Mystery shopping is an excellent research tool to determine the performance of customer-facing personnel with respect to sales and service behaviors. Key to a successful mystery shopping program is a well-designed questionnaire, which will achieve your customer experience measurement objectives. Well-designed questionnaires are the product of a thoughtful design process intended to maximize their utility and ROI.

1. Kinesis CEM, LLC
By Design: Mystery Shopping Design Aligned with Brand Objectives
https://http://www.kinesis-cem.com/Insights_Mystery_Shop_Questionnaire_Design.shtml
Eric Larse is co-founder of Seattle-based Kinesis, which helps companies plan and execute their customer experience strategies.
Mr. Larse can be reached at elarse@kinesis-cem.com.
http://www.kinesis-cem.com
http://www.kinesis-cem.com/mystery_shopping.shtml
kinesis-cem.com 206.285.2900 info@kinesis-cem.com
By Design: Mystery Shopping Design
Aligned with Brand Objectives

2. Key to Mystery Shopping
ROI
Thoughtful Design Process
Include Call to Action
Elements
Introduction

3. “If you don’t know
where you are going,
any road will get you
there”
Overall
Objective
- Lewis Carroll

4. First, Define the
Objectives of
the Customer
Experience.
Overall
Objective

5. Ask:
How do you want the
customer to feel or act
as a result of the
experience?
Overall
Objective

6. Do You Want the
Customer to Have
Increased:
Overall
Objective -Purchase Intent
-Return Intent
-Loyalty

7. This Overall Objective
Becomes the Dependent
Variable in Key Driver
Analysis to the Strength
of Relationship to Service
Attributes
Key Driver
Analysis

8. Assume the overall objective is
purchase intent:
Key driver analysis will
determine the strength of the
relationship of each service
behavior to purchase intent -
the stronger the relationship
the more important the
behavior.
For Example

9. Brands Have
Personality
Ask yourself, how
would we describe
our brand?
Define Brand
Personality

10. List adjectives you would
want customers to use to
describe your brand.Define Brand
Adjectives
Professional
Informative
Knowledgeable
Helpful
Friendly
Efficient
For Example:
Definition is Simple

11. Measure Brand
Adjectives
Ask mystery shoppers, based
on the experience, if they
would use each of your
adjectives to describe the
brand.
Measurement is Simple
Measures Alignment to
your Brand Adjectives

12. Define Brand
Statements
Ask yourself, how do we
want customers to
describe us?
-We are dependable.
-We are accurate.
-We have our customers’ best interests in mind.
-We provide prompt service.
-We are willing to help customers.
For Example:
Definition is Simple

13. Measure Brand
Statements
Simply ask mystery shoppers
their agreement with each of
the brand statements.
Measurement is Simple
Measures Alignment to
your Brand Statements

14. Next, Identify Service
Behaviors You Expect
from Staff
Service
Behaviors

15. Define
Service
Behaviors
Some of the questions you might ask yourself look like this:
What specific service behaviors do we expect?
When greeting a customer, what specific behaviors do we expect
from staff?
When meeting with customers after the greeting, what specific
behaviors do we expect?
If a phone interaction, what specific hold/transfer procedures do
we expect (for example asking to be placed on hold, informing
customer of the destination of the transfer)?
Are there specific profiling questions we expect to be asked? – If so,
what are they?
What closing behaviors do you expect? How do you want
employees to ask for the business?
At the conclusion of the interaction, how do you want the
employee to conclude the conversation or say goodbye?
Are there specific follow-up behaviors that you expect, such as
getting contact information, suggesting another appointment, or
offering to call the customer?

16. Questionnaire Construction is Simple:
Putting it All
Together
Reorganize the 4 Elements of the Design
Process into a Questionnaire.

17. Ask Shoppers Their
Agreement to Your
List of Adjectives
Agreement
Adjectives

18. Write a Question for
Each Behavior
Make Sure They Are:
Specific
Objective
Empirical
Binary
Service
Behaviors

19. Ask if Shoppers Agree
with Brand Statements
Agreement
with Brand
Statements
To what extent do you agree with the
following statement:
“During this shop, the employees I interacted
with were willing to help customers.”
5 = Strongly Agree
4
3
2
1 = Strongly Disagree

20. Determines the Relationship
of Service Behaviors to
Overall Customer Experience
Objective.
Key Drivers of Overall
Objective
This is the Importance of the
Behavior
Key Driver
Analysis

21. Plot Each Behavior By
Importance and Performance
Gap
Analysis
Behaviors in Quadrant I Have
Highest Potential for ROI

22. Conclusion
“If you don’t know
where you are going,
any road will get you
there”
- Lewis Carroll