Too many people look at the Net Promoter Score (NPS) and think that it’s a metric that’s only useful to the customer service organization when, really, it’s a very useful tool for marketing as well. It goes a long way toward telling you if your customers are happy and loyal.

What is NPS?

NPS can be measured using three different surveys. The Relationship Survey measures the overall sentiment of your customer and reflects their feeling toward the organization based on their entire relationship with it. The relationship score is determined by asking “How likely are you to recommend the organization to a friend or family member, on a scale of 0 – 10?” The Transactional Survey measures specific “moments of truth” in their relationship with your organization. It’s sent after an interaction with the organization and is usually in the format of “How was a specific experience on a scale of 0-10?”
The Internal Survey is designed to understand what kinds of interactions your internal customers are having with your department. This might involve an analytics team sending a survey to the customer they are creating the analysis for.
I find it’s also very beneficial to add a qualitative question such as “What’s the reason behind your score”? You could find that you have an entire customer segment you are pursuing that may not be a good fit. You may get suggestions for how to improve a product. The possibilities are endless.
The results of the survey will break customers down into the following three categories:

• Promoters (9-10): Loyal enthusiasts who will stay with the organization and refer others, fueling growth.
• Passives (7-8): Satisfied but unenthusiastic. They’ll neither promote nor detract and are vulnerable to switching organizations.
• Detractors (0-6): Unhappy customers who can damage the brand and impede growth.

Closing the Loop

This data doesn’t do anyone any good if you don’t turn it into actionable improvements. Depending on which journal you read, customer feedback is ignored 50%-75% of the time so use this opportunity develop an action plan determined by how the customer responded to the NPS Survey. Start developing lists based on the where someone falls in the NPS Survey or, if you’re managing the digital marketing program, you might develop a trigger based on a survey answer.

• Promoters may see loyalty program offers arrive in their e-mail or via SMS. They could be invited to interact in your social media efforts.
• The Passives are eligible for a number of efforts designed to move them from Passive to Promoter.
• A Detractor’s response might trigger a landing page or an open-ended questionnaire asking how the organization failed them and how it can be corrected.

The NPS can help you better understand your company’s reputation and refine your customer segment. You have the potential to improve customer experience and the bottom line. The marketing uses to which you can put this data are varied and impactful, but only if you actually use it and keep the momentum going.