NPS Score Is Not a Silver Bullet

When net promoter scores were first introduced in 2003, they were seen as a scientific way to measure customer satisfaction for the purposes of improving performance. In the 13 years since, however, companies that have embraced the scores have had a tendency to pay so much attention to them as to neglect other, more important things. What needs to be understood is that the NPS score is not a silver bullet that will guarantee happy customers by itself.

The entire NPS system is built on a single question that goes something like this: how likely are you to recommend our company, products, or services to a friend or colleague? Customers are asked to answer based on a scale from 0 to 10. People scoring between 9 and 10 are considered promoters who are most likely to talk about their positive experiences with others. Customers scoring between 7 and 8 are considered passives, while anything less than six is considered a detractor.

Focusing only on a raw score is not very helpful if a company does not know what to do with that score. One of the alternatives is something referred to as the Net Promoter System. This system is designed around making companies better able to understand the customer experience behind the NPS. A better understanding of customer experience makes it possible to continuously work on improvements.

Measuring Something Is a Must

Executive management can disagree over key performance indicators and the best way to measure performance. But at the end of the day, disagreements over KPIs and measurement systems cannot get in the way of actually measuring something. Companies have to be able to measure the customer experience in some way, shape or form, and then act on that measurement in a real and tangible way.

The trap many companies fall into with net promoter scores is one of not actually measuring the customer experience in any meaningful way. They see a number – nothing more, and nothing less. The problem is, that number does not tell them truly what it is they are measuring. And so they continue moving forward blindly, having no idea where they are going.

Measuring something – anything to get started – relating to customer experience is a must. When companies measure, they must also:

• Do Something with the Results – Measuring the customer experience produces data that tells a company important things about its performance. More importantly, it is nearly impossible to ignore customer feedback. Lots of management data can be bandied about in weekly meetings with no real results, but customer satisfaction data stares executives in the face without mercy. They need to do something with that data.

• Find Better Ways to Do It – Measuring customer experience is a process that evolves right alongside improving performance. The company should be seeking better ways to measure as time goes on, ways that more accurately reflect the customer experience in detail.

Pay Attention to What's underneath

The NPS score is not completely invaluable, but what's more important is what lies beneath. What drives customers to choose the scores they choose? If one is a passive, why is that so and what can be done to transform that person into a promoter?

Everything a company can do to actually improve the promoter score adds value. And as key areas are addressed, they become motivators. Seeing a more positive upward trend of scores motivates individuals and team members to do real, tangible things that will garner even higher scores.

Effectively Using the NPS

If the NPS is not a silver bullet for creating happy customers, what is a company to do? The proper way to look at this is to use a net promoter system that combines NPS with tangible goals. In other words, the company looks at its raw scores and then establishes goals that will drive them in a positive direction. This involves doing three basic things:

• Understanding Promoters – Companies need to communicate with their promoters to understand what it is that makes them happy. Companies need to know why their promoters are likely to recommend them to others.

• Addressing Detractors – Detractors will never become promoters if companies do not address their unhappiness. Paying individual attention to detractors in order to address their concerns is what we call 'closing the loop'.

• Setting Team Member Goals – Management must take data from measurement systems and use it to develop team member goals. Without established goals, team members are left to interpret customer satisfaction on their own, which could lead to confusion and a disjointed approach to customer satisfaction.

It is easy to allow the NPS measurement to become a useless number or even a trap. Just remember this: NPS is not a silver bullet that will create happy customers by itself. Companies need to focus on customer experience. They need to know what drives NPS so that its underlying mechanisms can be used to turn detractors and passives into promoters.