How to run a NPS survey

What is NPS? Your ultimate guide to Net Promoter Score

NPS is an important part of any business that wants to improve its overall customer satisfaction level and understand customer loyalty. In fact, it’s so important that many companies use it as their primary tool to measure their success in terms of customer experience. It can be used to help you understand your current customer base and how they feel about your brand or service. It can also be used to gauge customer retention and identify areas where improvements need to be made in your business to enhance the customer journey.

The concept behind this metric was first introduced by Fred Reichheld in his book The Ultimate Question: How Great Companies Make Extraordinary Profits in Good Times and Bad (Free Press). He defined it as “the likelihood that a given customer will recommend product or service to others”. This means that if a person has had a positive experience using your product/service then he/she would most likely tell other people about it (happy customer). If not, then there is a high chance that they won’t talk about it (unhappy customers).

Reichheld created a questionnaire that businesses could use to determine the likelihood of recommending their products or services to friends and family. The questionnaire consists of only one question – “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely is it that you would recommend to a friend or colleague?”

Net Promoter Score (NPS) definition

Net Promoter Score is calculated based on responses to a simple 1-question survey. Respondents are asked to rate themselves on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 represents “not at all” and 10 represents “very much”. A score between 7 & 8 indicates that your company gets good ratings, while a score below 6 shows that you get poor reviews.

There’s no right way to calculate Net Promoter Scores. While some companies simply add up each response and divide by the total number of respondents, others use more complex formulas. For example, some companies look at the distribution of the data to create a weighted average.

Why do I need to know my Net Promoter Score?

Knowing your Net Promoter Score gives you valuable insights into what aspects of your business are working well and what needs improvement. You can use these insights to make strategic decisions that will help you grow your business and retain loyal customers.

In addition, knowing your Net Promoter Score helps you identify opportunities for growth. Businesses with strong Net Promoter Scores tend to have better financial performance than those with weak scores.

How do you calculate a Net Promoter Score?

There are several ways to measure your Net Promoter Score. Here are three common methods:

Method 1: Divide the number of promoters by the number of detractors plus the number of passives.

• Promoters 5% or more of the population who give your company a 9 or above rating.
• Detractors 5% or more who give your company a 3 or less rating.
• Passives 5% or more who gave your company a 4 or above rating.
• Total 100

Method 2: Calculate the percentage of promoters out of the entire respondent base.

• Promoters 25% or more of the entire sample size.
• Detractors 25% or more of respondents who said they were unlikely to refer your company.
• Passives 25% or more of those who said they would be likely to refer your company.
• Total 100

Method 3: Calculate the percentage who strongly agree or disagree with the statement: “I am a promoter of ”.

• Strong promoters 50% or more of the overall sample size.
• Weak promoters 50% or more but lower than strong promoters.
• Non-promoters 40% or more of the respondents who say they are unlikely to refer your company or don’t care.
• Total 100

What does an ideal Net Promoter Score mean?

An ideal Net Promoter Score is 70 to 80 percent. Your Net Promoter Score should ideally be around 75 percent. If your Net Promoter Score is low, you may want to take actions such as increasing communication efforts, improving customer service, providing more value, offering new products and services, or reducing prices. If your Net Promoter Score remains high, it probably means that you’re doing things right. However, if your Net Promoter Score drops significantly, it could indicate that there’s room for improvement.

What are Detractors?

A detractor is someone who has given your company a very negative review. If you have many detractors, it might indicate that something went wrong during their visit to your website or store. It also could mean that your product or service isn’t meeting their expectations.

What are Passives?

A passive is someone who has given a neutral review — neither positive nor negative. A passive indicates that your company did not meet their expectations or didn’t offer them any benefits.

What are Promoters?

A promoter is a person who has given your company either a positive or a very positive review. This means that your company met his/her expectations and delivered on its promises.

NPS Best Practices: The best way to send a Net Promoter Score survey

The most effective way to conduct Net Promoter Surveys is through email. Email surveys are easy to set up and can get results quickly. However, some companies prefer paper surveys because they feel that online surveys are too impersonal. Some people find email surveys intrusive and others think that they’re annoying.

Here are four tips to help you create the perfect Net Promoter Survey:

1. Include only one question per page. Too many questions make respondents scroll down to read all of them.
2. Make sure the headline is clear and concise.
3. Write clearly so that respondents can understand what you’re asking. Don’t use jargon or acronyms.
4. Use bullet points instead of paragraphs. Bullet points make it easier for respondents to scan.

What response rates should I expect?

Net Promoter Scores vary depending on the type of business. For example, a financial institution will typically receive a much higher response rate than a retail store. Also, different industries have different demographic profiles. In general, though, we recommend getting at least 10 responses per 1,000 emails sent out.

In addition, keep in mind that this statistic doesn’t include non-respondents. So, don’t assume that everyone who receives your survey responds. That said, you shouldn’t expect less than 5% response rate.

What is the best way to collect survey responses?

There are two main ways to collect survey responses:

1. Paper
2. Online

Paper surveys are still commonly used by small businesses. They’re inexpensive and easy to distribute. But, they’re also slow and cumbersome.

Online surveys are becoming increasingly popular because they’re fast and convenient. Plus, they allow you to gather data without having to spend time collecting it yourself. The downside? You need an internet connection to send these surveys.

Which method do you choose? It depends on how comfortable you are sending surveys over the web. If you’re more confident using online methods, then go ahead and try it. Otherwise, stick with paper surveys.

What is the best time to send an NPS survey?

You want to avoid sending NPS surveys during peak hours (9am – 5pm) as well as weekends. Responding to a survey is a relatively low-effort activity. People respond better when they’re feeling rested. Sending a survey during peak times makes it harder for them to participate.

Also, be careful about sending surveys on holidays. It’s likely that fewer people will respond, especially if they’re not working. On the other hand, if you send your survey before a holiday, you might miss out on potential customers.

Do you need permission to conduct a Net Promoter Survey?

No. However, most companies ask their employees to sign an agreement saying that they won’t share confidential information. This includes respondent names and contact information.

Who can see my responses? The only person who has access to your survey responses is you. Your boss or HR department can view your raw data, but they cannot identify individual respondents.

How often should I send Net Promoter Score surveys?

It depends on how frequently you want to measure your customers’ satisfaction levels. You can choose to send surveys every week, once a month, or even at different times throughout the year.

When do you know it’s time to stop sending surveys?

If you haven’t gotten any responses after three weeks, consider stopping. Send another email reminding recipients about the survey. If you continue to get no responses, you’ll probably never learn anything new.

If you do decide to continue sending surveys, make sure you keep sending reminders. You may need to wait until you start getting some positive results before deciding to end the campaign.

How long should my Net Promoter Score survey last?

You can ask your respondents about their experiences over several weeks or months. Sometimes, it’s better to wait until after a major event occurs before sending out a Net Promoter Score Survey. For example, you may want to send a Net Promote Score Survey after a holiday season or when a new product launches.

What is the best Net Promoter Score software?

There are many software options available that will set you up with an NPS survey template that includes the survey question for users to complete. Here are five popular choices:

1. Typeform – Typeform offers a modern NPS survey software solution that is almost without comparison and can show your survey on your website as a form, a chatbot, a pop-up and more. Start with their free plan.
2. Zigpoll – Zigpoll makes it easy to quickly collect NPS responses, digest the data and improve products & services. They offer a free NPS software plan for one team member and 100 responses per month.
3. QuestionPro – QuestionPro allows you to create custom-branded, free NPS surveys with your own logo.
4. Google Forms – Google Forms allows you to easily create an online form and collect responses. You can add images, videos, and links to other pages. Once you’ve created the form, you can share it with your target audience. You can then collect responses and analyze the data.
5. Jotform – Jotform makes it easy to collect NPS data into tables so your team can view your NPS score and make adjustments to your service over time.

What Next? Asking Follow-Up Questions

After collecting feedback from your respondents, you’ll want to follow up with them. Ask questions like these:

• What was the biggest problem we solved for you?
• How did our products help you solve this issue?
• Why did you give us a high rating?
• Did you have any suggestions for improvement?
• What would you recommend we improve next time?

Here are two examples of follow-up questions you might use:

• “We’re always looking for ways to provide better service. Which areas could we improve?”
• “As part of our ongoing efforts to ensure excellent customer service, we’d love to hear what else we can do to earn your business.”

Next help setting up your NPS survey or choosing the right NPS survey software? Get in touch and we’ll be happy to help.