The mystery shopping business is very new in most parts of the world with only a handful of mystery shopping companies working mainly in larger towns and cities, and invariably targeting major business corporations, while neglecting smaller, local firms, most needing their service.

That's an awfully big gap in the market! An awful lot of business going to waste!

You can plug the gap by operating a mystery shopping business in your area with just two or three clients and a few well paid assignments each month. It's one of the best work at home opportunities possible and fits well into almost every lifestyle.

You can target most areas of commerce, such as shops and supermarkets, garages and hairdressers, banks and building societies, or you might consider specializing by setting your sites on one small group, such as family run hotels and boarding houses, seaside cafes, amusement arcades, doctor's surgeries and photographic studios.

Let's see what makes mystery shopping such an easy business to start:

* No office or special business premises required, the entire operation can be run from home.

* No need to employ staff with all the administrative headaches and hassles commonly involved. Experienced freelance mystery shoppers can be hired as and when required, or you can carry out all assignments yourself or get family members involved.

* Low start up costs. All you need is a telephone, some business stationery, and a small amount of capital for advertising your business. With a few regular clients on board, future business comes from referrals and repeat assignments.

* Overheads are low, usually just travel expenses, stationery, postage, fax and Internet communications for submitting client reports.

* You set your own hours and all decisions and choices are yours.

* You get to eat in posh restaurants and stay in plush hotels as part of the job.

* You make a big difference to how business functions and the way in which customers are treated.

* High profit potential for even small scale operators.

The secret to a successful mystery shopping business is in the way you promote your business and how you come across to potential clients. Let's consider marketing and professionalism now.

Marketing Tips

Being different in your approach to marketing your business will help you stand out to prospective clients. These tips will help:

* Write a short booklet of tips for business owners, focusing on customer service and staff training. Offer the book free in national newspapers and business journals, and via online sources, but ensure your advertisement appears in all copies.

* Produce a free newsletter for business owners, and again ensure your advertisement appears in all copies. You might also start an online newsletter which business owners can access free of charge either on screen or as a downloadable pdf. file.

* Look for special advertising promotions with media you have already tested and found to work. Where for instance a magazine offers two ads. for the price of one where your earlier promotions have worked well, you might take them up on the offer.

* Offer to write a free weekly column for publications read by your target audience. Each time you might focus on one aspect of customer service, for example answering the telephone, helping disabled customers, organizing focus groups, and so on. Make sure your resource box is included giving contact details for your business.

* Buy advertising gifts for clients - real and potential - and offer these as Christmas gifts or giveaways at business meetings. Calendars keep you to the fore every day of the year. The more useful the gift the better and the more exposure for your business. The best include pens, mugs, table mats, mouse mats, calendars and screen savers.

* Offer discounts to clients who refer you to others. This can be accomplished by offering a fixed percentage of all income generated by their referral up to a set fee or fixed maximum or for a specified period. The problem is that some clients might refer so many others that you end up working free for referring clients! Not a good idea! So offer something like ten per cent of the first shop for the new client or a small specified cash sum whichever is greater.

Professional Tips

The biggest tip any new mystery shopping business should follow is to be professional at all times. How you look, speak, write, says more about you than glossy advertising brochures and display advertisements ever can. These tips will help:

* Sound professional when you answer the telephone and when you place calls. Speak clearly and slowly and repeat your callback telephone number. Be friendly but get down to business as quickly as possible, especially where you place the call and you are encroaching on that other person's time.

* Make sure incoming calls are answered clearly and professionally for live and automated answering. Answer with a friendly greeting, followed by the name of your company, and open the way for callers to respond.

* Specialize by offering unusual services, the more unusual the better, especially if you also operate within a market niche.

* Carry out all early assignments yourself to gain experience. You might find you prefer it to hiring others to carry out assignments. It works out much cheaper, too!

Avril Harper is the author of 'How to Be a Mystery Shopper' and 'The Ultimate Guide to Starting Your Own Mystery Shopping Business' http://www.1st-in-mystery-shopping.com. She has produced samples of both books which you can download with other freely distributable reports and eBooks at http://www.toppco.com.