NPS – Much more than a score

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a fan of NPS; also known as the Net Promoter Score.

Forgive me if I sometimes go on a bit, but that’s just my enthusiasm. 😉
This methodology to measure customer loyalty has stolen my heart since it was introduced by Fred Reichheld in 2003.

What appeals to me personally is the simplicity and convenience of NPS.
Dare to say goodbye to long survey lists and ask just one simple question, supplemented with the option to provide “open” information. That’s all. And I can tell you; you don’t need anything else.

Counter noises
Of course, where there are supporters, there are also opponents. Rightly so. You must always remain critical. After all, there are also questions about the NPS method. But doesn’t that actually apply to every measurement method? What matters is whether it works for you. And it works great for the organizations we work for right now.

NPS or NPS?
As the title actually indicated, it is not primarily about your score. It’s about much more. It is about the free advice you receive from your customers and what exactly you do with it.
That is also the reason that the abbreviation NPS now increasingly stands for Net Promoter SYSTEM and no longer for Net Promoter SCORE only. It is about how you implement the system within your organization. Simply generating a score won’t get you where you want to be. Go above and beyond.

A little better every day
Of course, it is nice to see how your organization scores. We just love ‘report figures’. Moreover, it can be a nice KPI to compare periods with each other. You probably want to make sure that this year’s score is better than last year’s score. But you do need the opinion of your customer for that.

What can you do?
We have listed a few tips for you:

– Read all comments carefully
This sounds very logical, but it still happens that organizations only look at the scores and therefore miss significant improvement potential.

– Share all feedback with employees
And not just the criticism. The successes are just as important to share; that is what creates a positive ‘vibe’.

– Respond to the customer
Let the respondent know that you have read the feedback and respond if that’s possible, also to the positive reactions. The customer knows to appreciate that and will certainly cooperate again next time.

– Classify your feedback
Make sure that the received feedback is properly classified. That way you can tackle structurally the most important points for attention structurally.

– Share the improvements
Let your customers and employees know what measures you have taken to prevent similar complaints in the future.

Follow the tips above and I promise you, you will also find that NPS is not about the score, but that it is a new ‘way of living’.

I wish you a lot of fun and success if you dare to take up the challenge.

Dave Wurms
CEO Focus Feedback