If you are a very small business, or running your own business, it might be difficult to pull off a role as a mystery shopper in your own operation. Your colleagues might be on to you and be on their best behavior. However, you can always walk a mile in your customers' shoes by experiencing your brand from their point of view. Pretend you are the customer and do the following:
- Listen to your outgoing message, pay attention to how you and your employees communicate on the phone and through email.
- Examine your sales and return policies. Are they simple and straightforward, or do you need a degree in rocket science to understand them?
- What is the post-transaction experience like? Once the check clears, are you (playing the role of the customer) forgotten?
- Are your offices easy to find?
- Are your offices pleasant and welcoming? Do they reflect the brand message that you are trying to convey? (creative, corporate and buttoned up, knowledgeable)?
- Finally, recall some of your best and worst experiences as a customer at places where you have done business and learn from both.
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