Case Study: Uncovering Sales Opportunities Through Mystery Shopping for Birketts

Birketts supplies hardwood mats for the Construction field to businesses across the UK, supporting construction, infrastructure and other projects requiring temporary ground protection.

Operating in a competitive industry, Birketts wanted to better understand how its pricing, customer service and sales process compared with other suppliers.

They partnered with BuzzGen to carry out a comprehensive mystery shopping campaign, allowing us to assess the real customer experience, identify competitive advantages and uncover opportunities to improve how enquiries are handled.

Our Objectives

Birketts approached us with several key goals:

• Benchmark purchase and hire prices against competing bog mat suppliers.
• Assess how quickly and effectively businesses respond to new enquiries.
• Evaluate the quality of customer service, product knowledge and sales advice.
• Identify opportunities to improve quotations, follow-ups and lead conversion.
• Provide actionable recommendations based on real customer experiences.

Our Approach

Rather than relying solely on competitor websites or advertised pricing, we wanted to experience the buying process from the customer’s perspective.

A Realistic Mystery Shopping Campaign

We developed a realistic customer enquiry for a project requiring approximately 60 hardwood mats, with the option to purchase or hire over 12 weeks.

The same core requirements were presented to six competing suppliers and Birketts themselves, creating a consistent basis for comparing how each business approached a potential customer.

We deliberately kept the initial enquiry relatively open, allowing suppliers to ask their own questions, offer recommendations and demonstrate their understanding of the customer’s requirements.

Assessing the Complete Customer Experience

Throughout the campaign, we monitored the entire customer journey, rather than simply collecting quotations.

Our assessment considered how quickly suppliers responded, the friendliness and professionalism of their communication, the questions they asked, and how clearly they explained their products and prices.

We also examined whether suppliers proactively followed up, offered suitable alternatives or required customers to chase information that should have been included in the original quotation.

Competitor Pricing and Sales Analysis

Once quotations and follow-up conversations had been collected, we analysed the information to establish how Birketts compared with the wider market.

Our research covered different timber specifications, mat thicknesses, hire durations, purchase options and transport costs.

We combined these findings with a structured customer experience scorecard and a detailed report, allowing Birketts to see both its commercial position and the strengths and weaknesses of its sales journey.

Results & Impact

The mystery shopping campaign provided Birketts with valuable competitive intelligence and clear opportunities for improvement.

Seven Businesses Benchmarked

We assessed seven supplier experiences, including Birketts, capturing dozens of pricing options and follow-up interactions.

This provided a detailed picture of how competitors sell their products, communicate their value and respond to prospective customers.

Significant Differences in Response and Service

Initial response times ranged from just seven minutes to approximately four hours.

However, speed alone didn’t always translate into the strongest customer experience.

Some suppliers provided detailed product recommendations and proactive follow-ups, while others required repeated requests for missing pricing, delivery information or technical specifications.

Strong Competitive Pricing Identified

Our analysis confirmed that Birketts offered some of the most competitive European hardwood pricing within the suppliers assessed.

This gave the business valuable evidence of its commercial strengths and helped identify where pricing could be emphasised more confidently during the sales process.

Opportunities to Improve the Buying Journey

One particularly valuable finding concerned the availability of hire quotations.

Although Birketts responded promptly and professionally, the initial requirement for credit approval meant indicative hire pricing was not immediately available.

By reviewing the customer experience, we identified how this additional step could discourage an otherwise interested buyer.

We recommended improvements to early-stage pricing transparency, quotation completeness and the way commercial information is presented.

A Clear Action Plan for Improvement

The final report combined measurable data with customer experience feedback, individual supplier assessments and practical recommendations.

Rather than simply telling Birketts how competitors performed, we provided evidence they could use to refine their sales approach, strengthen customer communication and make it easier for prospective buyers to progress.

Conclusion

Mystery shopping provides businesses with something that traditional competitor research cannot always deliver: a genuine understanding of what it feels like to buy from them.

Through this campaign, BuzzGen helped Birketts Bogmats understand its position in the market, recognise its competitive strengths and identify opportunities to create a more effective sales experience.

The result was a detailed, practical benchmarking report designed to support smarter commercial decisions and future sales improvements.

At BuzzGen, we help businesses understand their market, assess their competitors and identify opportunities for growth through research-led marketing and business strategy.

Want to understand how your competitors compare and what your customers really experience? Get in touch with our team to discuss a tailored competitor research or mystery shopping campaign.