Attention tech brands such as: LG, Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, Vodafone, Sharp, Philips, T-Mobile, Nikon, HTC and HP etc
How many marketing people out there have seen the Mary Portas Secret Shopper programme on Channel 4?
And how many millions of pounds do you spend getting your latest TV or mobile phone onto the market?
And who amongst you has considered how your product is actually sold to your customer?
You may well have put training schemes in place for your retailers, but are they actually following it, or as we have seen from the secret instore footage: giving terrible customer service and pushing the wrong product?
By using our expertise and technology, we can enter the stores and covertly film the whole buying experience.
You give us a brief and a scenario and we act it out for you...for real.
How is your Brand spoken of instore?
Is the salesman trying to upsell?
Does he demonstrate a clear knowledge of the product and its advantages?
This information can then be fed back to your company (rather than shown on TV) so you can adapt the training and marketing accordingly.
The end result is a happier and larger customer base, which has to lead to increased profits.
You all say that the 'Customer Experience is paramount', well lets see who is prepared to really do something to prove it.
http://www.astoncovert.com/
http://www.thecovertagency.eu/
http://www.happycustomers.info/
Wednesday 9 February 2011
Tuesday 1 February 2011
Mary Portas: Secret Shopper
I somehow missed the first show, about the retail fashion stores, but watched the sofa show with interest. As you know, part of my work is to carry out exactly those projects to see what its actually like to be a customer. My clients are usually either tech brands or car manufacturers/dealerships.
It came as no surprise to me to hear that all the brands mentioned claimed that the customer experience was paramount, but it was plain to see that in reality they are not prepared to invest in proper training or even the kind of business intelligence (mystery shopping) shown in the programme.
I use hidden, body worn cameras to find out what really happens, but the brands balk at paying for my equipment, time and expertise. They prefer to go for the least expensive route which means they can tick the box marked 'mystery shopping programme initiated' and continue giving terrible customer service and claiming that current staff training is adequate.
I wonder if that now they were named and shamed on television, whether they now regret those decisions. Anyone from DFS, SCS, Furniture Village etc want to comment..? Presumably they would have preferred to have been the only ones seeing the footage (as happens in our projects) and taking the necessary steps to put it right.
But will things change for consumers..? Only when we complain enough and demand better customer service, and ultimately boycott companies who are not upto scratch.
http://www.astoncovert.com/
It came as no surprise to me to hear that all the brands mentioned claimed that the customer experience was paramount, but it was plain to see that in reality they are not prepared to invest in proper training or even the kind of business intelligence (mystery shopping) shown in the programme.
I use hidden, body worn cameras to find out what really happens, but the brands balk at paying for my equipment, time and expertise. They prefer to go for the least expensive route which means they can tick the box marked 'mystery shopping programme initiated' and continue giving terrible customer service and claiming that current staff training is adequate.
I wonder if that now they were named and shamed on television, whether they now regret those decisions. Anyone from DFS, SCS, Furniture Village etc want to comment..? Presumably they would have preferred to have been the only ones seeing the footage (as happens in our projects) and taking the necessary steps to put it right.
But will things change for consumers..? Only when we complain enough and demand better customer service, and ultimately boycott companies who are not upto scratch.
http://www.astoncovert.com/
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