How to improve a low Net Promoter Score (NPS)?

Sem Kieboom 31 March 2026

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a widely used method for measuring customer loyalty and satisfaction. The score provides insight into how likely customers are to recommend your organisation to others. A low NPS indicates a lack of enthusiastic customers and may point to structural issues in the customer experience. Improving the NPS is essential for sustainable growth, customer retention, and competitive advantage.

1. Analyse the root causes of a low NPS

A low NPS is a symptom, not a cause. It is crucial to identify why customers are dissatisfied or not enthusiastic enough to recommend you. Combine quantitative NPS data with qualitative feedback: ask for the reasons behind the score and analyse patterns in customer responses. Use additional measurement tools such as Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) and Customer Effort Score (CES) to gain a complete picture of the customer experience.

2. Turn customer feedback into concrete improvement actions

The real value of NPS lies in what you do with the feedback. Identify structural bottlenecks in processes, service, or communication and address them strategically. Set up improvement initiatives based on the main pain points customers mention. Ensure improvements are measurable and linked to clear objectives.

3. Manage expectations and deliver consistency

Much dissatisfaction arises from unfulfilled promises or unclear communication. Unreliability is one of the biggest dissatisfiers in customer satisfaction research. Be clear about what customers can expect and honour your commitments. Consistency in service and communication is essential for building trust and loyalty. Unreliability can account for up to 40% of overall customer satisfaction.

4. Focus on the most dissatisfied customers

The greatest opportunities for improvement lie with the most dissatisfied customers. This group is often willing to make extra effort to switch, despite the costs and inconvenience. By actively listening to their feedback and addressing their pain points, you can not only increase your NPS but also reduce customer churn.

5. Make things as easy as possible for customers

Customers expect a smooth, fast, and simple solution to their questions or problems. Remove barriers in the customer journey and ensure customers are not unnecessarily referred or asked to repeat information. A frictionless customer journey increases the chance of positive recommendations and loyalty. Also measure the Customer Effort Score (CES) for this purpose.

6. Involve the entire organisation in customer-centric work

Improving NPS is not just the responsibility of customer service. Involve all relevant departments in analysing customer feedback and implementing improvements. Actively share customer insights within the organisation and make it clear how every employee contributes to a better customer experience. A customer-centric culture is a prerequisite for structural NPS growth.

7. Measure continuously and adjust based on current insights

NPS improvement is an ongoing process. Measure the NPS continuously, not just periodically, so you can monitor trends and the effects of improvements in real time. Link NPS results to other customer data and adjust where necessary. Share results and successes with the entire team to increase engagement and ownership.

Common mistakes in NPS improvement

Improving your Net Promoter Score (NPS) requires more than simply increasing the number. In practice, we see that organisations often encounter the same pitfalls when working with NPS. So, pay extra attention to the following common mistakes:

Focusing only on the score, not on the causes.
Measuring NPS as an end in itself, without follow-up or action.
Limiting improvement actions to a single department.
Insufficient internal communication about customer insights.
Too little attention to expectation management and consistency.

NPS as a strategic management tool

Organisations that use NPS structurally as a strategic management tool combine quantitative scores with in-depth customer insights. They do not see NPS as a standalone KPI, but as a starting point for organisation-wide improvement. By linking customer feedback to decision-making and strategy, a culture emerges in which customer-centricity and growth go hand in hand.