Best Practices in Mystery Shop Program Launch: Pre-Launch Communication

In a previous post we introduced the importance of proper program launch.

There should be no surprises in mystery shopping. A key to keeping all stakeholders informed of the mystery shop process is pre-shop communication.

Kickoff Letter/E-mail

The first communication tool is the kickoff letter.  This letter is most often in the form of an e-mail.  Sent prior to shopping, its purpose is to introduce employees to the program, explain its purpose in a positive way, make sure employees are aware of what is expected of them, and link shopping to their best interests, by reinforcing it is designed to make them more successful.

The kickoff e-mail should:

• Define the brand and emphasize that frontline employees are the personification of the brand. They are the physical embodiment of the brand.

• Explain that certain behaviors are expected from them in their role as the physical embodiment of the brand.

• List the specific sales and service behaviors that shoppers are asked to observe. Stress that management wants every representative to score well.  Management has no interest in setting employees up for failure.  If they perform these behaviors, they will receive a perfect shop score.

• Detail the incentive and reward structures in place as a result of the mystery shop program.

Kickoff Presentation

A presentation, conference call, or WebEx is an excellent tool to kick off a mystery shop program.  All stakeholders in the process should understand their role and what is expected of them.

As with the kickoff letter or e-mail, the presentation should define the brand, stress that employees are the physical embodiment of the brand, and identify the specific sales and service behaviors expected from employees.

It should identify the internal administrator of the program, communicate the dispute process, discuss incentives and rewards earned through positive mystery shops, as well as introduce the concept of coaching as a result of the shop – making sure that managers and customer-facing personnel understand their role in the coaching process.

Finally, this presentation should introduce employees to self-help resources available for taking positive action as a result of the shop.

In a subsequent post we will discuss the importance of post-launch communication.