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“How do we capture customer satisfaction?” This question has been asked by companies for decades, maybe even centuries. Everything from suggestion boxes to extensive surveys have been employed to get a read on what customers really think. Enter the Net Promoter Score (NPS) approach. On the timeline of soliciting client feedback, both in the world of business as well as at Immedia specifically, NPS is a fairly recent trend. However, there are some key reasons this metric has become so popular and has become an incredibly effective way to measure customer experience. Here’s why…
Compared to many other customer response methods, Net Promoter Score is an uncomplicated approach that asks the client a single question, scores that question and calculates a net percentage from the total ratings received.
The question is simple in nature, “would you recommend XYZ company to your friends, family, coworkers and/or colleagues?”, and the goal is straightforward – to identify detractors, promoters and determine the ratio of one versus the other.
When a customer is asked to answer the recommendation question he/she is presented a scale from 0-10. If someone gives 0-6 he/she is considered a detractor. A score of 7-8 is regarded as neutral. An answer of 9-10 represents a promoter.
Once scores have been collected from multiple respondents, the math for computing Net Promoter Score is pretty basic:
(# of promoters - # of detractors) / total number of responses = % NPS
Because the range for detractor and neutral is so wide, the overall Net Promoter Score percentage is heavily impacted by any negative or neutral score. The key is the “net” aspect of the score. By subtracting out the negative from the positive before dividing by the aggregate, the end result is a much more realistic indication of both satisfaction and future loyalty.
Different organizations will have varying NPS goals depending on the type of business and the industry in which it operates. Nobody wants a score less than 0%, meaning there are more detractors than there are promoters. In some industries, though, with historically low client satisfaction, any score above 0% is celebrated. Big box retailers typically target 70%. Companies dependent on customer service are going to need scores above 80% to survive and thrive.
In addition to reliable results from the formulaic methodology, the benefits to adopting NPS are many.
- Ease of Implementation – The simplicity of a single query allows for quick development and fast roll-out by the organization.
- Increased Customer Response - Having one clear, direct question eliminates confusion and makes it simple for customers to respond which, in turn, increases their likelihood of participating.
- Consistency – Once in place, there’s no need to modify or alter the approach. The same question can be asked into perpetuity. This provides a continuity not found in other survey systems. The results are easy to analyze and can be compared consistently year after year.
- Flexible Application – While the premise is basic, the way in which a business utilizes the method is adaptable. Some companies ask the question once at the end of a purchase. Some, like Immedia, ask the question at multiple points during the life span of a project. Also, if qualitative feedback is important to the organization, non-numeric insights can still be gained by including a free-form text field for customers to provide written feedback after giving a numbered score.
Immedia has always set a high standard for customer approval. Nearly a year ago we made the decision to streamline the various ways we evaluated satisfaction by implementing Net Promoter Score. We established a goal of 90%, and we’re pleased to report our overall score is 90.78%.
Our promise is to keep our results transparent. We share our rolling 90-day NPS percentage on our website along with every written review we receive.
As an Immedia client you can be certain that our focus is on client experience and that the feedback of every customer matters. We didn’t get that amazing Net Promoter Score by accident!
Source: Dirk Williams – Director of Corporate Strategy, Immedia Integrated Technologies
