Category — Mystery Shopping

No doubt you’ve heard that Synovate is now part of the Ipsos Group. Over the past few months, we’ve been busy getting to know one another, combining our teams, and just making research a whole lot better for you. So now it is time to shine the spotlight on where the future is and invite you to engage with us on Ipsos’ blog. In fact, that’s the name of the blog! Ipsos Ideas Spotlight.

Fresh insights. Stimulating discussions. And great conversation starters. The Ipsos Ideas Spotlight is your source for frequent updates on what’s happening in the world of research and an open avenue for interacting with the research experts at Ipsos.

So go ahead…get in the spotlight. And check out our blog today!

Ipsos Ideas Spotlight

A couple of months ago I was fortunate enough to be in the audience at a highly memorable Customer Experience presentation in LA. Jim Knight, Sr. Director of Training and Development at Hard Rock International hotel group spoke at the Next Generation CE Conference. The Hard Rock approach resonated with me, so I asked Jim if he would be kind enough to give an interview. Here’s a synopsis of what he told me about their unique approach to Guest Experience Delivery:

Jane Edwards-Hall:  Jim, you told me that you recruit only the world’s misfits – tell me more about that!

Jim Knight: There’s no silver bullet but we do truly recruit for attitude and not necessarily hospitality skills or experience – we can teach that. We look for people who can be themselves and provide an “unpredictable” guest experience – and we take this philosophy worldwide. We want people with a master’s degree in Personality! We have a rigorous process supporting our recruitment methodology. We interview people who are basically square pegs trying to fit into round holes and who honestly wouldn’t get jobs elsewhere – we want the world’s weird!

[Read more →]

You probably haven’t ever heard ‘hot’ and ‘mystery shopping’ in the same sentence. But, the world of mystery shopping is spicing up as more traditional researchers deploy mystery shopping programs in ways you would least expect.

Government agencies, hospitals, healthcare providers, and even schools are using mystery shoppers to ensure their service delivery chains are functioning within required operating procedures. As panels become more specialized, more and more professional and B2B services are employing mystery shopping solutions as well. [Read more →]

OK, so my last posts mostly critical; this time I thought that I would compare a negative experience with a positive one instead.

How do you handle having to go back to a store or service provider to return a defective product or to point out a mistake in a transaction? Would you feel a little awkward, intimidated, or defensive? Many customers often feel very strong, negative emotions when faced with the prospect of going back to a store or service provider to tell them of their dissatisfaction with a product or service. Some customers may enjoy gearing up for a fight, others may have to psyche themselves up for the encounter, while some others may consider it an annoyance or a waste of time.

[Read more →]

Walking through a Whole Foods grocery store a few weeks ago got me observing some interesting things.  Have you ever noticed that refrigerated vegetable shelving has mirrors behind it?  That the international aisle has a different “look and feel” compared to other aisles?  That Burt’s Bees products have their own customized display?  As a marketer, these things caught my attention as efforts to attract consumers through a relatively new concept called shopper marketing.  Deloitte’s publication “Shopper Marketing:  Capturing a Shopper’s Mind, Heart and Wallet” defines shopper marketing:

“…all marketing stimuli, developed based on a deep understanding of shopper behavior, designed to build brand equity, engage the shopper and lead him/her to make a purchase”

Companies have traditionally focused on using research methods to tap into consumers’ behaviors and attitudes solely toward products and services.  Industry standard led us to believe that focusing on products alone was sufficient.  We’ve been fooled!  Understanding the customers shopping experience is critical to developing an optimal environment to reach consumers, building brand equity and encouraging product purchases.  According to Vice President of Shopper Marketing at Coca-Cola North America Diane Wallace, “shopper marketing is the next big step in the evolution of strategic retail marketing”.  But the In-Store Marketing Institute recently found that only 55% of consumer packaged goods companies have done anything to develop expertise in shopper marketing.  So, why isn’t shopper marketing used more?  What’s the catch? [Read more →]