Going Beyond the Number – Using Net Promoter Score in Your Market Research
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.
How Does Net Promoter Score Work?
NPS measures “willingness to recommend”. It’s a single number determined through a single-question survey that asks customers:
“On a scale from 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend this product or service to others?”
Based on their answer, respondents are grouped as promoters, passives, and detractors:
- Promoters (score 9-10) are loyal enthusiasts who will keep buying and refer others, fueling growth.
- Passives (score 7-8) are satisfied but unenthusiastic customers who are vulnerable to competitive offerings.
- Detractors (score 0-6) are unhappy customers who can damage your brand and impede growth through negative word-of-mouth.
Researchers and marketers love this one-question survey for its simplicity. But to calculate your actual Net Promoter Score, you also need to:
- Subtract the percentage of respondents who were Detractors from the percentage of Promoters to yield your Net Promoter Score. The score can range from -100 (if every customer is a Detractor) to 100 (if every customer is a Promoter).
Why NPS is Useful for Market Research
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.
Going Beyond NPS in Your Market Research
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:
- For Passives and Detractors (score between 0 – 8) ask what you could have done differently or better
- For Promoters (score of 9 or 10) ask what they loved most about their experience with you or “What’s the main reason you chose this score?”
- Ask an open-ended follow-up question asking for suggestions (optional).
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.
