Integrity Consultants Market Research Professionals

Saint Louis area company Integrity Consultants announces the development of a strategic partnership with Sales Quality Research Group in Tempe, AZ. As a result of the association, Integrity Consultants will now provide Project Management and Field Services to Sales Quality Research Group for current and upcoming projects as well as consulting and support services related to marketing and brand strategy.

Integrity Consultants CEO Kelly Truelove states, "We are honored to collaborate with Sales Quality Research Group as they continue to set the standard of excellence for Financial Services through Market Research."

Sales Quality Research Group is one of America's leading providers of market research services for financial institutions. The company has conducted well over one hundred thousand in-person and telephone shops of retail bank employees, as well as investment and insurance sales personnel for all types of financial institutions nationwide. Sales Quality Research Group has provided unique research and consulting for the financial services industry since 1993.

Integrity Consultants, provider of mystery shopping, market research, and in-store marketing services, is a newer addition to the industry, blasting onto the industrial scene January, 1 2009 when former mystery shopper Kelly Truelove launched the company after serving the industry in multiple capacities and formulating innovative training and recruiting techniques. Since then, Integrity Consultants has made a considerable impact, addressing issues such as budget conservation, accountability, and the advocacy of mystery shoppers and clients through publication. In addition, Integrity Consultants has supported and provided continuing education opportunities designed to increase industry awareness and is currently developing the resource Market Research Pros. Integrity Consultants is a member of the National Association for Retail Marketing Services (NARMS) and the Better Business Bureau.

For more information regarding Integrity Consultants, please visit their Website or contact Kelly Truelove via email at kellytruelove@integrityconsultants.net or telephone at (636)451-6132.

For 20 years Retex has been an intermediary for the retail industry, having saved its members over 100 million dollars by lowering costs through high-volume buying and offering rebates. Now, Retex has formed a strategic partnership with SampleSecure.com in order to offer Retail Marketing Support Services, including Mystery Shopping, Merchandising, Event Marketing and Demonstrations, as well as online ordering and program management, at an incredibly reduced rate to its membership.

Retex members now have free access to the award winning SampleSecure.com online ordering and Program Management system. In addition, retailers taking advantage of this unique partnership and technology will also save 5% or more on labor and overstock issues. SampleSecure.com brings together some of the best local service providers in the industry, many of which have worked in conjunction with the national firms that you are familiar with or may have even used. This solid network of local providers offers you the same expertise and experience, with a new twist. By working directly with the local service providers, SampleSecure.com has eliminated the string of middlemen that have, up until now, functioned merely as order takers. With current industry practices, your service order is taken and then contracted out, sometimes up to four times, before the local provider actually getting the job done receives the order. In the meantime, your budget has been severely depleted, and the quality of the work that you will receive has been reduced. It is widely known that, "You get what you pay for." However, if your budget for these services does not reach the local provider, then the quality of the personnel being hired to do the job is diminished, and the local provider is more often than not overextended because of the need to take on an insurmountable amount of work in order to operate at any kind of profit. Instead of getting the attention and quality you deserve, you end up with overworked providers and poor labor quality at the store level. Furthermore, with that many links in the chain, your service is only going to be as good as the weakest link. With that much room for error, both human and technological, and breakdown in communication, something is bound to falter.

The SampleSecure.com Difference

The days of misplaced ballot boxes and empty demonstration tables are over. With SampleSecure.com, you also have the advantage of the award winning ordering and Program Management system. You will be able to identify what stage of the process your order is in and have much more control over the providers you use. When you hire a national firm that then subcontracts this service out, you have very little control over who actually recruits and trains the personnel, schedules the event, or edits the report that you eventually receive. In many cases, each of these services is contracted to a different provider or firm, again reducing your service budget along the way. As a Retex member, you will have free access to the online ordering and Program Management system and have the ability to purchase these Retail Marketing Support Services at cost. You will also have a choice of a local provider in your area. Wherever you are in the country, there is a network provider, EMA, ready to serve you.

Retail Marketing Support Services: Mystery Shopping

Retail Marketing Support Services, such as Mystery Shopping, are invaluable to any industry. These services provide you with information paramount to increasing profitability and decreasing loss. Whether your goal is to evaluate your employees and the customer service provided at the point of contact with customers, the effectiveness of your advertising, regulatory compliance, issues related to your Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), or Loss Prevention and Quality Assurance issues, there is an individualized program to meet your needs. Mystery Shopping, for instance, is also used for business verification issues, such as verifying that a location is or is not where it should be, hours of operation, signage, menus and advertising campaigns. This information is vital to any business and available to you, a valued Retex member, at a greatly discounted price. In addition to free access to the SampleSecure.com online ordering and Program Management system, you will save 5% or more on labor and overstock issues. This translates to $30 per store, per event, for demonstrations. SampleSecure.com also refunds all overages that might be paid directly back to the retailer, where this would be kept as profit anywhere else.

The days of breakdowns in communication, lacking accountability, and hidden profit centers are over. Take advantage of the Retex promise and the SampleSecure.com guarantee. There is a better way.

Every time we participate in a focus group, opinion poll, telephone audit, or online survey, send a rebate card with comments by postal mail, or fill out a comment card at a restaurant, we are participating in market research. Mystery shopping is one of the most widely used market research tools used to evaluate customer service, quality, compliance, loyalty, and other issues. This is most widely observed in the hospitality industry. Almost every hotelier and restaurant, whether fine dining or fast food, utilizes a mystery shopping program.

A good mystery shopping program will be individualized and tailored to the client's particular needs and focus. It will also include as much measurable data as possible, as the ultimate goal of these programs is a comprehensive report, a multi-use tool that the client can then utilize to compare locations, strengths, and areas of concern at a glance. The client can then use the information in the report to implement change where necessary, refine training techniques, and develop reward programs. More often than not, the goal of a mystery shopping program is not to focus on what is wrong, but what is right. The program for a restaurant, for example, will involve the evaluation of the location, employees, management, menu items, promotions, and advertising campaigns. Where a fast food shop might focus more on the length of time spent in the drive-thru, number of napkins provided, and the consistency of menu items and pricing among locations, a fine dining shop will be more inclusive. Generally, reports of this nature will be divided into sections and include numbered questions. Most of these questionnaire items will have a scored, "Yes, No, or N.A." response, while others are given a numerical rating. Most importantly, however, are the narratives. When writing a narrative for a particular section, the mystery shopper will give a step-by-step accounting of events pertaining to that section while using the questionnaire for that particular section as a guide. Usually, the questionnaire items contain the minimum amount of information required for that section, while the narrative gives a more detailed and clarified picture of the events that took place and provides an explanation whenever points are lost.

A typical fine dining mystery shop will focus on a number of factors, usually beginning with a telephone call to the location. During this call, a reservation is made, or a question is asked, normally about hours of operation or directions to the location. This allows the mystery shopper to assess the employee and provide an opportunity to demonstrate knowledge. Upon arrival, the mystery shopper will evaluate both interior and exterior surfaces, including parking lots, walkways, entrances, and host stands. The mystery shopper will take note of the host's attire and the ambiance, including music and lighting levels, while waiting in line or to be acknowledged. Also noted, is the ease in which the reservation was located, wait times, and greetings. On the way to the table, the mystery shopper will take note of the space between tables, obstacles in the walkways, and the pace at which he or she was escorted to the table. Once at the table, the place settings, menus, and condition of the furnishings and decor in the dining area are observed. Most clients prefer to know at this point how long it took for a server to approach the table and how long it was before a beverage other than water was offered. With each employee encountered, the mystery shopper is taking note of attire, body language, greetings, closings, behavior, and the confidence in which information is provided. For example, it would be important to note if the hostess was chewing gum, or the wait staff was conversing in the corner. With most fine dining establishments, a strict dress code or uniform is in place, sometimes dependent upon the time of day. The mystery shopper will report whether or not the attire was appropriate or included additional accessories.

Once approached by a server, the mystery shopper is noting whether or not wine service was offered, if specials are presented, and if specific beverages, appetizers, or starters are suggested. During the meal, the time between courses is noted, as is the compliance of special requests and cooking instructions. Also noted, are the activities of support staff in surrounding areas. It is important to know whether or not staff was unobtrusive and efficient in the removal of dishes and refilling of beverages. The mystery shopper will also take note of table resets once guests have departed and evaluate the restroom.

The visibility of management staff is also reported. It is important to know if management is driving the operation and how disputes or complaints are handled. In addition to the interactions between management and guests, those between management and staff are also noteworthy. Last, but certainly not least, the mystery shopper will give a review of food items, rating quality, presentation, temperature, value, flavor, and texture. This often includes a numerical rating in addition to the narrative. Common questionnaire items include whether or not the service or food was comparable to similar locations, if the mystery shopper would return, and if the food or beverage item met with menu or server description. Occasionally, suggestions for improvement are included. This is not a commonality, however, because the role of the mystery shopper is to report objective, measurable data, not to form opinions.

It is important to note that the essence of a mystery shopper is anonymity and objectivity. The mystery shopper is you, or me, or any customer in any location. The mystery shopper is an invaluable market research tool, because he or she is in effect, a customer.

A good mystery shopper understands the responsibility of this role, that the ability to accurately report this data is imperative. Mystery shopping reports can bring about a change in hours of operation, promotions and advertising, or menu items. More importantly, however, a good Mystery Shopping Provider is well aware that each and every report may have an effect on best practices, Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), regulations, and even jobs. These reports may play a large role in a client's decision to close a location, make a staff change, or update training programs. When choosing a Mystery Shopping Provider, make sure that you choose one that focuses on this responsibility.

With the SampleSecure.com Network of Providers, you can be assured of an EMA with this degree of responsibility and accountability. As a Retex member, you have access to the SampleSecure.com online ordering and program management system, winner of the 2009 Fast Pitch Best New Technology Award. Your free Retex membership also allows you to receive Mystery Shopping, Merchandising, Demo and Event Services at cost, saving you 5% or more on your Retail Marketing Support Services budget. In today's economy, consumers have less to spend and are choosing wisely about where they spend it. Mystery shopping can help you assure quality, prevent loss, and increase profitability, ensuring that they choose to spend their hard-earned dollars with you.