What if someone could consolidate the fragmented customer experience measurement industry? This is the question Market Force Information co-founders Karl Maier, Paul Berberian, and Rushton McGarr asked themselves when they set out to create a customer experience management company in 2005. Market Force combines services like mystery shopping, social media monitoring, employee surveys, market research, and in-store audits to help stores with multiple locations measure and improve the customer experience.

This data and insights firm, based in Louisville, Colorado, has been hired by companies to provide a look into their shoppers. Rent-A-Center; a rent-to-own retailer of furniture, electronics, appliances, and more; plans to employ Market Force’s mystery shopping services. Mystery shopping is when shoppers pose as regular customers while evaluating and reporting on their experience. Market Force’s KnowledgeForce platform is capable of gathering and analyzing the data gathered from mystery shoppers to reveal areas for improvement at the location level. The company has amassed a mystery shopper database of more than 200,000 that report on in-store, online, and phone shopping experiences. Using data from mystery shops helps businesses improve customer loyalty. Retaining existing customers is often less expensive than acquiring new customers.

Questions for Discussion

1. Discuss how retailers can use the insights from mystery shoppers to alter their marketing strategy

2. How does Market Force leverage marketing research to help its clients

3. Why is it important for businesses to continually gather market research from their target markets