The beginning of the new financial year marks a significant milestone for businesses and their stakeholders. It’s a time to reflect on the successes and challenges of the past financial year and set goals for the year ahead. You can simplify reflection by using a mystery shopping program. A mystery shopping program provides a valuable perspective on how your business functions and identifies opportunities for improvement. The best way to start the new financial year is with a fresh approach and a renewed commitment to excellence.
In this article we will discuss the importance of starting the new financial year with a mystery shopping program. We will also provide some tips to help grow your business.
Reflect on the Past Financial Year
Before you dive into the new financial year, it’s crucial to reflect on the past year. Evaluate your financial performance, stakeholder relationships, review your goals, and analyse strategies. What worked well? What could you have improved? Use this valuable information to guide your decision-making for the coming year.
If you have a mystery shopping program in place, you should be able to access detailed, easily shareable reports, highlighting areas for improvement. However, if you are looking to start a mystery shopping program, you can have actionable data as early as the 1st of the following month. Whether you’re starting fresh or need some guidance in understanding the data, ask your mystery shopping provider; they are the experts. Over the past 21 years, Above Benchmark has helped clients implement and benefit from their mystery shopping programs.
Identify and Set Clear Goals
Setting clear and achievable goals is essential to success in the new financial year. This also goes hand-in-hand with understanding your company’s core values and communicating them to your team. Take the time to define your objectives, outline the steps needed to accomplish them, and share them.
When designing a mystery shopping survey it helps to have a clear set of goals, but we can also assist with that initial goal recognition. Your ultimate goal is to improve sales, but several secondary goals are necessary first. These sub-goals will give us a roadmap for your program and we can then advise which questions to ask to achieve those sub-goals. The program should be able to change when the sub-goals change. A well-designed mystery shopping program will grow with your company, be flexible, and help you identify and achieve your goals.
Review Your Strategies
A new financial year is the perfect time to review and update your strategies. Because technology moves at breakneck speed, there’s a high chance you’re still investing in outdated marketing techniques. A mailing list may have been the go-to communication five years ago, but is it helpful now or just alienating your customer base? Take a close look at your expenses and make adjustments where necessary.
A regular mystery shopping program throughout the financial year can be used to evaluate which business strategies work and which ones hurt your business. Furthermore, as soon as you think of a new strategy, it can be incorporated into your survey. This will enable you to get real-time feedback on its implementation, adoption, and reception.
Get Organised
Starting the new financial year on the right foot involves making sure your business is up-to-date and in order. Are all your details correct on your website, Google My Business, and in-store? We posted a blog article here about keeping your information current. The start of the new financial year is an excellent time to check all areas and make sure your customers have the latest information.
A mystery shopping program assesses at a store level if a business is organised and up-to-date, confirming current promotions and information. However, the process of setting up a mystery shopping program itself can be the much-needed inspiration for a system spring clean. We ask our clients to provide certain information about their stores, regional and location manager information, contact details, etc. Our highly organised process acts as a checklist for your business and our clients are also accountable for keeping this list updated. It’s good business practice to update all communication areas.
Seek Professional Advice
If you’re unsure about how to start the new financial year on the right foot with your customers, seek professional advice. Just as you would seek the help of an experienced accountant or financial advisor, so should you seek the guidance of the experienced customer service experts at Above Benchmark. We can help you optimise your strategies and keep you on track to achieving your goals.
In summary, mystery shopping will help you evaluate your business’s strengths and weaknesses from the customer’s perspective. You can improve customer satisfaction, loyalty, and profits by reflecting on the past year, setting clear goals, reviewing strategies, getting organised, and seeking professional advice. Don’t put it off until the next financial year. Remember, steps taken today can have a significant impact on your business’s well-being.
If you would like to discuss how a mystery shopping program with Above Benchmark could help you over the new financial year, give us a call or contact us here.
