• Mystery Shopping your Customer Experience

  • Proinsight Staff Chloe

    Chloe Kinch

    Director of Client Success | Proinsight Mystery Shopping

    Often, businesses will place a huge emphasis on having a good January sales-wise and they will be keen to start the new year off on the right foot. However, ensuring that your sales remain strong throughout the rest of the quarter, and beyond, is crucial to have a successful year. After a really challenging 2020 and 2021, it is essential that you’re doing all you can in 2022 to keep the sales momentum going as the excitement of a new year fades.  

     

    If you’re looking for a new way to boost your sales this year, it is undeniably worthwhile enlisting the help of a mystery shopping audit company. Many don’t realise just how beneficial mystery shopping programs can be and if your sales have started to dip, working with a mystery shopper can make a big difference. Below we have explored how mystery shopping can help you keep the January sales momentum throughout the whole year.  

     

    How mystery shopping can help boost sales  

     

    Ensuring your closing rates and conversions stay high is essential to having a profitable year and mystery shopper services can help you to measure your sales processes. Regardless of the products or services you sell, when you work alongside a mystery shopping audit company, you can gain a useful insight into your sales process, enabling you to establish what is working well and what could do with some improvements.  

     

    Even after you have implemented some changes to your sales process following the feedback you received from a mystery shop, you should continue to work with a mystery shopping company. Regular mystery shops will help you keep an eye on your sales process and measure how successful the changes you implemented are. As shopping trends change throughout the year, you can ensure your business remains relevant and competitive too. 

     

    Which mystery shopping services are best to use? 

     

    Mystery shopping audit companies offer a vast selection of services to businesses across a wide range of industry sectors and depending on multiple factors, some services may be more beneficial to use than others. For this reason, the best companies will create a bespoke package that suits your business’s specific needs.  

     

    There are a few mystery shopping services that are more popular than others for improving sales though and some of the most frequently used services include; 

     

    Face-to-face mystery shopping  

     

    This is the most traditional mystery shopping service and face-to-face audits tend to be something that every business uses to measure their sales process. A mystery consumer will interact with your business and experience the in-store sales process first-hand, enabling them to provide you with constructive feedback. Using this mystery shopping service, you can ensure your in-person customer experience is always exemplary.  

     

    Online mystery shopping  

     

    When your business operates solely online or you also sell your products/services via your website, online mystery shopping audits can be really useful. A mystery shopper will interact with your website and make an online purchase with your business. They will then give feedback on the online sales process from start to finish, highlighting any issues with website usability, the payment service or the delivery, for example. Using this feedback, you can ensure customer satisfaction is guaranteed when consumers interact with your business online.  

     

    Competitor mystery shops  

     

    In order to have a competitive edge and keep up your sales momentum, competitor mystery shops can help you learn more about your competitors. Mystery shoppers will interact with your competitors’ businesses, providing you with an invaluable insight into their sales processes. They will inform you about everything from customer service to USPs and you can use this information to drive strategic business decisions and boost your business growth.  

     

    Enlisting the help of a mystery shopping audit company 

     

    If you have noticed that your January sales momentum has started to drop in February and you’re looking for ways to boost your sales for the rest of the year, contacting a mystery shopping audit company is undoubtedly one of the best things you can do. Mystery shopping is incredibly advantageous and it has proven time and time again to be effective, so it is definitely worth trying in 2022.  

     

    To find out more about the different mystery shopping services available to you, feel free to get in touch with our team at Proinsight. We will be happy to discuss mystery shopping with you in more detail and we can answer any questions you may have. With years of experience behind us, you can trust we have the knowledge and expertise required to provide you with the bespoke mystery shopping program you need, so there is no better company to turn to.  


    David Hopkins

    David Hopkins

    Managing Director at Proinsight Mystery Shopping

    David has a long history in the business of doing good business. In 2008, he co-founded Proleisure, a leisure consulting company, where he identified a growing need for deeper customer insights across the industry. This led to the launch of Proinsight Mystery Shopping in 2014, with a vision to provide businesses with the valuable data needed to enhance customer experience.

    Now, as we approach our 10th year, Proinsight has become a leading provider of specialist mystery shopping, auditing, and research programs, serving a diverse range of sectors across the UK including real estate, fitness, retail, hospitality, and so many more. We remain committed to helping our clients achieve excellence and drive meaningful improvements in their businesses.

    David is deeply committed to enhancing customer service across all industries. His passion lies in providing valuable mystery shopping insights that empower clients to take actionable steps towards improvement. By delivering these insights directly, David helps businesses create effective strategies to elevate their customer experience and drive meaningful change.


    Chloe Kinch

    Chloe Kinch

    Director of Client Success at Proinsight Mystery Shopping

    Chloe joined Proinsight Mystery Shopping as an Account Manager in 2017. Prior to her role at Proinsight, she served as National Sales Manager at Parkwood Leisure, where she gained extensive experience in exceeding customer expectations and developed a deep understanding of the leisure industry.

    Chloe quickly advanced within Proinsight, progressing from Account Manager in 2017 to Head of Client Success in 2020, and ultimately to Director of Client Success and shareholder in 2022. In her current role, she leads client relationships with prestigious brands such as David Lloyd, Dyson, and Apple. Chloe is responsible for designing bespoke mystery shopping programs tailored to each client's specific needs, aimed at enhancing customer service and optimising sales processes across various industries, including real estate, hospitality, retail, leisure, and more.


    Lucy Winn

    Lucy Winn

    Brand and Communications Manager at Proinsight Mystery Shopping

    After graduating with a degree in Marketing from the University of Westminster, Lucy successfully grew and scaled her own e-commerce womenswear clothing business over a span of four years, expanding into international retail markets including Japan, the US, and France. With extensive expertise in brand development and digital communications, Lucy has driven commercial growth through strategic initiatives like influencer marketing, digital campaign management, and both online and offline retail expansion.

    In July 2024, she joined Proinsight Mystery Shopping as Brand and Communications Manager, where she leads the strategy and management of all digital platforms, including the website and social media, with a focus on driving shopper sign-ups and generating client leads. Additionally, she oversees event management for both internal company days and major external summits like Connect CX. At these events, we emphasise the critical importance of exceptional customer service across various industries, positioning it as a cornerstone of a brand’s overall UX strategy.


    Robert Brocklesby

    Robert Brocklesby

    Senior Client Success Manager

    Robert is a Senior Client Success Manager at Proinsight, bringing over 20 years of consultancy and industry experience in customer service measurement and development. Throughout his career, he has led numerous high-impact projects for well-known clients across the UK, spanning a wide range of sectors. His work has consistently driven significant improvements in customer experience and contributed to sustainable, profitable growth.

    Robert recognises that each client is unique. He designs tailored Mystery Shopping programmes to monitor, enhance, and elevate the customer journey, aligning with each organisation’s specific goals. In addition to his consultancy work, Robert is a qualified teacher and regularly delivers customer service workshops. These sessions focus on identifying key strengths and uncovering areas for development, empowering frontline teams to drive continuous improvement.