The net promoter score, whose abbreviation is NPS, aims at assessing a customer’s willingness to promoting a specific product to friends and colleagues. Usually, this score results after conducting customer surveys, which ask the trivial question: would you consider recommending our service or product to a friend or colleague? Concurrently, clients may choose a number between 1 and 10 to indicate their willingness.
In regard to the way in which the responses are grouped, the persons who are open to promote the brand are likely to choose 9 or 10. Meanwhile, the ones that choose 8s and 7s are considered to be neutrals, and responses that go lower than seven would belong to brand detractors.
To that end, you can understand why the net promoter score has been a valuable tool in the hands of marketers. In spite of its apparent simplicity, it aims at gauging customer satisfaction and loyalty, which are critical components in the success of any business. At the same time, according to experts, the net promoter score is a key metric especially for businesses and organizations that concentrate on growth via account expansion or referrals.
When it comes to assessing the net promoter score, the elements you factor in are the numbers of detractors, promoters, neutrals, as well as the total. So, if we the number of detractors would be 6 (4.8 percent), the number of neutrals 64 (51.2 percent), the number of promoters 55 (44 percent), and the total of 125 (100 percent), the net promoter score would be calculated as following: 44 % – 4.8% = 39.2.
What are the Benchmarks for the Net Promoter Score?
Similar to any other metric used by marketers, there are specific benchmarks for each industry when it comes to the net promoter score, as well. For example, in the industry of smartphones, the highest NPS score is 40, whereas, in the industry of department and specialty stores, the highest NPS is 48. Meanwhile, the lowest score in the internet service industry is -3.
Of course, the possibilities are many, which is why you should do your research concerning the net promoter score benchmark that applies to your industry to compare it with your results.
What Practices Should Your Business Embrace?
There’s no reason you should organize a survey for your customers if you don’t have any plans on using this information for your business’ benefit. To that end, before attempting to ask the question, you should answer the following: what am I planning to do with this information; what is the reason why I’m asking this question?
In general, businesses use NPS as a benchmark, measuring the way in which their customers respond to them over the course of time. By pointing out the changes in this metric, you can determine what might have triggered an increase or drop in your customer satisfaction level. Ideally, you should combine the NPS with other KPIs, such as the customer referral rate or customer retention rate. Measuring the relationship between this metric and others will allow you to maximize your performance in time.