
Did the team ask about the location of the prospective recruit?
Were skills discussed?
Was the process adequately explained?
Was a form given?
Customer experience
When it comes to purchasing, we can ask about the shopping experience overall, including the condition of the store. But we can also get a little more specific and concrete.
Range
Did the range of products on offer match the customer’s expectations?
Was it appropriate for the season?
Was there sufficient choice in each category?
Pricing
Did the pricing align with the location and the identified target market?
Was there flatline pricing?
Was the pricing tiered according to the brand directory?
Rotation
How quickly is stock being rotated?
Are offers being kept fresh?
Were items on sale beyond the optimum 2-week period?
Were items marked down for clearance?
Space
Is the space being used in line with the ideal Charity Shop layout?
Was the right space given to the key sales categories?
Was the product flow correct?
Space
How do your stores feel to the shopper?
What was the window display like?
Was the atmosphere welcoming?
How was the stock density and did it feel shoppable?
Was there any clutter?
Was there a seasonal display and how did it look?
What do we do with this Information?
The answers to these questions will allow you to compare your stores to those of your competitors and identify any particular elements that might need urgent attention.
A comprehensive, objective view of your stores will provide the starting point from which to build an action plan for your business’s future development. It will allow you to eliminate problems in particular stores, and thereby spread consistency across the entire retail estate, and align everyone with best practice.
Feedback
The mystery shopper customer experience report feedback session will be conducted by a charity retail expert to your chosen audience. Our report will clearly formatted, and tailored to the requirements of those who might read them. Multiple copies can be provided. The information contained in each report is kept entirely confidential and is delivered for your exclusive use.
Through mystery shoppers, you can understand the customer, donor and volunteering experience in your stores, and how best to improve it!