Digital Listening

As the number of consumers making their purchases online has grown exponentially in recent years, it is no surprise that over 80% of marketing leaders have chosen to invest their resources in digital channels. 

However, as businesses try to adopt digital business strategies, most aren’t finding success. Research shows that 70% of digital deployments fail to meet their goals. This can be because of a lack of strategy, organizational resistance, poor change management, or any other number of reasons. 

If your organization is transitioning to a more digital-first approach or is adding a digital channel to your existing operations, you will need a digital adoption strategy to succeed. 

What Is A Digital Adoption Strategy?

A digital adoption strategy is a structured plan designed to ensure that new technologies, software, or digital processes are effectively implemented and fully utilized within an organization. This includes helping employees, stakeholders, or customers learn and integrate the technology into their daily workflows. 

Benefits of An Effective Digital Adoption Strategy

A well-executed digital adoption strategy can benefit your organization in many ways. These benefits will not only make your organization more profitable, but they will also improve customer metrics such as customer satisfaction. Here are some of the benefits you can expect from a well-planned digital adoption strategy:

Improved Efficiency & Reduced Costs

One of the most significant advantages of a well-executed digital adoption strategy is its ability to boost operational efficiency while reducing costs. When employees fully understand and utilize new technologies, repetitive manual tasks can be automated, workflows streamlined, and decision-making accelerated.

This leads to a reduction in errors, faster completion of tasks, and more effective resource allocation. Additionally, businesses save on overheads like labor and operational expenses as digital solutions take on more responsibilities such as optimizing productivity and trimming excess costs. In the long term, these efficiencies drive down the total cost of ownership for technology investments.

Improved Customer Experience

Another key outcome of digital adoption is a vastly improved customer experience. When digital tools are integrated into customer-facing processes, such as service delivery, communication channels, and support systems, businesses can offer faster, more personalized, and consistent interactions. 

Digital adoption enhances the ability to track and anticipate customer needs, resolve issues quickly, and provide seamless omnichannel experiences. This results in increased customer experience metrics and better positioning against competitors. 

Increased Regulatory Compliance

Digital tools can also play a critical role in helping organizations maintain compliance with industry regulations and standards. An effective digital adoption strategy ensures that employees are properly trained to use systems that automatically capture, track, and store data in line with regulatory requirements. 

Automation of compliance tasks, such as data encryption, audit trails, and reporting, reduces the risk of human error and improves the organization’s ability to demonstrate compliance during audits. This not only mitigates the risk of costly fines and reputational damage but also strengthens trust with customers and partners who value data security and adherence to legal standards.

When To Create A Digital Adoption Strategy

There are many different reasons that your business may undergo digital transformation. You may be changing your business model to accommodate to an increasing number of online consumers, or launching new digital products. Regardless, here are some common problems businesses face that may indicate a need to create a digital adoption strategy: 

Scaling Operations

As businesses grow and scale, processes that once worked in a smaller setting may become inefficient. Scaling often requires the introduction of more advanced digital tools to manage larger volumes of data, customers, or tasks. A digital adoption strategy ensures that as new technologies are introduced to support growth, they are adopted smoothly by your team and fit well into your scaled operations without disruptions.

Merging or Acquiring Businesses

Mergers and acquisitions often lead to a consolidation of systems, platforms, and processes. In such cases, a digital adoption strategy is necessary to ensure that teams across the newly formed organization are aligned and comfortable with the adopted tools. The strategy can help bridge gaps between different organizational cultures, technology stacks, and ways of working, leading to a smoother integration.

Experiencing Low Technology Utilization

If you’ve already invested in digital tools but are seeing low utilization rates, it’s time to introduce or revisit a digital adoption strategy. Poor engagement with technology is a clear sign that employees or customers are either unaware of its capabilities or face challenges using it. A strategy focused on training, support, and cultural shifts can reinvigorate interest and ensure that your investment yields better results.

If you are looking to build your digital adoption strategy, consider choosing InMoment as your partner. InMoment’s platform is proven to combine expert services with award-winning technology to provide you with a solution that will give you the fastest ROI, according to the G2 Crowd Report. 

How to Implement A Digital Adoption Strategy

Implementing a digital adoption strategy involves several key steps that ensure technology is not only deployed but also embraced and optimized throughout the organization. Here’s an overview of how to effectively implement your strategy:

Opportunity Identification

The first step in implementing a digital adoption strategy is identifying opportunities where digital solutions can create the most impact. This can be done by looking at your customer journey map and identifying any friction points that occur. Starting with a good understanding of the customers’ omnichannel journey is the first step in identifying where to invest in digital solutions.

Prioritization

Not all opportunities are created equal, so once opportunities are identified, prioritize them based on their potential impact and feasibility. This can be done by using impact prediction tools that show you which opportunities will affect your business the most. Additionally, consider the level of change required; initiatives with minimal disruption may be prioritized over more complex projects to gain early wins and build momentum.

UX and Product Testing

User experience (UX) is a critical factor in successful digital adoption. Before fully rolling out new technologies, conduct thorough UX and product testing with actual end users—whether they be employees, customers, or both. During this phase, gather feedback on the usability, interface design, and overall functionality of the digital tools.

By identifying and addressing issues early, you can tailor the technology to better meet users’ needs and reduce resistance to adoption. This testing phase also allows you to optimize workflows, minimize learning curves, and ensure that the technology enhances rather than hinders productivity.

Change Management

Implementing a digital adoption strategy requires more than just rolling out new tools; it demands effective change management to ensure that people are prepared, supported, and engaged throughout the transition. A strong change management plan includes:

• Communication: Communicate the goals, benefits, and expected outcomes of the digital initiative. Employees need to understand why the change is happening and how it will benefit them.
• Training and Support: Provide tailored training programs that meet the needs of different user groups, ensuring they are comfortable with the new tools. Offer continuous support, such as on-demand help resources, tutorials, or peer networks.
• Leadership Buy-In: Engage leadership to act as champions for the initiative. Visible commitment from top management helps drive adoption and reinforce the importance of the changes.

By managing the human side of change effectively, you can increase buy-in, reduce resistance, and smooth the transition to new digital tools.

Ongoing Monitoring

Once your digital adoption strategy has been implemented, it is important to have established mechanisms for customers and employees to provide feedback. Ongoing monitoring allows you to identify and address issues early, optimize the technology’s performance, and make adjustments to training or support as needed. 

InMoment’s CX Services ensures that you have a partner every step of the way when implementing your digital adoption strategy. When you utilize InMoment’s platform, you also get access to decades of experience in CX implementation and improvement. Our services, which are never outsourced, will provide you with a deeper understanding of your program for the lowest cost of ownership.   

Your Digital Adoption Strategy from InMoment

Do you need to undergo a digital transformation, but aren’t exactly sure where to start? InMoment has created a digital transformation roadmap to help you create successful digital experiences in your organization. If you would like to see more about InMoment’s best-in-class platform and how it can assist your digital transformation, schedule a demo today!

References 

Boston Consulting Group. Flipping the Odds of Digital Transformation Success. (https://www.bcg.com/publications/2020/increasing-odds-of-success-in-digital-transformation). Accessed 8/15/2024. 

Hostinger. 44 Key Digital Marketing Statistics for Strategic Growth in 2024. (https://www.hostinger.com/tutorials/digital-marketing-statistics). Accessed 8/15/2024. 

Unlock the full potential of your customer feedback with InMoment’s AI-powered solutions. Discover how advanced AI technology can transform raw data into actionable insights, driving informed decisions and improving customer satisfaction.

What Is AI Customer Feedback?

In today’s fast-paced business landscape, understanding customer sentiment and feedback is more critical than ever. AI customer feedback involves leveraging artificial intelligence to collect, analyze, and interpret customer feedback data. By employing advanced algorithms and machine learning models, businesses can gain deeper insights into their customers’ experiences and needs, transforming raw feedback into actionable intelligence.

Example of Using AI in Customer Feedback

One example of using AI in customer feedback is sentiment analysis. By leveraging natural language processing (NLP), AI can analyze customer reviews, social media posts, and support tickets to determine the overall sentiment—positive, negative, or neutral. For instance, a company can use AI to sift through thousands of customer reviews on an e-commerce platform to gauge product satisfaction and identify common complaints.

What are the Benefits of AI for Customer Feedback?

Implementing AI-enhanced customer feedback analysis offers numerous advantages for businesses: 

• Enhanced Accuracy and Speed: AI algorithms can process vast amounts of data much faster and more accurately than human analysts. This speed and precision ensure that businesses receive timely and reliable insights.
• Deeper Insights: AI can uncover hidden trends and patterns in customer feedback that traditional methods might miss. This deeper understanding helps businesses make more informed decisions and tailor their strategies to meet customer needs.
• Cost Efficiency: Automating the feedback analysis process reduces the need for manual labor, resulting in cost savings for businesses. AI tools can handle repetitive tasks, allowing human employees to focus on more strategic initiatives.
• Scalability: AI systems can handle growing amounts of data without compromising performance.

How Does Using AI Work for Customer Feedback?

The process of using AI for customer feedback typically involves these steps:

1. Data Collection: Gathering structured and unstructured feedback from various channels, including surveys, social media, emails, and more using customer feedback AI tools.
2. Natural Language Processing (NLP): Using NLP to understand and interpret text data, detecting sentiment, intent, and key themes.
3. Predictive Analytics: Employing predictive models to identify potential future trends and outcomes based on historical data.
4. Generative AI: Utilizing AI to generate meaningful responses and prompts, encouraging richer customer feedback.
5. Integration: Combining feedback with other data sources for a comprehensive view of the customer journey.

Use Cases of AI Customer Feedback

AI-driven feedback analysis helps companies understand customer preferences and pain points, informing product development and enhancement. This can be particularly beneficial across various industries, leading to more customer-centric products and services.

Restaurants

Restaurants can leverage AI to analyze customer feedback from review sites, social media, and direct feedback forms. For example, a restaurant chain might use AI to identify that customers frequently mention slow service during peak hours. By addressing this feedback, perhaps by hiring more staff or improving kitchen processes, the restaurant can boost customer satisfaction and increase repeat business. Generative AI Prompts, like our Active Listening™ bot, can elicit more valuable responses, while AI-generated responses simplify the task of closing the feedback loop.

Retail

Retailers can leverage AI to analyze customer feedback from multiple channels, including online reviews, social media, and in-store surveys. For instance, a retail chain might discover that customers are frustrated with long checkout lines. By addressing this issue, perhaps through self-checkout options, the retailer can enhance the shopping experience. InMoment Conversational Intelligence feature helps understand customer interactions to improve agent performance and customer satisfaction. Additionally, AI-generated responses can address customer concerns promptly.

Manufacturing

Manufacturers can employ AI to analyze feedback from customers about their products. For example, an electronics manufacturer might use AI to find out that customers often mention battery life issues in their reviews. The company can then focus on improving battery technology in future product iterations. Predictive Analytics can guide these enhancements by highlighting key areas of concern, while our Smart Summary feature transforms detailed feedback into concise, actionable insights.

Finance

AI can analyze customer feedback from banking apps, online banking services, and customer service interactions to identify common issues such as transaction errors or poor user experiences. For example, a bank might use AI to discover that customers frequently complain about the complexity of their online loan application process. By addressing this issue, the bank can improve customer satisfaction and increase loan approvals. InMoment’s emotion and effort detection feature automatically identifies the intentions and emotions behind feedback, providing deeper insights for improvements.

Healthcare

In healthcare, AI can process patient feedback from surveys, online reviews, and social media to identify areas needing improvement. For example, a hospital might use AI to detect recurring complaints about long waiting times or the quality of care. This insight can lead to operational changes that enhance patient experience and care quality. Generative AI prompts can elicit more valuable patient feedback for better analysis.

Hospitality

Hotels and resorts can use AI to analyze guest reviews and feedback forms to identify strengths and weaknesses in their services. A hotel chain might discover through AI that guests frequently mention the need for better room cleanliness. By addressing this feedback, the hotel can improve guest satisfaction and loyalty. AI customer feedback analysis can provide detailed insights into guest experiences, allowing for targeted improvements.

What to Look for in a Customer Feedback AI Tool?

When selecting an AI customer feedback analysis tool, consider the following factors:

• Data integration capabilities: Ensure the tool can process data from multiple sources.
• Customizability: Look for a solution that offers flexible data input and customizable reporting options.
• Accuracy and reliability: Evaluate the tool’s performance in sentiment analysis and trend detection.
• Real-Time Analytics: The ability to provide immediate insights and actionable recommendations.
• User-friendly interface: Choose a tool that presents insights in an easily understandable format.
• Scalability: Ensure the tool can grow with your business and handle increasing data volumes.
• Security and compliance: Verify that the tool adheres to data protection regulations.
• Reporting features: Look for robust reporting capabilities to share insights across your organization.

How to Get Started with a Customer Feedback AI Tool?

Getting started with a customer feedback AI tool involves:

1. Assessing Your Needs: Identify your specific goals and requirements for customer feedback analysis.
2. Choosing the Right Tool: Select a tool that aligns with your needs and offers the features you require.
3. Implementing the Tool: Integrate the tool with your existing systems and begin collecting feedback.
4. Training Your Team: Ensure your team is well-versed in using the tool and interpreting the insights it provides.
5. Monitoring and Adjusting: Continuously monitor the tool’s performance and make adjustments as needed to optimize results.

Partner with InMoment for AI Customer Feedback Needs

InMoment offers a comprehensive suite of AI-powered customer feedback solutions designed to enhance your CX program. Our predictive customer analytics capabilities take the guesswork out of understanding your customers’ needs, allowing you to focus on driving meaningful change. Key Features of InMoment’s AI Customer Feedback Solutions:

• Generative AI Prompts: Our Active Listening™ bot uses real-time text analytics and generative AI to elicit more valuable responses from customers.
• Conversational Analytics: Understand interactions between service agents and customers to improve agent performance and customer satisfaction.
• Smart Summary: Our generative AI Large Language Model technology transforms individual feedback into concise, actionable insights.
• Image Analysis: Convert images into qualitative insights for product, service, and CX improvements.
• Predictive Analytics: Analyze the impact of key drivers on metrics like NPS, CSAT, and CES to inform strategic decisions.
• Emotion and Effort Detection: Automatically detect intentions, effort, and emotions behind every piece of feedback.
• Machine Learning: Discover new trends and topics as they emerge in customer feedback.
• AI-Generated Responses: Simplify responses with AI-generated replies, saving time and effort.
• Automated Actions: Close the feedback loop with automated actions based on AI-driven categorization.

Learn more about our customer experience platform and how our AI-based customer feedback solutions can transform your business and help you stay ahead of the competition.

What is Net Promoter Score (NPS)?

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a trademarked metric between -100 and 100 that measures the likelihood of a company’s customers promoting the brand through new customer references and repeat business. The higher the score the more likely your customers will promote your brand. 

NPS also stands for the Net Promoter System®, a trademarked system and framework that was built around the Net Promoter Score. It is a model that tries to tie a corporation’s bottom line with its customer’s happiness and satisfaction with its products and services. This system aims at managing corporate profits and sustainability through a customer experience lens.

Before you calculate your Net Promoter Score, you need to understand the three segments your customers will be divided into: detractors, passives, and promoters.

• Detractors: These customers respond to surveys in a way that indicates they would not recommend your product or service to others. They are usually grouped as anyone responded who responded 0-6 on the scale. 
• Passives: Passive customers represent customers who responded neutral to a survey about your product or service, indicating that they would not recommend it nor would they advise against it. They are generally categorized as responding either 7 or 8 on the scale. 
• Promoters: Promoters represent your most loyal customers, and answer either 9 or 10 on the scale. These customers are extremely likely to recommend your product or service to others

Transactional vs Relational Net Promoter Scores

When implementing Net Promoter Scores (NPS), businesses can choose between two primary approaches: Transactional NPS and Relational NPS. Understanding the differences between these two types is crucial for leveraging NPS effectively to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Transactional NPS

Transactional NPS measures customer satisfaction and loyalty based on specific interactions or transactions with the company. It is typically collected shortly after a customer completes a particular transaction, such as a purchase, a customer service interaction, or a product delivery. 

For example, a retail brand might send an NPS survey to customers shortly after they make a purchase online or visit a store. The feedback received helps the company understand the effectiveness of their checkout process, delivery service, or in-store experience.

Relational NPS

Relational NPS, on the other hand, measures overall customer loyalty and satisfaction with the brand or company over a longer period. It assesses the customer’s broader relationship with the business rather than focusing on individual transactions.

For example, the same retail brand might send an NPS survey to their entire customer base once a year to assess the general satisfaction and loyalty of their customers. This feedback helps the company understand their position in the market and identify areas for strategic improvement.

The choice between Transactional and Relational NPS depends on the business’s goals and the specific insights they seek to gain. Many companies find value in using both approaches in tandem, as they provide complementary insights. Transactional NPS offers immediate, actionable feedback on specific interactions, while relational NPS delivers a broader view of overall customer loyalty and brand perception.

Why NPS Score is Important 

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) has become a crucial metric for businesses seeking to understand and improve customer satisfaction. This single number, derived from a simple question, holds significant value for several reasons:

1. Customer Loyalty Indicator

The primary purpose of NPS is to gauge customer loyalty. By asking customers how likely they are to recommend a product or service to others, businesses can identify their most loyal advocates. A high NPS indicates satisfied customers who are not only likely to make repeat purchases but also to actively promote the brand.

2. Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Customers who give high NPS ratings are more likely to engage in positive word-of-mouth marketing. The increased importance of social media marketing has made it more crucial than ever for loyal customers to be brand ambassadors. A high NPS score is reflective of your customers’ willingness to use those channels to promote your brand and bring in new customers. 

3. Identifying Areas for Improvement

While a high NPS is desirable, a low score can be equally valuable. It serves as an alert that something may be amiss in the customer experience. Businesses can use this feedback to identify specific pain points and address issues that might be hindering customer satisfaction and loyalty.

4. Benchmarking Against Competitors

NPS allows businesses to benchmark themselves against industry competitors. Understanding where your NPS stands in comparison to others in the market provides valuable context. It can inspire a drive for continuous improvement and innovation to stay ahead in the competitive landscape.

5. Predictive Business Growth

Research has shown a strong correlation between high NPS and business growth. A recent study showed that a company with the highest Net Promoter Score in its industry outgrew its competitors by more than two times. 

Satisfied customers not only tend to make more purchases themselves but also contribute to the growth of the customer base through referrals. NPS, therefore, becomes a leading indicator of future business success.

What Are the Benefits of Net Promoter Score?

The Net Promoter Score is one of the most popular customer experience metrics for a reason. The benefits of regularly utilizing it can improve your customer experience and business performance. Here are some of the most common benefits of the Net Promoter Score: 

1. Simplicity

The Net Promoter Score is a simple and direct question. Because of its simplicity, it is easy to implement and analyze. Perhaps most importantly, your customers will have no problem understanding it. Regardless of industry or demographic, every customer will be able to answer the Net Promoter Score question. 

2. Cost-Effective

NPS surveys are relatively low-cost to administer compared to more comprehensive market research methods. They can be easily integrated into regular customer touchpoints like post-purchase emails or service follow-ups.

3. Increased Employee Engagement

In the workplace, the importance of employee loyalty and engagement cannot be understated. When your business uses the Net Promoter Score as a measure of customer experience, it is easy to get employees on board. Regardless of their position within the company, employees will have an easier time focusing on the performance of one number as opposed to multiple metrics. 

Sharing NPS results with employees can foster a culture of continuous improvement and customer focus. It can also help in aligning the organization towards common goals of enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty.

How to Calculate Net Promoter Score

In order to calculate your Net Promoter Score, you first need results from a Net Promoter Score Survey. Once you have the results from that survey or series of surveys, you will be able to categorize your respondents into promoters, passives, and detractors. 

Once those two steps are completed, the actual calculation is very simple: subtract the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters. To visualize it, it should look like:

For example, consider a retail brand that was interested in finding out their Net Promoter Score. 

They conducted a survey of 1,000 of their recent customers. The responses were categorized into promoters (those who rated 9-10), passives (those who rated 7-8), and detractors (those who rated 0-6). 

The survey results showed that 200 customers were promoters, 300 were passives, and 500 were Detractors. To calculate the NPS, this brand determined the percentages of Promoters and Detractors, which were 20% and 50%, respectively. The NPS was then calculated by subtracting the percentage of Detractors from the rate of Promoters, resulting in an NPS of -30. This negative score indicated that a significant number of customers were dissatisfied and unlikely to recommend the brand.

What is a Good Net Promoter Score?

Understanding what constitutes a “good” Net Promoter Score can be crucial for businesses aiming to gauge customer loyalty and satisfaction effectively. However, interpreting NPS results isn’t always straightforward, as a “good” score can vary widely across industries and contexts. Here are key considerations to help determine what a good NPS might look like for your business:

Net Promoter Score Benchmarks by Industries

A good NPS often depends on the industry in which a business operates. Different sectors have varying average scores due to the nature of their products, services, and customer expectations. For example:

• Auto dealers have an average NPS score of 39
• Hotels have an average NPS score of 33
• Banks have an average NPS score of 21
• Department and specialty stores have an average NPS score of 62

Pharmacies and Drug Stores

Walmart pharmacies have an NPS score of +32. Given that the highest possible score is +100, this score may seem just average. However, the customer experience team at Walmart is likely thrilled, as this is one of the highest NPS scores in the drug store and pharmacy industry.

Technology and Software 

Comparing the software industry, where the average NPS is +34. Leading companies in this sector, like Salesforce (+66) and Adobe (+62), have NPS scores in the +60 range.

For the laptop computer industry, where the average NPS is +43. Considering Apple’s strong brand reputation and customer loyalty, can you guess their NPS for their popular MacBook?

Apple’s MacBook has been reported to have an NPS of +62. You likely guessed close to this figure, knowing the industry average. This illustrates why comparing scores within industries is more insightful than using an absolute scale.

Competitor Analysis

A good NPS should also be assessed relative to competitors. Knowing where your business stands in comparison to industry peers can provide a more accurate picture of performance. If your NPS is above the industry average, it typically indicates strong customer loyalty and satisfaction. For instance, if the industry average is 25 and your score is 35, you’re likely outperforming competitors in customer satisfaction.

Company Goals

A good NPS should align with your company’s specific goals and customer expectations. Businesses with high customer service standards might aim for scores above 50, while others might set more modest goals based on realistic assessments of their current situation. For instance, a company known for exceptional service might consider an NPS below 50 as a sign of needing improvement, whereas a business in a challenging market might be satisfied with a score around 20.

Ultimately, setting realistic NPS targets based on historical data, industry standards, and business goals is essential. Companies should aim for steady improvement rather than focusing solely on achieving a specific score. For example, if your current NPS is 10, setting a goal to reach 20 in the next year can be both challenging and achievable, motivating your team to implement effective customer experience enhancements.

How to Improve Your Net Promoter Score

There is no shortcut to improving your Net Promoter Score. To improve your net promoter score, you need an effective customer experience strategy, proactive measures, and a commitment to continuous improvement. Here are five things you can start doing to improve your NPS: 

1. Understand Customer Feedback

Start by thoroughly analyzing customer feedback. Whether positive or negative, every comment holds valuable insights into what customers appreciate and where improvements can be made. Use this understanding as the foundation for your improvement initiatives.

2. Address Detractor Feedback Promptly

Detractors, customers who give low scores, are an immediate priority. Identify common issues raised by Detractors and develop strategies to address them promptly. Demonstrating a commitment to resolving customer concerns can turn Detractors into satisfied customers.

3. Celebrate and Amplify Promoters

Promoters are your brand advocates, and their positive feedback is invaluable. Acknowledge and appreciate Promoters by amplifying their testimonials, featuring them in marketing materials, and expressing gratitude. This not only strengthens customer relationships but also attracts new customers through positive word-of-mouth.

4. Implement Customer Suggestions

Act on actionable suggestions provided by customers. If multiple customers highlight a specific area for improvement, consider it a strategic opportunity to enhance your offerings. Implementing customer-driven changes demonstrates responsiveness and a commitment to delivering what your audience truly values.

5. Personalize Customer Experiences

Tailor your interactions to individual customer preferences and needs. Leverage data and analytics to understand customer behavior, history, and preferences. Personalized experiences contribute to a positive perception of your brand, fostering loyalty and increasing the likelihood of receiving higher NPS scores.

How to Create a Net Promoter Score Survey

There are multiple ways to craft a Net Promoter Score survey. The survey itself is simple, but in order to get effective feedback from your customers you will need to make sure that your survey design is executed in a way that sets your business up for success. 

1. Define the Purpose

Before designing your survey, clearly define its purpose. Determine what you aim to learn from your customers and how the feedback will be used to improve your business. For example, are you building a transactional NPS survey? Or a relational one? This helps in crafting relevant questions and analyzing results effectively.

2. Craft the Core NPS Question

The core of any NPS survey is the primary question: “On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend our product/service to a friend or colleague?”

This question should be simple, direct, and focused on gauging customer loyalty and the likelihood of recommending your brand.

3. Add a Follow-Up Question

To gain deeper insights, include an open-ended follow-up question such as: “What is the primary reason for your score?”

This question allows customers to provide specific, qualitative feedback and elaborate on their rating. This offers valuable context that can highlight strengths and areas for improvement.

4. Choose the Right Timing

Timing is crucial for obtaining accurate feedback. For transactional NPS surveys, send the survey shortly after a customer interaction, such as a purchase or service call. For relational NPS surveys, conduct the survey at regular intervals, such as quarterly or annually, to gauge overall satisfaction and loyalty over time.

5. Deploy the Survey 

Send the survey across the appropriate channels, and then monitor feedback and response rates. Based on the answers to the survey, you may realize there are cases that require immediate attention. For example, a customer may rate you as a 0 and then in the follow-up question explain how they were overcharged for an item. Below is an example of what an NPS survey may look like when sent via email:

How Often Should I Send Net Promoter Score Surveys?

​​Determining the frequency of NPS surveys is a crucial aspect of maximizing the utility of this valuable metric while respecting your customers’ time and attention. Striking the right balance ensures that you receive timely feedback without causing survey fatigue. Consider the following factors when deciding how often to send NPS surveys:

1. Transaction Frequency

Align the frequency of NPS surveys with the frequency of customer transactions. For businesses with frequent customer interactions, such as e-commerce platforms or subscription services, more regular surveys may be appropriate. Conversely, for businesses with less frequent transactions, a less frequent survey schedule may be sufficient.

2. Customer Lifecycle Events

Tie NPS surveys to key events in the customer lifecycle. Sending surveys after significant touchpoints, such as a purchase, customer support interaction, or product usage milestone, provides contextual feedback. This targeted approach allows you to capture insights when the customer’s experience is most relevant.

3. Product or Service Changes

Introduce NPS surveys when there are substantial changes to your product or service. This could include the launch of new features, updates, or modifications to existing offerings. Monitoring NPS during these periods can help gauge customer reactions and identify areas that may require further attention.

4. Seasonal Considerations

Take into account seasonal variations in your business. Some industries experience peak seasons or specific periods of increased customer activity. Adjust your survey frequency to align with these patterns, ensuring that you capture feedback when it is most representative of customer experiences.

5. Strategic Planning Cycles

Incorporate NPS surveys into your strategic planning cycles. Conduct surveys at intervals that align with your business planning and decision-making processes. This allows you to use NPS data to inform strategic decisions and track the impact of initiatives over time.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to how often you should send NPS surveys. It depends on your specific business context, customer interactions, and strategic objectives. By thoughtfully considering these factors, you can establish a survey cadence that maximizes the benefits of NPS while respecting your customers’ experience.

What are the Disadvantages of Net Promoter Score? 

While the Net Promoter Score can have many benefits for companies, it is not without potential drawbacks. These drawbacks can be alleviated by implementing an integrated customer experience and going beyond the survey feedback received from your customers. Regardless, these are the disadvantages of the Net Promoter Score that you need to be aware of:

1. Oversimplification & Lack of Context

The Net Promoter Score reduces customer sentiment to a single number, which can oversimplify complex customer experiences and motivations. It may not capture the full breadth of customer opinions and feelings. 

The NPS score alone doesn’t provide detailed reasons behind customer ratings. Without follow-up questions or additional qualitative feedback, it can be challenging to understand the specific factors influencing customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

2. Response Bias

Net Promoter Score surveys have the potential to suffer from response bias. This may happen because only extremely happy or unhappy customers are most likely to respond, which can lead to a skewed representation of your customer base. Because of this, your passive customers are likely to be underrepresented. 

3. Survey Fatigue

Frequently administered NPS surveys can result in survey fatigue. If your customers suffer from survey fatigue, this will diminish your response rates and the quality of your customer feedback. Over-surveying can also negatively impact the customer experience.

How to Analyze NPS Scores

Analyzing Net Promoter Scores (NPS) goes beyond simply calculating the number; it involves a thoughtful examination of customer sentiments and the factors influencing their experiences. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to effectively analyze NPS scores:

1. Segment for Deeper Insights

Using NPS software, you can segment your NPS data by customer demographics, product or service usage, or even the customer sentiment associated with the score itself. This segmentation allows you to identify specific areas for improvement and tailor strategies to different customer groups.

2. Understand the Distribution

Analyze the distribution of promoters, passives, and detractors within your customer base. A skewed distribution towards promoters is positive, while an overrepresentation of detractors signals potential issues. Understanding the balance provides context for interpreting the overall score.

3. Focus on Detractors

Prioritize the analysis of detractors as their feedback indicates areas that need urgent attention. Identify recurring issues, address them systematically, and use the feedback as a roadmap for improvement. Turning Detractors into satisfied customers can have a significant positive impact on your NPS.

4. Analyze Verbatim Feedback

Dive into the qualitative feedback provided by customers alongside their NPS scores. Pay attention to common themes and specific comments. This qualitative data provides context for the numerical scores and helps identify specific pain points or areas of excellence.

5. Link NPS to Operational Metrics

Connect NPS data with operational metrics such as customer retention, conversion rates, and revenue. Analyzing these correlations helps establish a direct link between customer satisfaction and key business outcomes, reinforcing the importance of customer-centric strategies.

The more data that can be developed along with the NPS score, the more you’ll be able to understand your customer and what influences their opinions and feelings. 

When reading NPS graph results, you’ll typically break each variable into promoters, detractors, and neutral units, then monitor how they change over time.

How to Report and Share Net Promoter Score

After analyzing, you’ll want to regularly report numbers to the rest of your CX team. Share NPS alongside other monthly or quarterly metrics such as revenue, new customers, and customer churn. To make the most out of your analysis and be able to share the store with your team and executives, here are some best practices to report your net promoter score:

Focus on Improving Your NPS Score Over Time

Rather than fixating on your score in the absolute sense, view NPS as a trend over several periods as if you were looking at stock prices. NPS scores cannot be fixed overnight, it takes time to improve. 

Identify Business Goals of your NPS Program

To properly measure and align your NPS program, you’ll want to determine the business goals you want to achieve with your NPS strategy and report your net promoter score in relation to those goals. A good example is if your business is trying to improve retention, then you’ll want to report NPS alongside with churn data. 

Focus on Trending Topics in Verbatim Responses

Discussing these topics will provide valuable insights into what matters most to your customers and the challenges they face. Share both the positive and negative feedback from customers with your internal stakeholders. This will enable you to address these issues and improve the overall customer experience. For startups, it’s recommended to read and respond to every single comment. 

Segment Your Net Promoter Score by Relevant Customer Groups

Segmenting your customers will help you pay close attention to groups that are critical to your business success. You can segment groups by geography, size or frequency of purchase or any other attributes that drives your business. For example, a SaaS company may segment their customers by user roles and dive deeper into their experience by each group. 

Use Industry Leader NPS as Benchmark for Comparison
Aiming for a perfect 100 Net Promoter Score is an admirable goal, but it can be extremely challenging to achieve. Even well-known companies with highly loyal customers rarely reach this level, and good NPS scores can vary by industry. Therefore, when setting an NPS goal for your business, choose a company within your industry that you admire and use their score as an aspirational benchmark. This will make your goals realistic and attainable within your own industry. Many companies share their NPS scores in research and reports, such as those from the Fortune 500, providing a useful resource for setting your benchmark. 

Improve Your NPS with InMoment

InMoment’s XI platform gives you the ability to measure and analyze your Net Promoter Score, as well as any other metric you might use. This approach gives you the ability to create dashboards so what you see is most important to you, design and send surveys, and close the loop with customers. Schedule a demo to see what InMoment can do for you! 

References 

Bain & Company. How the Net Promoter Score℠ Relates to Growth. (https://www.netpromotersystem.com/about/how-net-promoter-score-relates-to-growth/). Accessed 7/9/2024. 

LinkedIn. Temkin Group’s Annual Net Promoter Score Benchmark Study. (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/temkin-groups-annual-net-promoter-score-benchmark-bruce-temkin-ccxp/) Accessed 7/11/2024. 

NICE. Net Promoter Benchmarcks. (https://info.nice.com/rs/338-EJP-431/images/NICE-Satmetrix-infographic-2018-b2c-nps-benchmarks-050418.pdf) Accessed 7/30/24.

Quora. What are the best NPS (Net Promoter Score®) results for B2B SaaS companies? (https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-best-NPS-Net-Promoter-Score%C2%AE-results-for-B2B-SaaS-companies) Accessed 7/30/24.

Experience Benchmarks. 7 Apple NPS Benchmarks in 2023. (https://customergauge.com/benchmarks/blog/4-key-ingredients-fuelling-apples-high-net-promoter-score) Accessed 7/30/24.