Mystery Shopping

Are you losing fee income?

Poor enquiry handling costs money. A private fee payer in a care home might contribute over £300k during the lifetime of a resident’s stay. If your handling of first-time enquirers and families is systemically poor, then you are potentially losing millions of pounds in revenue opportunity.

Step 1: Defining the project

Establishing the business outcome you want to achieve i.e. higher occupancy, and matching the project objectives to it.

Step 2: Choosing a sample

Is the project to be comparative i.e., include competitor organisations, or just 'shop' your own organisation? If comparative, then key competitors need to be identified.

Step 3: Face to face and telephone

We conduct both in-person and telephone contacts. Does the phone get answered promptly and professionally? Are show rounds carried out by someone appropriate? What marketing materials are handed out? How are fees communicated?

Step 4: Analysis

We combine all our findings within agreed metrics and then compare the results with your competitors to give you a detailed comparison of performance and an overall rating.

Step 5: Reporting

We present a report personally as well as electronically. Our experience allows us to deliver real insight and make practical recommendations on home facilities, staff performance, and what should happen next.

Why choose us?

Market Insight

Our comparative projects offer care home owners detailed insight into their local market competition. How do your key competitors market their homes compared to yours?

Information Detail

The breadth of information gathered in our Mystery Shopping projects feeds into a wide range of strategic issues. Fees, occupancy, marketing materials, and staff performance are all assesed in detail.

Recommendations

Our sector experience means we only make recommendations that are practical and capable of being implemented by an individual client. We recognise the likely limitations of each home and feedback accordingly.

Client case studies

Enquiry pack development supports occupancy drive

After conducting a comparative Mystery Shopping programme, we identified that the client's marketing collateral for care home first-time enquirers lagged...

Business people having a project meeting in office

Staff training supports occupancy drive

We identified for our client, a care home group, that enquiry handling systems were not robust enough across their estate,...

From clients who used this service:

Chris and CMC brought a much-needed professionalism into the content and appearance of our marketing collateral. Their Mystery shopping project had identified a need for change, and web, brochures, and staff training followed to improve our service to our customers. We would certianly recommend their services.

John Walton, Woodleigh Care

Chris developed our marketing strategy and was crucial to its successful implementation. His wide business experience, linked to a very ‘can do’ attitude, meant we were able to give maximum focus to our client work in the knowledge that our marketing operation was in very safe hands.

Ben Hartley, Carterwood