Advantages of Capturing Net Promoter Scores

A net promoter score (NPS) is a popular metric used when both measuring and tracking customer experience. These scores are universally used among industries world-wide for their ability to collect and analyze survey responses simply and efficiently.

It’s quite simple, really. Imagine if your clients were asked, “Based upon your experience, how likely are you to recommend XYZ Company to a friend or colleague using a scale of 10 to 0 (10 = Very likely to refer, 0 = Not at all likely to refer)?” Depending on which number the respondent rated your company, they would be placed into one of three designated groups. The three groups in which a client can fall into are Promoters, Passives, and Detractors. By sorting your respondents into these three groups, it makes it easy to determine how your overall client feels about your product, company, or service.

For example, based on the response number your client selected to your question, they would fall into a given group as follows:

• 9-10: Promoters
  This group contains your top fans and biggest source of referrals. These are the type of people who have probably recommended you and trust you with all their future business.
• 7-8: Passives
  Next, we have your passives. These respondents are those who have tried what you have to offer but can still be easily persuaded to go with a competitor. Passives aren’t necessarily “bad” to have, they’re more of a neutral group.
• 0-6: Detractors
  Lastly are your detractors. As complete opposites of your promoters, these group members are likely to hurt your company’s image with negative reviews, both by word-of-mouth, and through online sources.

Once you’ve collected all your data, you will simply calculate your NPS by subtracting the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters. Scores can range from -100 to a +100. As with any other equation, higher numbers on the positive side are most desirable.

If you are unsatisfied with your score, it’s best to do further analysis as to why your detractors or passives provided their exact answers. By doing so, you are able to then identify any issues in your product, service, or business that you may have overlooked or not even been aware of. By addressing these specifics, it could result in higher customer satisfaction and higher NPS scores in the future!