What Is the Net Promoter Score (NPS)?
Net Promoter Score is calculated with the answer to one simple question: "On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely would you be to recommend us to a friend or a colleague?"
You can break down customer scores into three categories:
- Those who answered the question with 0-6 are Detractors. Not only are they unhappy with their experience, but they could become a potential danger to your brand's reputation by sharing their bad experience with others.
- Those who answered the question with 7-8 are Passives. They may not feel particularly motivated to recommend your brand, but they're also not inclined to share a negative experience.
- Those who answered the question with 9-10 are Promoters. They're your biggest fans and may even be counted on to promote your product.
To get your brand's NPS, tally up your responses in each category. Then simply subtract the number of Detractors from the number of Promoters. (Passives are left out of the equation.)
The goal, obviously, is to have a positive NPS, with more Promoters than Detractors. That means it should also be your mission to convert Passives into Promoters too.
An Example NPS
Say you send 100 customers an NPS feedback form. 10% of those who respond are Detractors. 60% are Passives. And 30% are Promoters.
Subtracting Detractors from Promoters (30-10) gives you an NPS of 20. That's great – more people would recommend you than not.
You also note that 60% of your customers are still Passives. You know you can work extra hard to convert some of them to Promoters.
Then, a month later, after working a bit harder at customer satisfaction, you repeat the survey.
This time, you have 8% Detractors. But you also have fewer Passives – only 40% now. And you've got 52% Promoters.
Your new NPS is 44. You know you're doing an awesome job and should keep up the good work!
At Formidable Forms, we take NPS a step further with our NPS calculator. Our template includes optional NPS survey questions you can ask to gather additional information about customer satisfaction.
Find out your NPS with our Net Promoter Score Template.
Why Does NPS Matter?
Since the Net Promoter Score was first introduced to the marketing world by Fred Reichheld of top consultancy firm Bain & Co. back in 2003, thousands of leading brands have used the metric to boost their business. But why is it such a powerful metric?
Using an NPS feedback form can give you a quick pulse of your business' current health. But it can also predict future business growth.
A high NPS means that you have many satisfied customers who will be more than happy to spread the good news about your business.
Remember, word-of-mouth can be crucial. Nielsen's landmark "Global Trust in Advertising" study showed that 83% of respondents say they somewhat or completely trust the recommendations of family and friends. And 66% say they trust online consumer opinions by complete strangers.
The more happy Promoters you have, the better your business's prospects look.
On the other hand, a low NPS means more Detractors… who aren't opposed to giving you a bad public review.
Is NPS Enough?
Your NPS on its own is powerful. But when you know more about your clients' satisfaction, you can apply it even more effectively to your business.
Our Net Promoter Score Template includes additional NPS survey questions that can help pinpoint why your customers respond the way they do.
The NPS may give you the what. Asking further questions can help you establish the why.
With our pre-built NPS feedback form, you can find out:
- What your clients like about your business
- Where your brand fell short of their expectations
- What they think you could do to improve
The form also gathers basic demographic information so you can get to know your customers better. You can also customize the Net Promoter Score Template to gather additional insights.
Use this form to receive this invaluable customer feedback.
When to Use NPS
When should you start using NPS?
Right away.
The sooner you start measuring your clients' sentiments, the sooner you can start using positive word-of-mouth as a powerful marketing force.
And it's also the sooner you can start addressing negative word-of-mouth. What you don't know about your customers might be hurting you.
Sure, you can rely on Yelp and Angie's List for a review here or there.
Or you can take a proactive approach and start improving your business today.
Ready to get started? Download the Net Promoter Score Template from inside your WordPress site.
