Over the years, we’ve learned a few things about mystery shops with prizes, including how to make the biggest impact with your team. Now that businesses have reopened after the Covid-19 crisis, getting the most from your customer experience measurement budget is more critical than ever, and that means spending funds on prizes that will help you meet or exceed program goals. Here are five tips for better prize programs:
Ask teams what prizes matter most.
Do associates like cash or gift cards? Most likely, the answer is yes, as compared to a preference for logo items, for example. Through our experience with 80+ prize programs conducted over 10 years, we found that prize programs with gift cards have higher success rates than those with logo items, such as t-shirts or hats. But don’t take our word for it! It’s always best to poll your associates to make sure you really know what prizes motivate your unique crew the most.
Think it through.
Email prizes may be customized like physical gift cards and save on shipping fees. These are two great benefits, but there are other considerations. Do all employees have email addresses? Will it be easy for the shopper to obtain the associates’ email addresses while there? If the answers are no, it’s best to consider other prize options. Do you love the idea of Walmart or Target gift card prizes? These cards are popular, but take into account your footprint. Are all of your locations near a Walmart or Target? And for those who do not have a store near, will they want to shop online instead?
Change it up.
If your prize mystery shops include a $5 reward, consider raising it to $10 for more motivation. To keep within a budget, implement a smaller test with this higher amount, to see if it raises the sales rates or customer satisfaction outcomes, but for rolling out on a larger scale. Have you used Target gift cards for the past three years for your prizes? Make a change and offer a Visa gift card, branded with your logo and a thank you message.
Communicate more and differently.
Perhaps you are consistent in sending weekly emails to everyone with the mystery shop updates. This is effective and you can also take it a step further. Now is a good time to think about ways to communicate results at in person meetings, and even awarding your own certificate to employee in person at the meetings. You can also take a different route by announcing prize winners on social media or on internal communications.
Get more associates involved.
Are you only rewarding the cashier/server/store associate? Consider a program that would allow everyone at the location to win. With more associates doing what you want them to, because there’s a prize on the line, the overall store performance improves.
Related posts:
Five Ways To Up On The Spot Prize Program Success!
Five Key Decisions For Your Employee Recognition And Incentive Program