Risks, Reward, Benefits And Pitfalls For Mystery Shopper (Mystery Shopping Enterprise)

Mystery Shopper might not be the right type of business for everyone. It is more suited to certain individuals, skill-sets, expertise, confidence and personalities for example, than for some others. But, with a little effort and know how, you too can be of value to businesses in your local area and surrounding neighborhoods, cities and towns, bringing the insights from a customer perspective a little closer to home . Insights of value that they otherwise would not have had access to. You will be and are wise to enquire and familiarize yourself with the intricacies and complexities involved in the Mystery Shopper business undertakings, processes, tools, methods, success factors, pitfalls and more. There are definite risks, rewards, benefits and errors to avail yourself of.

You need to ask and answer for yourself whether you have what it takes to be a successful Mystery Shopper owner/operator, evaluator, service intelligence niche specialist provider?

Qualifications, registrations, licensing, affiliations, memberships, professional associations, regional representative bodies, recruiters, business networks will all tote the value of being recognized as a professional and specialist, trained expertise in your field. Not only does it provide credibility and an easier sell, it also increases your earnings potential, how often you get approached and hired for the services that you tote and provide to clients.

You need to have what it takes, confidence, stability, attention to detail, observations skills, sales and experience/expertise that you can flaunt a little! Every job, task and assignment you do and take on will build this portfolio and track record. Your reputation and credibility will grow itself so to speak. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF WORD OF MOUTH referral and testimonials.

You need to be familiar with the processes, tasks, value and types of assignments that a mystery shopper will need and have to be able to do. Tasks and contexts will vary, but there are some things that you will need in order to be successful and get results as a Mystery Shopper owner/operator:

· ATTENTION TO DETAIL, meticulously observing even the smallest little thing can count highly in your favor. You need to pay very close attention to any and everything, relevant and poignant to what is asked and expected of you during the shopping or MS experience.

· MEMORY AND RETENTION, RECALL, REPORTING . Alert observations and effectively remembering events, happenings, contexts, feelings, words, transactions, pleasers, annoyances and more. Hair, clothing, approach, body language, surroundings.

· Keen sense of observation without anyone particularly bringing it under your attention or reminding you of it, when you get there or are engrossed in the activity for your Mystery Shopper.

· Good reporting skills, writing accurately, concisely and unambiguously

· At the very least, you should be able to communicate all that transpired, everything that happened during that mystery, secret shopping, guest experience, scheduled event. This is the main way you will get to and be sharing your insights, facts and report back all of the details that you have found you enact these through writing up a detailed fact-based report. These reports will take on a variety of formats and vary in length and depth. From Q and A (questions and answers), to open-ended responses, multiple choice type responses and/or more paragraph form, there are lots that companies and clients tend to use. Ensure consistency, reliability, detailed, concise, grammatically correct and spelling error free writing, reporting, feedback and follow-up.

· Your secret identity needs to be kept secret at all times. This has to be taken seriously if you want to make any type of success, credibility down the line. If for any reason you are suspected or leaked as a secret shopper, thus your identity and mission compromised YOU WILL NOT GET PAID! It is that simple. You need to keep it under-wraps and be, act, do and shop as normally or as close to it as you possibly can don the customer hat and just go out what you set out to do, are required to perform and get it over with (you can have FUN in the process too!). IT IS ALL UP TO YOU! The practice and execution of this is all in your hands and at your discretion.

Conversational and interpersonal skills, relating to and with those that you meet is also crucial. You have to be able to hold your own, initiate, sustain and express yourself as well as the flow of conversation. The exchange, interaction and connections, transactions that form part of the Mystery Shopper process is critical to your success. Relating, talking with and to, asking questions, complaining, role playing and MORE will be expected of you in this role. Keep it natural as any real customer would, as close to reality as you possibly can.