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Types of Mystery Shopping
Compliance Services
Even with excellent policies in place, you can still find yourself in legal jeopardy if employees fail to observe applicable laws and policies during the course of business. Compliance issues can include:
Industries particularly vulnerable to compliance issues include airports, health care providers, real estate brokers, public transportation, insurance, restaurants and financial institutions. If you are in a high-risk category (or if you just want more information to make improvements), AboutFace™ can design a customized program to monitor and alert you immediately of risky behaviors through our Compliance Analytics System.
When violations are reported, you'll be alerted right away so you can take immediate action. You can rest easy knowing that you have implemented a powerful program to maximize employee compliance AND minimize the risk of associated fines, litigation and adverse publicity.
Competitive Pricing Services
If coffee house X on the next block serves a 12-ounce cup of coffee for $1.39, can you get away with charging $1.49? Probably. But what if their price suddenly drops to 99 cents? Unless you've got the best pancakes in town, you may have just lost a large chunk of your customer base.
Although a simplistic example, the question remains: How can I keep up with my competitors' prices so I can make strategic pricing changes? Answer: Implement a competitive pricing program.
Our shoppers will regularly visit your competitors and provide up-to-the-minute details on current pricing for the products and services you designate. We'll create key reports you can access online to show "matched baskets," variances, varietal, seasonal and regional changes so you will always be armed with the knowledge you need to adjust your pricing and market the value of your products over theirs.
And, if you claim you have the lowest price, substantiation is required by the Federal Trade Commission. Our competitive pricing services can help you with that, too.
From real estate to luxury products to consumer goods, knowing your competitors' pricing will give you the edge you can't afford to be without.
Performance-based Services
Most mystery shopping programs fall into this category. You have trained your people and yet you are still seeing performance issues. It takes persistence to assure the behaviors taught in training become habits on the frontline. Sales, service and support teams need to be measured in order to become proficient in the behaviors that drive your business.
Our average client improves 8.5% in the first year of a performance-based secret shopping program.
From senior managers to individual employees, performance improvement becomes fun when you access evaluations, reports, analytics, rewards and best practices via ARCHIE™, the most customer-friendly system available.
Competitive Differentiation Services
Understanding your customers and your competition is not optional; it's a matter of survival. Business professionals who fail to examine their practices and adapt to the market may fall behind the curve.
AboutFace™ offers customized and standardized Competitive Differentiation Services.
As a standard service, the Competitive Differentiation Assessment (CDA) offers an innovative 30-day evaluation that helps businesses understand their own strengths and weaknesses, compare themselves to the competition and capitalize on their competitors' shortcomings.
Program Features:
For more information about the CDA program, download the brochure and sample Competitive Differentiation report.
Customized programs can combine numerous competitors and markets, and your competitors can even be different in each market. The evaluation is aligned to the sales and/or service process in your industry to capture and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each brand.
Manufacturers Selling in Retail Services
Manufacturers work hard to deliver the best products, signage and partnership to their retailers, and often their own success is completely out of their hands. Account reps and channel managers need information to assure their brand is considered in promotions, placement and overall buy-in from the buyers and category managers they support. And manufacturers also care about which competitors are in their category, product price points and how they are being sold by associates on the ground. We can tell our customers where support is leaning and why, based on which features associates talk up and down, how much they are suggested and how many times associates steer customers away from purchasing a product.
Over the years, we have helped our clients stay ahead of the competition through this innovative service. To learn more, contact us at 877.770.8585 ext. 731.
