Fixing Net Promoter Score Frustration

7 Common Frustrations of Fixing NPS Scores

1. Relying only on the NPS Score at the expense of actively and formally asking for customer  feedback.
2. CRM is not the sole source and repository of NPS Contacts.
3. Don’t identify decision-makers vs. day-to-day contacts.
4. Overlook customer in need of relationship repair.
5. NPS scores can vary by country, solution offering, or line of business.
6. Focus on today’s NPS score rather than NPS scores over a rolling 12 months.
7. There’s an excessive amount of time for NPS results to reach the frontline. 
   
   

B2B Companies large and small worldwide use Net Promoter Score (NPS) to help improve customer growth and retention.

B2B Marketers and business leaders are often frustrated when “good” NPS scores don’t correlate with positive customer outcomes. Or when “poor” NPS scores don’t result in customer defections.

We’ve helped clients diagnose underlying issues with their NPS and Customer Experience programs, and these are the most common source of frustrations with NPS Scores:

 

7 Common Frustrations of Fixing NPS Scores

1. They rely only on the NPS score at the expense of actively and formally asking for customer feedback

NPS scores are simple to understand, but the reasons for a score can be complex. Gathering, synthesizing, and socializing formal customer feedback provides invaluable context to NPS scores and a balanced understanding of the customer experience.

2. Their CRM is not the sole source and repository of NPS Contacts.

Many firms outsource the NPS survey process that relies on spreadsheet-centric contact collection. Customer experience processes that don’t source and manage customer contacts from the CRM distract employees from productive work to update spreadsheets.

3. They don’t identify decision-makers vs. day-to-day contacts during contact selection.

Organizations may celebrate good NPS scores but not recognize they don’t reflect a balanced view within the customer organization. The decision of whom to survey within an organization might be a mix of customer voices, not one role versus another.

4. They overlook customer in need of relationship repair.

The management team may review and understand a poor score, yet they may not have a process to conduct a closed-loop approach to repair and resolve customer concerns. Poor scores aren’t for sales or operations to “fix.” Often they reflect systemic issues that require leadership involvement to resolve.

5. NPS scores can vary by country, solution offering, or line of business.

Proper NPS score segmentation and calibration are essential to prioritize improvements. Averaging scores across the company may not provide meaningful insight.

6. They focus on today’s NPS score rather than NPS scores over a rolling 12 months.

Low, declining, or increasing NPS survey response rates over time are leading customer satisfaction indicators, regardless of the scores received at a point in time. 

7. There’s an excessive amount of time for NPS results to reach the frontline. 

NPS scores are like bananas – they go bad quickly. If scores aren’t in the hands of frontline employees within a week or so of survey completion, the value of addressing customer concerns may diminish significantly.

 

There is more to a successful NPS program than blasting out surveys and publishing the scores for management review. Companies that do NPS well have invested time, money, and resources in a broader customer experience program tightly linked to reward and management systems.

If your organization is frustrated with the correlation of NPS scores to growth and retention, the points above provide a meaningful foundation for diagnosis.

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