Meet your grocery consumers where they’re at: everywhere.
To meet today’s grocery consumers’ expectations, grocery retailers must consistently understand what their customers are going through when interacting with their brand. And that means measuring customer interactions in a specialized, omnichannel way.
Whether in-store, online, curbside, on the phone, on-app, or beyond, grocery brands must uncover the behavioral and operational drivers of the customer experience, and the most effective way to do that is through mystery shopping.
Just remember, not all mystery shopping programs are the same. Among many critical attributes, you want a partner who understands your industry, through and through.
Your grocery mystery shopping program checklist.
Your grocery mystery shopping program checklist.
You know you want to get shoppers in your stores, but it can be challenging to know where to start. First, you need to know what to look for in a mystery shopping program. Make sure your chosen program:
We’ve customized CX programs for many reputable grocery chains at Second To None, including Whole Foods, H-E-B, Meijer, and more.
Learn about our customizable mystery shopping program, Snapshot.
How to choose the right vendor:
How to choose the right vendor:
If your organization is already looking into implementing a mystery shopper program, there are probably several different vendor options being explored by your team. While completing this due diligence is important, it can be challenging to know what to focus on in the process. So as you narrow down your shortlist, keep these considerations in mind:
#1
Ask about the organization’s longevity, experience, client roster, and market share to better understand how each vendor you are researching operates and how successful they’ve been in the past.
#2
Be clear from the get-go about your data security priorities in the proposal. For example, customer Experience measurement is built on the ability to collect, measure, and analyze data, but this data could potentially be tarnished if there is no guaranteed security.
#3
Determine if they have the financial capacity to complete all aspects of the mystery shopping program process in-house, ranging from assignment design to quality assurance.
#4
Get a concrete understanding of what your brand’s money is paying for, which should include a substantial network of expert shoppers that can be deployed across various locations.
Ultimately, grocery chains should look for an experienced vendor that understands the nuances of the grocery industry and brings forth recommendations for the design and execution of the customer experience program.
How a prominent US grocery chain enabled consistent, high service standards with Snapshot.
How a prominent US grocery chain enabled consistent, high service standards with Snapshot.
A well-known US grocery brand with more than 250 locations across nine states enlisted Second To None to bring consistent, actionable data to their store evaluations. We implemented Snapshot to maintain a consistent focus on the pillars of success in the highly competitive grocery industry.
After implementing Snapshot, the grocery chain is now able to:
3 steps to making the most out of a mystery shopping program:
3 steps to making the most out of a mystery shopping program:
1. Choose a measurement strategy based on goals.
Grocery chains should prioritize their measurement strategy based on their organizational goals for customer experience and any feedback gathered from customers through communications with their Customer Care team. Ideally, most brands will focus on a holistic approach to customer experience measurement by administering a Mystery Shopping program and a Customer Satisfaction Survey program.
2. Cascade results to your grocery store locations.
Grocery chains typically cascade customer experience data by hierarchy all the way down to the store manager and department manager. This enables transparency throughout the organization and drives accountability. Some brands choose to incentivize managers based on positive feedback or mystery shopping scores to engage that next-level performance and ensure that field management actively uses the program feedback in their stores’ daily operation and maintenance.
3. Make impactful service improvements to create joy.
Improvement prioritization should be based on the overall scoring or impact of a service category or touchpoint. Service interactions that have a more significant impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty are weighted heavier to offer focus and prioritization. Whether the service strengths or weaknesses are in Produce, Deli, Customer Service, Checkout, or any of the many other customer touchpoints, mystery shopping helps you highlight where to start making improvements first.
Measure, understand, and improve grocery experience delivery with Second To None.
Measure, understand, and improve grocery experience delivery with Second To None.
By listening to their customers and measuring customer service standards, grocery brands can stay ahead of the curve and deliver what their customers need and want most.
If you’re not sure where to start, here’s how you can figure out the right focus for your Mystery Shopping program.
At Second To None, we can help you create a well-rounded strategy that’s specific to your grocery chain. We deploy a carefully profiled consumer field force to assess how well you’re executing on your key operational standards. As a result, you’ll understand what customers are experiencing every day. Everywhere you are.
How we do it:
We design and customize every aspect of your Mystery Shopping program around your organizational lens (how you view and interact with your customers) to ensure the resulting business intelligence is both relevant and actionable to your stakeholders, while being mindful of drawing the direct linkages back to how your customers experience your brand.
How long we’ve been doing it:
We’ve been administering proven mystery shopping programs and customer survey programs for over 30 years for companies like Whole Foods, Giant Eagle, Meijer, and H-E-B. We can help you get game-changing insights for your grocery chain.
