If you've been using Net Promoter Score℠ for a while, you've probably wondered if your survey is biased, right? This question makes perfect sense, because NPS®, like any survey metric, can be biased toward higher scores.
Net Promoter Score data if the customers leaving feedback are a group of friends or a small number of customers with whom you have a close relationship?
Biases are common in surveys and sampling, and while they're impossible to completely remove, there are ways to improve the quality and accuracy of your data.
So, if you're concerned about biased results affecting the accuracy of your Net Promoter Score℠, you can take several steps to reduce the effects of responses in your survey.
Check out the main factors that can influence your NPS® and how you can correct this in your business:
Partial sampling
Partial sampling is one of the easiest ways to artificially inflate NPS® Ultimate Question 2.0 book .
The author himself explains that there are several ways to manipulate the Net Promoter℠ indicator, such as not conducting satisfaction surveys with detractors, targeting a small number of close customers to send the survey, or even excluding responses – which directly influences the NPS® score.
A situation like this ends up providing distorted data that could boost your NPS®, but it won't be connected to your company. Therefore, the end result is an inflated score that creates a flawed view of your business's retention .
This means that if your company has a small number of customers or if you have a very close relationship with them, you need to aim for an above-average response rate to ensure your data isn't affected by this.
According to the Ultimate Question book and articles that discuss benchmarks for surveys, the average is around 20% – which, depending on the sample size, is a small number of responses.
For example, if you do an initial survey of 100 people and only 20 respond, it ends up not being accurate information at first – but if you send a survey to 100,000 people and get 20,000 responses, that's a large sample.
Therefore, the minimum response rate varies according to the size of the base to be researched, and the greater the number of submissions, the lower the response rate should be.
Furthermore, it is important to remember that NPS® must be a constant practice of monitoring customer experience , to be effective and accurate.
Fear of Retaliation
Fear of retaliation is another point that is often discussed in the Ultimate Question book, as it is common in many situations.
For example, if a company has market power, either because it is much larger than its competitors or a technology leader in that segment, customers tend to avoid negative reviews.
Additionally, a customer may avoid rating a supplier negatively for fear of lowering their priority for access to service or access to the exclusive customer pool.
Another case that the author tells is in relation to the face-to-face questions that are asked, and that most of the time, end up being biased because we are not expecting that, or simply for convenience in not having to develop a long conversation, explaining the reason for the dissatisfaction .
For example, if you go to dinner somewhere and right after the meal the waiter asks you how the food was – you're very likely to say that everything was good, right?
However, when your friend asks what you thought of the restaurant, you will certainly be more honest about the quality and service.
Request score
Nowadays, it is quite common for companies to commission their employees based on NPS® scores.
Although it is a healthy practice that encourages the search for good service, it should only be applied when the NPS® system is mature and everyone in the company understands its true meaning. Otherwise, it ends up being, on certain occasions, an internal competition that can mask the results of the survey.
Asking for or incentivizing high scores only distorts true customer sentiment and undermines what should be the primary goal of your Net Promoter℠ program—an accurate assessment of customer sentiment so that opportunities for improvement can be identified for your company.
Strategic calendar
A strategic calendar or a specific event can increase your satisfaction score, precisely because it addresses customer emotion.
For example, if your company launches an exclusive course for customers or an in-person event with leading experts on the subject, and then conducts a satisfaction survey, this will likely affect customer perception and lead to higher ratings.
The point I want to make is that this is not wrong – not at all, but you should think about your research in the most neutral way possible, without interference from a specific event, commemorative date or any market seasonality.
Neutrality will help you ensure insights for your business , without external interference or sudden changes in customer behavior.
Color scale
If you type Net Promoter Score℠ into Google Images , you'll likely find several examples of surveys with different colors and smiley faces representing the Net Promoter℠ system categories.
While these designs may seem cool and capture customer attention, many of them end up influencing response behavior, resulting in biased data.
According to studies on the influence of colors on response interaction, there are two ways that do not influence the customer's response: neutral/single color or gradient scale .
The red, yellow, and green color scale, however, significantly influences the outcome, according to studies conducted to confirm these hypotheses. See below for the correct color application.
High reward
We've discussed this in other articles, but it's important to remember that the reward can exist, but it can't serve as a trigger for the customer to respond to the survey . The goal is to make this reward a consequence/surprise for the customer.
If the reward is high, it becomes a factor that significantly increases customer satisfaction levels , due to reciprocity. In the book itself, the author comments that rewards work like "one hand washes the other," so be very careful when using this strategy in your research.
The example the book provides in this case is about a dealership that gave customers a set of new floor mats and the first inspection free of charge. Although a fairly common freebie, this ultimately influences NPS® scores.
Another common example is giving away travel or spa packages to customers. While this is a great way to drive feedback , it can also impact survey data because it's a highly sought-after reward.
Conclusion
As you can imagine, there is no formula for neutralizing bias in your NPS® survey.
If you identify any different behavior in your score in a short period of time, you should test to identify what may be causing the increase or decrease in this score.
Bias will always exist in surveys, as will the margin of error. It's up to you and your team to make the NPS® as neutral as possible , in every way, to obtain honest and accurate feedback.
The most important thing to remember is that NPS®, when applied correctly, usually provides insights , and it is the company's mission not to neglect it, but rather to educate all departments about the importance of this data source for strategic business decision-making .
