We all know that NPS® is a very powerful metric for measuring customer loyalty with a single question.
What few people know is that it was developed to be a management model within companies, and not just a research metric as many think.
According to Fred Reichheld, creator of the book The Ultimate Question , there are some rules for success when measuring the Net Promoter Score .
Let's find out what they are?
#1 Use one metric at a time
One of the main reasons people abandon surveys is when the questionnaire ends up being too long and containing different metrics.
This ends up creating confusion in the user's mind, and the most sensible action at this point is to abandon your research. Therefore, focus on measuring one metric at a time .
If you want to send your NPS survey , simply ask one question to determine the number of promoters, neutrals, and detractors. You can also send a follow-up question asking the reason for the score.
Please note that the answer to the follow-up question is for diagnostic purposes and does not affect the quantitative score collected in the previous question.
#2 Choose a scale that works
According to the book The Ultimate Question , there is no set scale that must be followed. As the author himself states, the goal of NPS® is not scientific rigor in research, but rather a reliable system for collecting feedback.
Bain & Company was always open about the scale type in the beginning, but over time, the company that created the metric found some advantages to the 0-10 scale. Check out the points mentioned in the book, based on their research:
Standard measurement
Virtually the entire world uses and understands the metric system from 0 to 10. Most cultures and people think in terms of 10.
Furthermore, clients find the scale intuitive because it reminds them of their school grades. They understand that a 10 or 9 corresponds to very good, an 8 or 7 is good or average, and a 6 or below is insufficient.
Even in countries like Germany where the education system is different, the 0 to 10 system works very well.
Strict customers
There are customers who are loyal and faithful to the brand, but don't give in to the highest rating.
Therefore, the rating 9 offers an alternative that does not take these customers directly into the neutral zone.
It's also an early warning if a customer who gave a 10 rating drops to a 9 in a later survey.
Easy to do benchmarks
The 0 to 10 standard is adopted by most companies in the market, and this means that this scale makes it easier to perform benchmarks between segments and industries.
It's also worth noting that clients in different countries exhibit different behaviors and strictness, so to speak. In the Netherlands and Japan, few people give a service a 10/10.
In Latin America, this rating is quite common. Even so, it's not necessary to adapt metrics. International companies just need to understand that it's not worth evaluating units across regions.
The reference measure is always local competition, and scores will also be affected by the particularities of the place.
#3 Importance of high response rates
It would be great to be able to gather feedback from all your customers, but it's best to start with the most important customers linked to your service or product.
That's because your main customers are your company's biggest assets, and they're the main reason for your efforts to turn them into promoters, right?
Remember that the goal of NPS® research isn't just to determine intentions, but also tangible and quantifiable behaviors. You want to know exactly how many customers are promoters, neutrals, and detractors, and how these numbers change over time.
It is not recommended to rely on a small sample of customers; you need a larger sample or a complete census to ensure the reliability of the data.
Therefore, the response rate is extremely important for you to be able to interpret the data from this survey and get the maximum number of different opinions about your product or service.
#4 Customer focus as an organizational culture
Most companies that have a customer-centric culture are usually implemented by senior teams, such as CEO, CFO, and COO.
In these cases, the adoption and continuity of a customer-focused system ends up having greater acceptance from the service teams.
According to the Ultimate Question book, for NPS® to achieve extraordinary results and operate smoothly within companies, the senior leadership team, especially C-levels, personally take on the task of improving customer loyalty through the Net Promoter System℠ .
#5 Customer experience across the enterprise
Another very important point that the book shows us is that companies must link customer feedback to the decision-making processes of all levels of the organization , creating closed cycles of learning and improvement.
Instead of turning customer experience into a department, the ideal is to make these numbers and actions company-wide.
For example, if your company receives negative feedback about an experience related to the legal department, this same feedback should be sent to the department, and the loop should be closed by the employees who work in the department themselves, thus creating a management system.
Furthermore, all sectors now have this experience in serving customers, making satisfaction levels a general priority for the company.
#6 Loop Closure
Closing the loop is so important that it has its own chapter in the Ultimate Question book.
If you're unfamiliar with the term, closing the loop is the action you take with customers after they complete your survey.
For example, when you encourage your customer to register their opinion about your product or service, you open a loop that will eventually need to be closed.
This closure usually occurs when giving feedback to the customer about the opinion they recorded.
Fred Reichheld says that closing the loop is the heart of NPS®. If you don't apply this action in your surveys, you'll only get one score and miss out on the key part of the process—learning.
When you close the loop, you and your company gain a deeper understanding of the reason for that feedback . And it's up to your team to take appropriate action.
Conclusion
As you may have seen, NPS® has several valuable tips and tricks to help you implement a successful operation.
All the tips given in this article were taken from the book The Ultimate Question, and without a doubt, we highly recommend reading it to gain a complete understanding of NPS® as a management process.
And finally, I'll use a quote from Lucas, our CPO – “Experience metrics give us clarity, control, and most importantly, inspire action.”
NPS is a registered trademark, and Net Promoter Score and Net Promoter System are service marks, of Bain & Company, Inc., Satmetrix Systems, Inc. and Fred Reichheld.
