The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a key indicator of customer satisfaction that is increasingly used by companies. It measures customer satisfaction by asking a simple question: "From 0 to 10, would you recommend this solution/service to a friend?" The answer to this question classifies customers into three categories: promoters (scores of 9 and 10), passives (scores of 7 and 8) and detractors (scores of 0 to 6). The NPS is calculated by subtracting the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters.
NPS can be an excellent indicator for measuring changes in customer satisfaction over time, and a high value-added lever for improving the customer experience. However, it can also be a lousy target used to flatter a company's ego based on the score. So it's important to understand how to use NPS to get the most out of it.
How do you use NPS to measure customer satisfaction?
To use NPS effectively, it's important to ask the question at key moments in the customer relationship. For example, after two months of use, to obtain genuine feedback not linked to a particular support or other situation. It is also advisable to ask the NPS regularly every six months, to monitor the evolution of customer satisfaction over time and to have a sufficient volume of data to analyze the results.
It's also important to ask for the NPS as early as possible in the company's life, from the very first customer, so as to measure customer satisfaction from the outset and quickly implement improvement actions if necessary. Finally, it's crucial that the question asked is relevant to customers.
For a successful NPS, we recommend using a single solicitation in the application if possible, or by e-mail, followed by a text comment stage. It's also important to set up systematic follow-up actions for both promoters and detractors. Promoters can be asked to give their opinion and recommend the company to their friends and family, while detractors can be contacted to solve their problems and avoid making the same mistakes again. In addition, analysis of the last 100 responses can help identify problems and opportunities for improvement.
How to avoid the most common mistakes when using NPS?
However, there are several ways in which NPS can be screwed up. For example, it should not be used to measure customer satisfaction on irrelevant or off-topic issues. Nor should it be used at the wrong time, just after an exchange with teams or a particular action. Nor should it be used as an objective, as this can lead to manipulation of the results.
Finally, it is important not to compare NPS from one country to another, one sector to another or one team to another. NPS is a medium-term indicator to be smoothed out, and can be used to track its evolution over time. It is therefore important not to focus on the raw score, but rather on the trend and the actions to be taken to improve customer satisfaction.
