NPS Score - check! Now what?

Tracy Borreson on March 3, 2020

You've got your NPS survey out in the market. Data is coming in. And now...what?

This blog will outline some of the important operational procedures associated with the NPS methodology, as well as what you can do with the insights that come from it. 

Let's start with what to do with the data as it comes in...

Not Just Data Collection: any platform you decide to use for your NPS surveys should come configured to collect the data. BUT, unless that data can get to the departments that are going to be actioning it, it really doesn't matter. Make sure you choose a vendor that can send real-time reports out to the operations team to get the data in the right hands for follow-up.   

Once the right people have the data, they need to action it. Severe Detractors need to be contacted within 24 hours, Detractors within 48, and everyone else within 5 business days. 

Why do we have to follow up? Since the NPS methodology is measuring the entire customer experience, the follow-up allows you to close the loop. Customers aren't wondering what was done with the information they provided; they know who it went to, that it was reviewed, and what is being done with it. It gives that final human touch at the end of an interaction that adds trust and confidence. 

...and finish with how to use NPS data for business insights.

The Ultimate Question: the answers to the ultimate question are what gives you your NPS score. The score is an absolute number between -100 and +100 and is calculated as the difference between the percentage of Promoters and Detractors.

% Promoters - % Detractors = NPS Score

As a reminder, your NPS score is an indicator of how many of your customers are likely to refer you. Therefore, the number by itself simply tells you how much room for improvement you have, or how you measure up to other businesses in your industry. 

For a quick comparison, here are some industry averages from Satmetrix:

  • Department / Specialty Stores = 52
  • Brokerage / Investments = 46
  • Airlines = 39
  • Auto Insurance = 39
  • Hotels = 36
  • Home/Contents Insurance = 35
  • Banking = 34
  • Software & Apps = 30
  • Life Insurance = 26
  • Drug Stores/Pharmacies = 26
  • Health Insurance = 14
  • Cable/Satellite = -6
  • Internet Service = -7

Framing Questions: depending on your NPS provider, they may also supply additional drill down options for more insights. At SPLICE, we work with our clients to out the 3 main drivers of their customer experience and add those as additional insights in our reporting.

Using these insights should provide you with actionable changes that can be made within specific departments. For example, if feedback indicates that there is a process that is painful for multiple customers, that information can be provided to that department to make operational changes, similar to a C-Sat survey. 

Follow-Ups: the most information however, comes from the actual customer follow-up. And quite honestly, the only way to optimize the use of this feedback is to empower your follow-up employees with the ability to DO something for the customer. Each time you make a customer escalate to a different party, you create an opportunity to break the experience. 

In Summary

NPS is not a small investment. To do it right, it takes strategy, operations and an overall corporate investment in your customers. And when you can make it work, it helps you achieve more organic growth, greater conversion rates and an an overall DECREASE in operational costs that were wasted on doing the wrong things.

Still not sure if NPS is right for you? Schedule a Consultation and we can help you figure that out :)