There are three key areas every business needs to understand:
- How your customer service compares to your competitors
- What your competitors are saying about your business
- How your prices compare to your competition
Charlies Stiles says, "Many companies don't even realize they are giving away up to 30% of their business to competitors simply by not meeting customer expectations. The data we gather through competitive shops makes it clear where improvement is needed."
Mystery Shopper Services works as a partner to ensure you understand what consumers are demanding within your industry and how to create best practices.
Next, primary competitors are shopped. This information reveals where you may be falling short and where opportunities lie to gain a competitive advantage. Additionally, this information will help you guide your employees in meeting the guest's expectations.
"What we often find is that once management is able to compare and contrast their business to direct competitors, it's pretty easy to reclaim the revenue they've been unknowingly giving to competitors," notes Charles Stiles.
Does pricing really influence consumer spending?
"Many big box stores and/or franchise businesses will regularly conduct competitive price audits to ensure their pricing is in line with the local market. Quite often this is done before ever breaking ground on a new location. This is how these companies ensure they stay ahead of the curve," says Charles Stiles.
According to him, even smaller companies can head off price related business losses by regularly tracking the pricing strategies of competitors.
Mystery Shopper Services has the most robust price audit system in the industry. We enable you to collect pricing on hundreds or even thousands of SKUs seamlessly. We analyze your products and pricing real-time, so you'll know how to price your products for a competitive advantage.
What industries should use competitive shops?
The value gathered from competitive shops is beneficial to virtually any industry, from standalone single locations to major chains.
Regardless of industry and whether you rely on brick-and-mortar locations, in-home representatives, or some other approach, competition shopping offers the quickest, least expensive way to understand competitor perceptions of your business and how they approach the same services you provide.
