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<\/div>\n<\/p>\nMystery 1. 2. 3. 4. Try 5. 6. 7. 8. Is o<\/span><\/span> <\/span>How does the retailer differentiate o<\/span><\/span> <\/span>Does the store have a signing program? Is o<\/span><\/span> <\/span>What\u2019s the pricing perception compared to 9. 10. 11. Let\u2019s o<\/span><\/span> <\/span>Review the 1 to 10 grades you gave the Now, o<\/span><\/span> <\/span>Create a Hit List. You have now Sam Keep <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nshopping your competition is a crucial strategy for staying ahead of what\u2019s
\nhappening in your marketplace. How often do you do it? Monthly? Yearly? <\/span>Never?
\n<\/i>You need to get out and look around at least once a quarter, stopping in at
\nplaces you don\u2019t even consider competition. It\u2019s important because these visits
\nhelp you keep your finger on the pulse of industry and community trends,
\ncustomer service standards, and competitor offerings. If you don\u2019t want to
\nvisit yourself, recruiting a store associate, family member, or even a customer
\nis a great alternative. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to conduct effective
\nmystery shopping:<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nMake a list of everything you need to know about each competitor.<\/span><\/b> When we mystery shop we carefully examine
\nthe operational categories in the store, and then rate each one on a scale of 1
\nto 10. It\u2019s an opinion, but it\u2019s a good one. Yours will be, too.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
\nBegin by determining where you stand in your marketplace.<\/span><\/b> Send someone you trust to a public place
\nnear your store to ask people if they can recommend a good (whatever you sell)
\nstore. If your store is mentioned first, you have built Top Of The Mind
\nAwareness \u2013 good job! If you are not mentioned first, or worse, not at all, you
\nhave some work to do to build local word of mouth.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
\nMystery shop your own store.<\/span><\/b>
\nYour perception of how you are doing could be tremendously different from the
\ncustomers\u2019 perception. We did this exercise with a retailer who thought his
\nstore the best, so we took him to visit a new competitor and then came back to
\ndo the same exercise in his store. It was a revelation and he realized how much
\nwork he had to do to bring his store up to speed. So, ask a friend who can be
\nobjective to shop in your store and report back about their experience.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
\nYou don\u2019t have to do shop the competition yourself.<\/span><\/b> If you are uncomfortable, or think you may
\nbe recognized, send a store associate, friend or family member.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
\nour \u201cHow Did It Feel\u201d exercise: Assign various associates the task of visiting
\nthe competition, posing as typical customers, going through all of the steps
\noutlined in this article. When the associates return, have them to document
\ntheir visits, breaking down everything they experienced in each area of the
\nstore. After each comment ask, \u201cHow did it feel?\u201d You\u2019ll learn what that
\ncompetitor did well and where they fell down. Compare those findings with what
\ntypically happens in your store.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
\nPay attention to first impressions.<\/span><\/b>
\nIs the competitor\u2019s store interesting from the moment you approach it? How are
\nthe store windows? Shoppers access your window displays in eight seconds or
\nless, so they can\u2019t be too elaborate. Once inside, the average shopper makes a
\nvalue judgement about a store \u2013 good or bad \u2013 in just 10 seconds or less: What
\nvibe does the store give? What happens just beyond the Decompression Zone, the
\nfirst 5 to 10 feet inside the front door?<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
\nAnalyze the customer flow.<\/span><\/b>
\nDoes the sales floor layout create and control how customer traffic flows
\nthrough the store? A retail study found that 50 percent of shoppers never see
\nthe entire sales floor. Does this competitor easily move shoppers from
\ndepartment to department?<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
\nRate the customer experience.<\/span><\/b>
\nIs it a fun place to shop or merely a place to buy stuff? Do customers linger
\nto browse or get in and out quickly? Stop in each important area of the sales
\nfloor and watch shoppers, trying to see the merchandising and customer service
\nthrough their eyes. Watch how shoppers enter the store, which way they go and
\nwhy, plus what they look at, how long they linger in specific areas, along with
\nwhat they buy and return.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
\nRate the overall appearance of sales floor.<\/span><\/b> Does it motivate shoppers to buy? What do they do to
\nhighlight important product? Is the merchandise fresh or dated? Is the sales
\nfloor neat and clean? Are displays well maintained and dust free? Are they
\nunique?<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
\ncash wrap organized and merchandised with impulse items? Is it clutter free?
\nWhere are important basics and hot sellers located on the sales floor? Are
\ndisplays merchandised as a destination (think milk and eggs in a grocery store)
\nor as impulse purchases? Are the displays neatly signed and is the merchandise
\nclearly and competitively priced? Don\u2019t forget to visit service areas,
\nclassrooms, and rest rooms, too.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
\nbetween full price and markdown merchandise? Where and how is reduced and
\nclearance product merchandised: in its regular department or in a special
\nclearance area?<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
\nit effective? Does it reinforce the overall feeling of the store\u2019s brand? Are
\nsigns well-placed and legible? Is there a standard format and font or are they
\nhandwritten and taped to fixtures?<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
\nyours? Is the retailer trying to convey an upscale, high level of quality
\nservice combined with a unique experience, or as a discount merchant with
\nlittle apparent visual merchandising?<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
\nAre the associates attentive to shopper needs?<\/span><\/b> Is coverage adequate? Are associates available
\nto help with difficult customer questions? Put the store associates through
\ntheir paces to find out if they possess specialized skills and strong product
\nknowledge. Do they focus on customers or sales floor maintenance?<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
\nCheck each competitor\u2019s Yelp and Google Business page.<\/span><\/b> Review yours, too. Think you don\u2019t have a
\nYelp or Google Business page? You may have them even if you didn\u2019t set them up.
\nIf a customer decides to review your store that review will create a page for
\nyou. Claim it and review it to see what is being said. Fill in all the areas,
\nadd photos, respond to comments \u2013 good and bad \u2013 and then monitor it weekly.
\nDaily, if you are getting lots of reviews. And don\u2019t worry about cost; it\u2019s
\nfree.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
\nMonitor the ZMOTs (Zero Moments of Truths) that happen online before shoppers
\nchoose to visit your store.<\/span><\/b>
\nGoogle Alerts are still important but you\u2019ll also want to set up a free account
\nwith TalkWalker
\nto learn what\u2019s being said about your store online. Each sites will email you a
\nlink each time you are mentioned that will take you directly to that website.
\nWe have alerts set up for ourselves, our company, and each company\/competitor
\nwe want to monitor.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
\nreview!<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
\ncompetition in each of the above categories, and then compare your store to
\neach competitor to determine where and what you need to change.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
\nreview each associates \u201cHow Did It Feel?\u201d exercise findings and merge your
\nexperience with what the associates\u2019 experienced. What you saw and felt will be
\nquite different from your team\u2019s \u2013 that\u2019s a good thing.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
\nestablished a list of things you need to change and improve. Update your sales
\nfloor as necessary, checking them off the list as you go.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
\nWalton was famous for spending quality time in every kind of retail
\nestablishment you can imagine; he believed that he could find at least one great
\nidea even in the schlockiest joints. Sam also believed that to succeed in
\nretail you have to change all the time. What one idea can you take from each
\nmystery shopping experience and apply to your store?<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
\non top of every retail trend, industry update, and competitor. Someday, you
\ncould find yourself in a serious competitive battle with a store you thought
\nwas out of your league. Commit to shopping your competition, and regardless of
\nwhat you find vow to try it, fix it, change it \u2013 do it!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n