Net Promoter Scores

For every customer with a bad experience 9 others find out.

Harvard Business Review, 2003: Loyalty consultant Fred Reichheld presented a new way to measure customer satisfaction claiming it was 100% accurate in determining revenue growth. The method uses one metric and one question. The question simply asks customers: "Would you refer a friend?" The answers are tallied in 3 groups: detractors, passives and promoters. The difference between a company's detractors and promoters is the one metric and it's called: Net Promoter Score (NPS).

Debunking the Myth

Whether or not NPS is an accurate predictor of corporate growth, there are some profound ways in which Net Promoter Scores mislead:

Our Better Way

We appreciate that a business audience wants a single, simple metric that can be used to monitor trends over time. So, we've kept the simplicity of Net Promoter Scores but:
  1. Binary analysis disregards the actual spectrum of grey (i.e. ambivalence) that comprises most customer experiences.
  2. Overused questions are apt to yield tired, meaningless responses. Besides the question is simply irrelevant in many markets.
  3. Whether customers are detractors, passives or promoters, the reason they choose one box over another is entirely unclear and leaves the question of 'why' they feel the way they do to guesswork; guesswork is not a method.
  4. As with any survey, more satisfied customers are more likely to respond.
  5. As with any survey, if employees are left to collect the data (as they do for Enterprise Car Rental and other companies) be aware. Whether meaning to or not, employees WILL game the system; we know of no situation where this is not a fact.

  1. We've replaced the 'friend' question with a better question customized to your company and industry.

  2. While, there is no perfect survey we dedicate time and resources toward removing bias from the sample.

  3. And we augment our surveys with relevant, probing questions that isolate the root causes driving your single, simple metric outcomes.

To find out how we develop relevant customer questions, let's talk.

For a more about Net Promoter Scores, see our report: NPS: That's One Controversial Number.

Interaction Metrics
www.interactionmetrics.com
206.428.3091