NPS Surveys: Transforming Detractors into Promoters

One of the major factors that determine the customers’ decision to choose your business for a product or service is the personal recommendations and word of mouth about your company. This means, that one bad customer experience can make you lose several business opportunities. So it is essential to know how your customers perceive the experience you provide them and how willing are they to recommend your business to others.

An NPS® survey is a perfect solution for this! Net Promoter Score® (NPS®) is a proven and one of the most popular and common customer satisfaction metrics that businesses use in their customer surveys to measure customer loyalty in terms of their willingness to recommend your brand to others.

In this article, we will explore what an NPS survey is all about, its types, and benefits, and how you can utilize NPS® surveys to measure and improve the overall customer experience and convert your unhappy customers into your brand advocates. Let’s start with defining NPS! 

TL;DR

• Net Promoter Score® (NPS®) is a key metric that measures customer loyalty and satisfaction based on a simple question: "How likely is it that you would recommend our product/service to a friend or colleague?" the respondents are given a rating scale of 0 to 10 where 10 means Most Likely and 0 means Not at all Likely to recommend.

• Respondents of an NPS® survey are divided into three categories based on their responses: Promoters (9-10), Passives (8-9), and Detractors (0-6). Net Promoter Score is calculated by subtracting the percentage of detractors from that of promoters. It can vary from -100 to 100. The higher the Net Promoter Score, the better it is.

• NPS® surveys are beneficial to business for businesses as they provide a clear customer sentiment analysis, help to identify areas of improvement, help to predict business growth, enhance retention & loyalty, and help to set benchmarks against competitors.

• Net Promoter Score® Surveys are primarily of two types: Relationship NPS surveys that are conducted periodically, and Transactional NPS surveys that are triggered with a customer interaction or transaction.

• NPS surveys can be used at various touchpoints of the customer journey like after a purchase, a customer support interaction, and more. 

• They can be used in various industries like healthcare, event management, education, SaaS, and more.

• Key Drivers of Net Promoter Score are Customer service and support, product quality, brand perception, communication, and personalized experiences.

• Follow some best practices to conduct NPS surveys: Keep the surveys simple, add an open-ended question, test the survey before sending, personalize wherever possible, and send surveys at the right time.

• An effective NPS survey software like Zonka Feedback helps you easily create and send your NPS surveys through multiple channels. It also offers a free trial for 14 days.

Measure Customer Loyalty with NPS 

Create NPS surveys, measure customer loyalty, and close the feedback loop with Zonka Feedback.

What is Net Promoter Score® (NPS®)?

Net Promoter Score is a commonly used CX metric that measures customer loyalty and satisfaction in terms of the customers' likeliness to recommend a brand to others.

An NPS survey is an effective one-in-all survey that asks a simple, yet effective question to the customers:

 "How likely are you to recommend our product/service to a friend or colleague?" 

Respondents typically provide a score on a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 being the least likely and 10 being the most likely.

This NPS question is also known as the Ultimate Question and is usually followed up by another question to ask the reason for the customer's rating. The follow-up question is:

What is the primary reason for your rating?

Net Promoter Score Survey Template

Here is the NPS survey template that you can use to create your NPS survey and measure customer loyalty. You can use this template as it is or modify it as per your survey requirements.

The respondents to the Net Promoter Score survey are categorized into three groups based on their scores:

• Promoters (Score 9-10): These are your loyal customers who are satisfied with their experience with your business and are most likely to promote your business and contribute to positive word-of-mouth.

• Passives (Score 7-8): While satisfied, these customers may not be as enthusiastic as promoters. Moreover, they can easily switch to a competitor if offered a better deal.

• Detractors (Score 0-6): These are unhappy customers who are least likely to make any repurchases, and moreover may spread negative feedback and potentially harm your brand reputation.

How to Calculate Net Promoter Score® (NPS®)?

After getting all the responses to the survey, you can easily calculate Net Promoter Score by subtracting the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters.

Net Promoter Score Calculation Formula

NPS = %Promoters - %Detractors

This results in an NPS score that can range from -100 to +100. A higher NPS score indicates a healthier level of customer advocacy, while a lower NPS score suggests a need for improvement to enhance customer loyalty and satisfaction.

Understanding NPS® Surveys

The beauty of the net promoter system lies in its simplicity and effectiveness. By understanding and leveraging the insights from net promoter score methodology, you can make informed decisions to enhance customer experience and drive growth. Here are some benefits of NPS surveys that make it advantageous for any business.

Benefits of using NPS® Surveys

Here are some benefits of NPS surveys:

• Clear Customer Sentiment Analysis - NPS surveys provide a straightforward measure of customer sentiment. The division into promoters, passives, and detractors offers a clear picture of where your business stands in the eyes of your customers.

• Identifying Areas for Improvement - Responses to follow-up questions asking the reason for customers' ratings gather qualitative feedback and help in identifying areas for improvement and refining products, services, or processes.

• Predictive Power for Growth - Net Promoter Score has predictive power for future growth. A rising NPS over time can be indicative of increasing customer loyalty, while a declining NPS score might signal potential challenges that need immediate attention.

• Customer Retention and Brand Loyalty - Net Promoter Score, by focusing on the likelihood of recommendation, directly tells how loyal customers are. Satisfied customers are more likely to stay with your brand and become advocates, contributing to long-term success.

• Benchmarking Against Competitors - Net Promoter Score serves as a valuable benchmarking tool, allowing you to compare your performance against industry standards and competitors, and thus helps in setting realistic goals.

Let’s explore the types of NPS surveys you can share with your customers to get valuable feedback and actionable insights from them at the right moment.

Types of NPS® Surveys

Net Promoter Score surveys come in various forms, each tailored to capture specific aspects of customer experience. Two primary types are Relationship NPS Surveys and Transactional NPS Surveys.

1. Relationship NPS Surveys

Relationship NPS surveys are designed to gauge the overall satisfaction and loyalty of customers over an extended period. These surveys typically ask the standard NPS survey question, "How likely is it that you would recommend our company to a friend or colleague?" These surveys provide a holistic view of the customer relationship, offering insights into the long-term perception of your brand.

Transactional NPS Surveys are:

• Conducted at regular intervals (quarterly, annually).

• Focus on the overall customer experience over a certain period of time.

• Provide a broad understanding of customer loyalty and satisfaction trends.

• Aim to ensure a smooth relationship with the customers for long.

Relationship NPS Surveys are helpful in:

• Establishing baseline loyalty metrics.

• Monitoring changes in customer sentiment over time.

• Setting long-term strategic goals for improving customer satisfaction.

Transactional NPS Surveys

Transactional NPS surveys are more targeted feedback surveys and are triggered by specific interactions or transactions between the customer and the business. These surveys aim to capture feedback immediately after a customer engages with your product or service. The question is often tailored to the recent transaction, such as, "Based on your recent experience, how likely are you to recommend our service?"

Transactional NPS Surveys are:

• Triggered after specific customer interactions or transactions.

• Focus on capturing customer feedback related to a particular experience.

• Provide real-time insights into customer satisfaction with every touchpoint or transaction like a purchase, a bill payment, a support interaction, and more.

Transactional NPS Surveys are helpful in:

• Assessing the impact of specific touchpoints (e.g., after a purchase, customer support interaction).

• Identifying areas for immediate improvement.

• Tailoring strategies to enhance the customer experience at critical moments.

Choosing between relationship and transactional surveys depends on your business objectives. Relationship surveys offer a broader perspective on overall customer loyalty, while transactional surveys provide specific, actionable insights tied to particular interactions. The combination of both types can provide a comprehensive understanding of your customers' journey and help fine-tune your strategies for optimal results.

How to Use NPS® Surveys?

Net Promoter Score surveys are a powerful way of measuring customer loyalty and improving the overall experience when used strategically at various touchpoints of the customer journey. Utilizing NPS surveys helps you identify your strengths and weaknesses, and guides action to improve customer loyalty and experience. Here are the use cases and critical touchpoints for which you should use NPS surveys.

Major Customer Touchpoints To Capture Feedback Using NPS Surveys

• Post-Purchase Experience - After a customer makes a purchase, sending an NPS survey can capture insights into the overall shopping experience, including the ease of the transaction, product satisfaction, and delivery process.

• Customer Support Interactions - Deploying net promoter score surveys following customer support interactions allows you to assess the effectiveness of their support team. This touchpoint is crucial for addressing issues promptly and enhancing customer experience.

• Onboarding Process - For subscription-based services or SaaS products, conducting NPS surveys during the onboarding process helps understand the initial user experience. This insight is valuable for optimizing the onboarding journey and ensuring user satisfaction from the start.

• Product Usage or Service Interaction - Triggering net promoter score surveys based on specific product usage or service interactions provides real-time feedback. This helps identify areas for improvement and ensures that customers remain satisfied with ongoing experiences.

• Renewal or Subscription Renewal Points - For businesses with subscription models, gathering NPS feedback around renewal periods is crucial. Understanding the likelihood of customers renewing their subscriptions provides insights into overall satisfaction and perceived value.

• Website or App Interactions - Periodic net promoter score surveys related to website or app interactions help gauge user satisfaction with the digital experience. This includes navigation, content delivery, and overall usability.

• Event Participation - If you are into organizing and hosting events, you can use NPS surveys to evaluate attendee satisfaction. Feedback on event logistics, content, and overall experience aids in planning future successful events.

• Educational Institutions - In the education sector, NPS surveys at the end of a semester or academic year help gather feedback from students and parents. You can also trigger surveys after a trial coaching session or after a class by a new teacher to gauge student satisfaction. This feedback can inform improvements in teaching methods, facilities, and overall educational experience.

• Hospitals and Healthcare - If you are into the hospital and healthcare industry, you can use NPS surveys to collect patient feedback at touchpoints like a doctor’s interaction, bill payment, admission, lab tests, and more.

Key Drivers of Net Promoter Score

Understanding the factors that influence the NPS Score is essential for deriving actionable insights and implementing effective strategies.

• Customer Service and Support - Exceptional customer service is a key driver of Net Promoter Score. The efficiency and effectiveness of customer support interactions significantly impact customer loyalty and satisfaction.

• Product Quality and Performance - The perceived quality and performance of a product or service directly influence customer satisfaction and loyalty. Consistently delivering on promised features and benefits contributes to a positive Net Promoter Score.

• Brand Perception and Reputation - A strong and positive brand perception enhances the Net Promoter Score. Customers are more likely to recommend a brand they perceive as trustworthy, reliable, and aligned with their values.

• Communication and Transparency - Open and transparent communication fosters trust. Businesses that communicate effectively and proactively with their customers often receive higher net promoter scores.

• Personalized Customer Experiences - Tailoring experiences to individual customer preferences contributes to a higher Net Promoter Score. Personalization demonstrates a commitment to understanding and meeting the unique needs of customers.

Moreover, key drivers of Net Promoter Score can vary from business to business. To identify the key drivers of NPS in your business, you need to focus on the reasons why customers are rating in the way they are. Use features like Skip logic and question branching to personalize your NPS survey and collect actionable insights from the customers.

With Zonka Feebdack, you can also add customize your follow-up questions and use various question types like comment boxes to collect open-ended text responses, or multiple-choice questions to let your customers select the most appropriate reasons for their ratings.

Analyze Sentiments From NPS Survey Responses

• Utilize Sentiment Analysis Tools - Implement sentiment analysis tools to automatically categorize NPS survey responses. This feature helps identify positive, neutral, and negative sentiments, enabling efficient NPS analysis.

• Identify Trends and Patterns - Look for trends and patterns in your Net Promoter Score. Notice when your NPS goes up and when it goes down to identify what your customers like and what they don’t like.

• Prioritize Actionable Feedback - Focus on actionable feedback that highlights specific areas for improvement. Prioritize addressing issues that, when resolved, can have a significant positive impact on customer satisfaction and this can even convert your detractors into promoters. 

• Establish a Feedback Loop - Establish a feedback loop between the results of NPS surveys and your customer service team. Sharing insights with the team allows for prompt responses to individual concerns and contributes to overall service improvement.

Let’s learn some best practices to conduct a successful NPS Survey.

Best Practices for Making a good NPS® survey

Here are some useful tips to follow to conduct a powerful NPS survey and leverage it to grow your business.

• Keep it simple - Keep the survey simple and focused. The NPS question itself should be clear, and avoid adding unnecessary complexity to the survey. A straightforward approach encourages higher response rates.

• Use the Standard NPS Scale - Stick to the standard NPS scale of 0 to 10 and clearly label the different score ranges (e.g., 0-6 as Detractors, 7-8 as Passives, and 9-10 as Promoters). This standardization ensures consistency in interpretation.

• Include an Open-Ended Question - Allow respondents to provide additional comments through an open-ended question. This adds qualitative depth to the survey, providing insights beyond numerical scores.

• Personalize When Possible - Use features like skip logic to make our surveys dynamic to the responses of your customers. This creates a better survey experience and helps you gain meaningful insights from the customers./

• Test Before Launch - Conduct a small-scale test before launching the survey to a wider audience. Gather feedback from the test group to identify and address any issues with wording, formatting, or the overall survey flow.

• Consider Timing - Choose an appropriate time for sending the survey, ensuring that it aligns with key customer touchpoints. For transactional surveys, send it shortly after the interaction to capture fresh feedback.

• Link to Actionable Insights - Clarify how the feedback will be used and demonstrate a commitment to taking action based on the results. This ensures that the NPS survey is not just a data collection effort but a meaningful driver of positive change in your organization.

How do you create an NPS® Survey?

1. Define your objectives - Before diving into survey creation, clearly outline your goals and objectives such as gauging overall customer experience, identifying key touchpoints, or evaluating the success of recent initiatives.

2. Choose Between relationship and transactional surveys - Decide whether a relationship or transactional survey aligns better with your objectives. Choose the approach that best suits your current needs and long-term strategies.

3. Deploy a good NPS survey software - Select a reliable NPS survey software platform to streamline conducting NPS surveys. Choose a tool that offers features like customizable survey templates, automated responses, and robust reporting and analytics.

4. Craft the NPS survey questions - NPS survey is a simple couple-question survey, however, you need to customize the standard question as per your survey objective and the touchpoint for which you need to collect feedback. For instance, if you want to collect feedback regarding the new product feature, you can customize the question as “Based on your experience with the latest product feature, how likely are you to recommend our product to a friend or colleague?”

   Similarly, use skip logic and branching to present your follow-up question. For example - you can follow up with detractors with the question “Please share more details about your concerns.” For promoters, you can ask “What features do you appreciate the most?"

5. Test the Survey before sending - Before launching the survey to your entire audience, conduct a pilot test with a smaller sample group. This helps identify potential issues with wording, formatting, or the survey flow. Gather feedback from the test group to ensure the survey is clear, engaging, and aligned with your objectives.

Sending NPS Surveys

When you are done with creating the NPS survey, the next important step is to share your NPS survey. With a multichannel tool like Zonka Feedback, you can share your survey through multiple channels or choose the one that suits your business the most.

• In-Product or In-App Surveys - Enhance user engagement by embedding NPS surveys directly within your product or application for a seamless customer feedback experience.

• Website Surveys - Gather insights from website visitors by deploying feedback widgets such as popup surveys, slide-ups, or feedback button, capturing sentiments during online interaction.

• Email Surveys - Share surveys through emails in different forms like embedded email surveys where the first question is embedded in the email body itself, email surveys with hyperlinks to the survey, and signature email surveys where the NPS survey is embedded with the signature of the regular email.

• SMS Surveys - Engage customers on their mobile devices with SMS surveys, providing a convenient and quick way for them to share their feedback.

• Offline Surveys - if you want to collect NPS data with on-premises feedback, you can use offline surveys through Android tablets, smartphones, iOS devices, or kiosks, ensuring NPS data from diverse customer touchpoints.

Conclusion

NPS surveys are a simple, yet powerful way to collect customer feedback and gauge customer loyalty and satisfaction with your products, services, and the overall business. Leveraging NPS surveys effectively and closing the feedback loop can help you convert your detractors into loyal customers.

Zonka Feedback is an effective Net Promoter Score survey software that you can use to create, share, and leverage NPS surveys to measure and enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty. It provides you ready-to-use NPS survey template and is equipped with powerful features to utilize NPS to the fullest for maximizing customer satisfaction and your overall business success.

It also offers a free trial. Try Zonka Feedback for free for 14 days and see how it works to boost your business.