Net promoter score® (NPS®) is one of the most widely used metrics for gauging customer loyalty and satisfaction. It helps you understand and track how their customers perceive your brand. More specifically, it seeks to answer the question: are my current customers going to bring me more new customers via word of mouth?
Referrals are still one of the most powerful business growth models. If your brand wants to be the talk of the town (and don’t we all?) this post discusses using the Net Promoter Score in your market research.
NPS measures “willingness to recommend”. It’s a single number determined through a single-question survey that asks customers:
Based on their answer, respondents are grouped as promoters, passives, and detractors:
Researchers and marketers love this one-question survey for its simplicity. But to calculate your actual Net Promoter Score, you also need to:
From a customer service perspective, NPS is either:
A chance to repair a bad experience and win back the customer’s favor
-or-
An opportunity to wow a happy (or passive) customer, swaying them towards brand loyalist
Thus, the most common uses for NPS data are improving service and operations, and developing and refining customer loyalty initiatives. Knowing the average NPS scores for your industry offers perspective about your place among key competitors in the market. And, you can quantify and track it over time, which is helpful for setting goals internally.
A few words of caution about NPS—it’s a valuable metric for customer happiness and loyalty —but it’s not the only one!
There’s a unique story surrounding every customer’s journey. When you use the NPS survey question in isolation, you miss out on key pieces of that story. And you risk missing out on critical details that can unlock customer loyalty and reveal your most likely brand advocates.
Instead, think about using NPS in tandem with other market research techniques. Follow up with additional questions to learn more about customer motivations and perceptions:
If you think you might need to dive even deeper, you can use a longer survey, a focus group, or 1-on-1 interviews. Marketers often send NPS surveys via email. However, you might also see a brand ask for feedback while a customer is still on their website (such as via a pop-up form).
A qualified market research partner can help you find participants who meet your ideal client description, as well as determining the flow and survey design for best results. Socially distanced interviews are possible via video or telephone.
If you’re looking for a competitive edge, and you value data over opinions, we can help. Based on your needs, we’ll develop a research project to provide you with data, insights, and an action plan for your business. Book a free initial consultation to discuss your research needs.