In the small business world there is always a lot to do. Our days are full of activity and the hours slip by.
Days turn into weeks and weeks into years.
Over the course of time, little things change, usually unnoticed.
Little unnoticed changes build up and slowly evolve into bigger and bigger changes.
Even these are often unnoticed and soon a fundamental change has naturally occurred.
And then suddenly the change is realized in a shocking and expensive way.
One great example is how new potential customer inquiries are handled on the phone.
Without careful and relentless attention to the details by the management team, the little details critical to success are replaced with shortcuts and omissions. This is human nature and it must be guarded against.
The simplest and easiest way to do this is to mystery shop the business. Every owner and manager should have a regular routine plan for mystery shopping their business.
Mystery shopping can occur in two ways.
First, the owner or manager can mystery shop the business by themselves.
Here’s a short video on how to mystery shop your business yourself.
The second way to mystery shop your business is a bit more involved and is usually more revealing than doing the mystery shopping yourself.
To instruct someone to mystery shop your fitness business, you can provide them with a clear set of instructions and expectations to follow during their visit. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to instruct someone to mystery shop your fitness business:
- Define the objectives: Determine the specific aspects of your fitness business that you want to evaluate through the mystery shopping process. For example, you might want to assess the customer service, cleanliness, staff knowledge, membership sign-up process, or overall member experience.
- Create a scenario: Develop a fictional scenario or profile for the mystery shopper to assume during their visit. This could include details such as their fitness goals, previous experience with fitness facilities, and any specific questions or concerns they should raise.
- Provide guidelines: Clearly outline the guidelines and expectations for the mystery shopper. This may include instructions on how to approach the assessment, what to observe, what to ask, and how to document their findings.
- Set specific tasks: Identify specific tasks or interactions you want the mystery shopper to engage in during their visit. This could involve interacting with staff members, trying out different equipment or classes, or requesting information about membership options.
- Detail reporting requirements: Specify the information you expect the mystery shopper to report back to you. This could include a written report covering their observations, any issues they encountered, staff interactions, and their overall impression of the business. Provide a template or form for them to use when documenting their findings.
- Establish evaluation criteria: Develop a scoring system or evaluation criteria that the mystery shopper can use to rate different aspects of their experience. This will help provide a standardized assessment of the business.
- Emphasize confidentiality: Stress the importance of maintaining confidentiality and anonymity during the mystery shopping process. Make it clear that the purpose is to gather objective feedback to improve the business, rather than to single out individual staff members.
- Schedule the visit: Set a date and time for the mystery shopper to conduct their visit. It’s advisable to choose a time when the business is representative of its usual operations.
- Follow-up instructions: Explain what steps the mystery shopper should take after their visit. This may include submitting the report, providing any additional feedback, or answering follow-up questions from you.
- Provide contact information: Share your contact information, so the mystery shopper can reach out if they have any questions or require clarification during the process.
Remember to thank the mystery shopper for their time and effort, as their feedback will help you identify areas for improvement and enhance the overall customer experience at your fitness business.
Regardless of the plan you follow, have fun with the process, and don’t forget to implement what you learned.
Remember, you only get results when you take immediate action on your ideas.
