Mystery Shopper (Mystery Shopper, Mystery Shopping) – it is a powerful tool for obtaining information about competitors.
The essence of the Mystery Shopper service in the b2b market is to organize a request from a real profile company to the object of study and register the response of the object of study.
At the first stage, a specialized company is selected, which, by its type of activity, can become a buyer of the object of study.
For example, to study a building materials supplier, the most appropriate "mystery shopper" there will be a construction company.
At the second stage, an agreement is created with a representative of the selected "mystery shopper"; about the reward for creating such a cover.
At the third stage, the composition of the request is agreed - both with the customer of such a study, and with the "mystery shopper". The essence of the agreement is, on the one hand, in the full plausibility of such a request, on the other hand, the inclusion of the maximum possible wishes of the customer.
Sometimes the customer wants to know the prices for the entire proposed range of the object of study.
Realizing that none of the real customers are interested in all products, in such cases, several "mystery buyers" can be matched.
Another important issue is determining the optimal order size.
If too large or too small a volume of products is ordered, then in the first case this may alert the object of study, and in the second case, on the contrary, it will not arouse interest.
At the fourth stage, the main thing happens - the "mystery shopper" sends an agreed request to the object of study on behalf of his organization.
At the fifth stage, it is possible not only to receive a response to a request, but also to track
reactions of the subject of study (how quickly he confirmed receipt of the request, what questions were asked, what options for cooperation were offered, were discounts offered, etc.)
This approach suggests the possibility of continuous interaction and feedback between the enterprise under study and the "front"; over the phone and in person. At personal meetings, various sensitive issues can be clarified.
Please note that this method, unlike insider information, is legal and allows you to receive real information.
Most often, the method "mystery shopper in the b2b market" applies:
- to get real prices at which competitors sell their goods/services, information about possible discounts and terms of sale,
- to find out how your competitors really work, that is, the accepted procedures and service standards,
- to check the compliance of your costs (purchase prices) with market prices.
- to compare the quality of work of the personnel of your company with the quality of work of competitors.
Why they contact us:
1. The impossibility of obtaining true information when working on your own behalf.
2. A request from a non-existent organization can quickly open up.
3. Creating visibility is a time-consuming process that requires not only knowledge in the subject area (technical information) and relevant personal
qualities, but also the ability to negotiate with market participants.
According to the results of our work, Customers change their pricing policy, staff motivation, work regulations, and make other decisions to increase the efficiency of their business.
