The Net Promoter Score is a widely used metric for customer loyalty. It is a score between -100 and 100 that measures the willingness of your customers to recommend your brand to others. There are many NPS Calculators available which readily calculate your NPS.The score is mainly determined by promoters and detractors wherein promoters are people who rate your company highly while detractors being the ones who are not satisfied with the service or have other reasons to rate your company lowly.
Detractors can file customer complaints, spread negative information and thus hinder prospective customers, hurting the reputation of the company. On the other hand, promoters offer free publicity as they spread good feedback by word of mouth, become loyal and encourage others to use your services or buy your products.
Understanding the Net Promoter Score
NPS is the most widely used metric as it is easy to understand. There are two major factors – the score being positive and negative.
A negative net promoter score indicates that the detractors are outweighing the promoters. It indicates a need to reflect on the present processes and identify the touchpoints wherein customers could be facing problems. It might be in using the product or service, delay in resolving customer complaints or a bad experience while interacting with your customer service executives.
A positive net promoter score indicates that the promoters are outweighing the detractors. They indicate that you are hitting the right tones with the customers in terms of products, services and the customer experience is good in general. A high positive NPS, usually above 50 indicates a really well set and optimally performing business.
Very few brands like Netflix, Amazon have an NPS greater than 50.
Improving Net Promoter Score
The key to improving your Net Promoter Score lies in converting the Detractors to Promoters. Though it is difficult, it is certainly worth investing in as the detractors have already experienced your brand and if offered an improved and better experience, they might turn into promoters.
Actively take feedback from your customers
Sometimes, if customers aren’t complaining about your services or products doesn’t necessarily mean they are having a good experience. Keep the customers in the loop by regularly asking them about their experience at various touchpoints and implementing appropriate suggestions received.
Improve Accessibility for Customers
In case when customers want to reach out to your organization, make it as easy for them as possible. Even when using automatic recorded messages, ensure that calls are routed to live agents in the shortest possible time if the customers wish to talk to them.
Show empathy to detractors
In cases wherein customers have major issues or complaints or are extremely unsatisfied with your products or services, first of all, patiently listen to them. Take up their concerns , complaints on priority and resolve them at the earliest. Offer them discounts, free shipping, coupons or a replacement product free of charge to woo them.
Don’t over promise
While implementing suggestions of customers or resolving complaints, if certain ones take time, ensure you communicate the same to them. Unnecessarily saying it will be solved in a short time when you very well know it will take time won’t serve well in the long run. Customers appreciate transparency and being so will help in building lasting relationships in the long run.