Net promoter Score, i.e. NPS, is one of the most familiar buzzwords in the field of customer experience (CX). Customer experience, as we know, is one of the key attributes that define brand value, reputation, and goodwill in the market. Over two-thirds[1] of marketing experts handling CX say that their organization competes primarily by improving customer experience, instead of waging price wars.
Since CX has become the strategic focus of competition, it must be measured for evaluation and improvement. And NPS is a globally-recognized standard tool for benchmarking the satisfaction level of customers.
What Is a Good NPS Score?
The concept of NPS was established by Bain & Company in 2003 to help organizations evaluate and measure and improve customer experience. It presents just one simple question to each customer – “how likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague”, but carries multifaceted and massive significance to the company. It is measured on a 11 point scale.
In generic terms, an NPS value of 0 (zero) indicates that the company has countless CX problems to address. A score ranging between 0 and 30 is considered good but with scope for improvements. Scores greater than 30 indicate that the organization is performing very well, with more happy customers than dissatisfied ones. A company with a score of 70 and above is loved by all customers who have ever interacted with them and is also generating stupendous word-of-mouth referrals. This is because a higher net promoter score bears a greater likelihood of customer referrals converting into leads, which means higher revenue.
How to Improve Your NPS?
Boosting your net promoter score involves several aspects. But broadly, it is possible to improve your NPS in three steps.
1. Focus on customer closed-loop surveys
As already mentioned earlier, closing the loop in customer feedback plays a critical role in customer experience management. And the NPS method encourages companies to deeply analyze closed-loop customer feedback to get a better understanding of the context and reasons behind a particular customer’s score. You can resort to follow-up calls or emails or direct interviews to gather more feedback and sincerely understand the customer’s perspective. This is especially important in the case of detractors (customers who give 0-6 ratings).
2. Educate all employees about NPS, hold meetings regularly, and train staff
Your goal is to win over as many promoters as possible (even convert detractors into promoters). Make sure to align everyone across the length and bread of your organization with this goal, and help them share the same vision. Conduct regular interactive meetings to reaffirm their commitment to delivering the finest customer experience. Instead of plainly focusing on revenue, you can plan to incentivize different teams based on their specific NPS ratings or feedback. If necessary, train your customer-facing employees on how to improve customer experience.
3. Do root cause analysis and make changes to see what works
The way you design customer surveys and their timing play extremely critical roles. But the main use lies in follow-ups and NPS analysis, i.e., how you, along with your organization, plan to engage with the information that is obtained via NPS feedback. Engaging in thorough root cause analysis is essential for identifying negative patterns and resolving them quickly to improve scores. You might consider structural modifications in policies or products, wherever necessary. Tracking NPS for pre and post changes will help you get a clearer picture of your performance.
Why Is NPS Vital for Your Business?
NPS is much different from other benchmarks, like CSAT scores, used as a part of customer experience management. This is why:
- Companies can directly see how satisfied customers are with their services or products, using NPS
- Organizations can evaluate and boost customer loyalty via NPS
- They can get more customer advocates or promoters through word-of-mouth marketing
- They can not only assess their performance in creating promoters but also in reducing customer churn
- Net promoter score offers actionable insights that drive sustainable growth of businesses
The best thing is that NPS is so easy and simple that organizations do not need to incur extra expenses in training staff to administer this method. However, to make the most of the NPS metric, try teaming up with CX professionals who will help you get a higher response rate, analyze your NPS findings, and find the best ways to improve your customer experience.
