Net Promoter Score (NPS): How to Calculate it and What it Means

It goes without saying that understanding your customers' satisfaction and loyalty is crucial for business success. One effective metric to gauge this is the Net Promoter Score (NPS). 

Let's dig into what NPS is, its significance, and how to utilize it effectively.

What Is A Net Promoter Score (NPS)?

NPS is a metric used to measure customer loyalty and satisfaction. It's based on a single question: "On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend our company/product/service to a friend or colleague?" 

Based on their ratings, respondents are categorized as Promoters (9-10), Passives (7-8), or Detractors (0-6). Your NPS is then calculated by subtracting the Detractor's percentage from the Promoter's percentage. For example, if 20% of respondents are Detractors, 10% are Passives, and 70% are Promoters, your NPS score would be 70-20 = 50.

If considering this scale created by Bain & Company, 

• Above 0 is good
• Above 20 is favorable
• Above 50 is excellent
• Above 80 is world-class

...then a score of 50 is something to strive for. Different industries will always have their own benchmarks, so research what makes sense for your company. You can use this infographic from Qualtrics XM Institute as a baseline. 

Why Customer Feedback Matters

Consider this: when customers have a positive experience, they typically share their thoughts with about nine people. However, a negative experience can lead them to share their dissatisfaction with approximately 16 people. 

This disparity highlights the importance of recognizing and managing customer experiences. Positive feedback can significantly boost your brand's reputation and relationship with prospects and customers online and through word-of-mouth. Negative experiences can have a disproportionate impact on your brand image. 

This makes it crucial to understand customer sentiment because acting upon customer feedback helps craft consistently positive experiences, retain customers, convert satisfied customers into brand advocates, and grow revenue. Additionally, feedback can guide future decisions and planning on a number of business processes. 

How to Collect NPS 

Collecting an NPS score involves strategically reaching out to customers at the right moments through the right channels.  You can approach it in several ways, including: 

Email Surveys:

• Send a direct email after a significant interaction or purchase. Personalize the email to increase response rates.
• Include a clear call-to-action and ensure the survey is mobile-friendly to cater to users on various devices.
• Consider automated follow-ups for non-respondents to improve response rates.

Website Pop-ups:

• Implement pop-ups on your website post-purchase or post-interaction, asking for an NPS score.
• Ensure pop-ups are non-intrusive and easy to dismiss to maintain a positive user experience.
• Time the pop-ups appropriately based on user engagement and dwell time on the site.

In-app Surveys:

• For digital services, prompt users for their NPS score within the app at crucial moments in their journey.
• Integrate the survey seamlessly into the app experience to encourage participation.
• Use push notifications to remind users to complete the survey if they haven't interacted with it initially.

QR Codes in Physical Locations:

• For brick-and-mortar businesses, place QR codes at strategic locations, prompting customers to give their NPS score.
• Make the QR codes visible and easily accessible, perhaps alongside a brief explanation of their purpose.
• Combine QR code surveys with a small incentive, like a future discount, to encourage participation.

Social Media Polls:

• Utilize your social media platforms to gather NPS scores, reaching a wider audience.
• Engage with users who comment on the poll, fostering a sense of community and showing that their opinions are valued.
• Analyze the demographic data of respondents to understand different customer segments better.

Chatbot Surveys:

• Deploy chatbots on your website or mobile app to engage customers in real time.
• Program the chatbot to ask for an NPS score after meaningful interactions, such as resolving a support query or completing a purchase.
• Ensure the chatbot's tone aligns with your brand and provides a friendly, conversational experience.
• Use chatbot analytics to gauge response patterns and optimize the timing and context of NPS score requests.

The context in which you ask for the NPS score impacts the quality of feedback. It's essential to ask for feedback when the customer's experience with your product or service is fresh in their mind. Any of the above methods, coupled with the right timing, should yield a positive result. 

How Do You Calculate NPS in HubSpot?

Thanks to its integrated tools, calculating Net Promoter Score (NPS) within HubSpot is a straightforward process. In fact, HubSpot's features significantly simplify the calculation and offer deep insights into customer satisfaction. 

Here's how you can do it, along with a few tips: 

• Use HubSpot's Survey Tool:
• Create an NPS survey using HubSpot's tool and send it to your contact list.
• Customize the survey design to align with your brand, making it more recognizable to respondents.
• Segment your contact list to target specific customer groups, ensuring more relevant feedback.
• Automate the Process:
• Set up automation to categorize responses into Promoters, Passives, and Detractors.
• Utilize automation to trigger follow-up actions based on the NPS score received, like sending thank you emails or support follow-ups.
• Utilize the Integration with CRM Tools:
• HubSpot's CRM integration allows for real-time updates of NPS scores against customer profiles, providing richer insights.
• Leverage this integration to personalize future communications and offers based on NPS feedback.
• Analyze the Results:
• Use HubSpot's analytics tools to analyze trends and patterns in your NPS scores over time, which can provide deeper insights into customer satisfaction and loyalty.
• Break down the analysis by different segments (like product lines, customer types, or regions) to uncover specific areas for improvement.

Read More: Top 5 Customer Success Metrics to Track in HubSpot Service Hub 

Best Practices for Sending NPS Surveys

It's essential to follow certain best practices so you can maximize the effectiveness of your NPS and customer feedback surveys. These guidelines will help ensure that you gather valuable, actionable insights when looking for feedback via an email survey:

1. Send surveys after significant interactions, like post-purchase or customer support encounters.
2. Time surveys to coincide with the end of an experience for fresh feedback.
3. Personalize survey invitations and content.
4. Use customer data to customize surveys to their brand interactions.
5. Balance survey frequency to avoid fatigue — consider quarterly or biannual intervals.
6. Monitor response rates to adjust frequency accordingly.
7. Keep surveys straightforward and concise, with an option for additional feedback.
8. Follow up with low-scoring customers to understand and address their concerns.
9. Offer incentives for survey completion, ensuring they are appealing yet cost-effective.
10. Act on feedback, demonstrate changes, and address common problems in follow-ups.
11. Be transparent about feedback usage and communicate how it leads to changes.
12. Avoid technical language, opting for simple, straightforward wording.
13. Consider offering surveys in multiple languages for inclusivity.
14. Regularly test and optimize survey aspects like timing, wording, and format.
15. Comply with privacy laws, ensuring confidentiality and transparent data usage.

Wrapping Up 

Businesses can gain invaluable insights into their customer experiences by strategically collecting NPS scores through various methods. But remember, the true power of NPS lies not just in the collection of data but in the actions taken as a result. This proactive approach of acting on your customer feedback can transform satisfied customers into brand advocates, bolster your brand's reputation, drive sustainable business growth, and be your key to staying ahead in the competitive market landscape.

Looking for help collecting customer feedback? Reach out to our team for a deeper discussion on NPS.