NPS, or Net Promoter Score, is a marketing indicator that enables companies to determine the number of customers who will recommend their brand or products to others. It enables you to measure the overall satisfaction of your audience and apply corrective actions to optimize your customer relations or improve your offering. What are the benefits of NPS, and how can you calculate your own Net Promoter Score?
Net Promoter Score: an indispensable strategic development tool
According to the NPS (Net Promoter Score) definition, this is a numerical indicator that provides an overall view of consumer satisfaction. It provides a snapshot of how customers feel at a given moment, and enables you to modify your proposals or products in line with customer expectations.
It's a central development tool, adapted to the realities of the field and to each company's sector of activity. Large multinationals, such as Starbucks or Tesla's marketing departments, include their NPS scores in their publicity and communications.
For example, the average NPS for American companies is +10, while the best-performing companies report a positive NPS of between 50 and 80. In this context, the results obtained are a guarantee of a company's quality of service, and help to attract new customers.
Build a database to calculate your NPS score
The first step in calculating your NPS is to collect data on customer satisfaction and understand the performance of your customer relationship and acquisition strategies. This requires the use of a CRM (customer relationship management software) and the collection of data, notably via a website and online surveys.
The main way to obtain information for calculating NPS is through surveys. These surveys can, for example, be offered at the completion of an online purchase, or via personalized emails. Companies that calculate their NPS formulate a number of questions (the most common of which is: How likely are you to recommend our products to your colleagues?)
Customers are asked to rate the product or their experience on a scale of 0-10 to measure their satisfaction, creating three broad categories of customers:
- Promoters, who have responded positively. This consumer segment gives a score between 9 and 10. This percentage of responses indicates the number of consumers willing to recommend the company's products. Since these customers volunteer to make recommendations, they can therefore benefit from a referral program.
- Passives are those who give an average value. These respondents give an answer between 7 and 8. Their opinion is neutral, and the aim is to convert them into promoters. This is the proportion of our clientele who, after restructuring our offers, can become promoters.
- Detractors, or not very satisfied. They give a low or very low score, with answers ranging from 0 to 6. The probability that this segment will speak negatively about the company when asked is high. It is therefore important to modify your proposals or contact these customers in order to mitigate their feelings and move them into the passive category.
NPS is given as a score, not a percentage (from -100 to +100). The calculation formula includes the passive category and focuses on the first two consumer respondent segments. The percentage of responses from promoters and passives is calculated, from which the detractors' score is subtracted.
In practice, let’s say a questionnaire obtains a total of 800 responses. Of these 800 respondents, 25% are promoters, 50% passives and 20% detractors, so the NPS will be +55.
How to interpret your NPS to optimize your customer relations?
A positive NPS indicates that the proportion of customers who are promoters is greater than that of detractors. The opinions expressed in the surveys are therefore enthusiastic, and the majority of customers are satisfied. Interpretation of the NPS should be based on the specific characteristics of the company (product, sector of activity, etc.) It should be borne in mind that the public is more inclined to communicate about a negative experience than a positive one.
Evaluating the results of NPS surveys helps to direct a company's strategic choices by providing management with clear, quantified indications. Many companies use it to offer VIP or premium formulas to their most enthusiastic customers: loyalty programs, reserved offers, prizes for referrals, etc. For start-ups, NPS provides a basis for highlighting their development potential. Finally, for certain marketing departments, evaluating NPS helps them to understand their positioning in relation to the competition and their potential in a specific market.
To obtain an overall view of target satisfaction, it's important to supplement the NPS questionnaire with other requests to gather more information about respondents: why they gave the score they did, how to improve their proposals, and so on.
The company also needs to utilize the maximum amount of data at its disposal, such as the total time spent by each consumer on its site, browsing preferences, platform performance, etc.
Silvr offers its customers personalized support. Companies have access to our analytical tools where they can track their financial performance. They can then calculate their NPS and benefit from our experts' advice on their results with a view to improving their customer relations.
