NPS Survey: 5 Tips & Tricks

A NPS survey is a simple way to measure customer loyalty. But within that apparent simplicity lies a big challenge. You measure the NPS to act on it. Yet not everyone using NPS as a management tool succeeds in doing so. How do you prevent the NPS from becoming an empty number that disappears into the depths of your intranet? Here are five tips for everyone working with NPS survey.

NPS survey: popular, but not undisputed

Reichheld, the creator of the NPS, made a bold claim: with one simple question, you can measure customer loyalty and predict your company’s future growth. The question is:

“How likely is it that you would recommend [company x] to a friend or colleague?”

Though widely used, the method is not without criticism. The main objection to NPS survey is that a single score does little to increase customer loyalty. That’s because the number alone doesn’t explain why a customer gave that rating. And it’s precisely in that reasoning that the potential for improvement lies. That’s why NPS is often part of a broader customer survey.

Imagine you’re trying to get customer satisfaction on your management agenda. Last month, you ran your first NPS survey among part of your client base. Your score is -5. Now what?

Tips for using NPS survey effectively

1. Talk to your customers

To act on your score, you need to understand why customers rated you the way they did. Detractors show where things go wrong, so these are your first areas to improve. Promoters reveal your strengths. If you can fix weaknesses and build on strengths, your NPS is likely to rise.
You’ll get more value from your NPS survey by adding questions. For instance, an open question where customers explain why they would or wouldn’t recommend your company. Or follow up with a more in-depth survey among both promoters and critics. When critics receive an invitation for follow-up survey, it shows that you take their feedback seriously and are committed to improvement. Ideally, this survey produces valuable insights your team can act on right away.

2. Repeat the survey

Running an NPS survey once isn’t enough to gain real insight into your customers or to measure the impact of product or service changes. Only by measuring NPS regularly and consistently can you identify trends over time.

3. Consider the respondent’s journey

Think of your survey as a business card. You want to show customers you value their time. Instead of surveying everyone at once, divide your customer base into smaller groups and invite them in rotation. Also consider the best channel for your audience: email, social media, or maybe even WhatsApp could work better depending on your customer profile.

Tips to create internal alignment

Having results is only the beginning. Once the feedback comes in, the hardest part starts: turning insights into action. How do you make sure colleagues pick up the feedback and work on loyalty and customer centricity?

4. Involve the right colleagues from the start

The key to improving your NPS is early involvement. Bring the right colleagues into the process from the beginning. This helps them understand the importance of the measurement, so that everyone can contribute to improvement.

5. Link concrete goals to the results

Translate areas for improvement into specific actions. For example, create a list of priorities: which issue will you tackle first, and what does it take to fix it? Make sure feedback reaches the right people. Motivation also grows when positive feedback is shared. Connect concrete goals to the insights, provide the right tools, and show commitment by following up on progress. The more seriously everyone treats the NPS survey, the greater the support for change.