Do you know NPS?

If you don’t know what it is, you can be sure that this tool, an acronym for Net Promoter Score, has been present in your life for many years – and that, without exaggeration, it has revolutionized the way the retail market relates to its consumers.

Presented in 2003 by Fred Reichheld at Harvard University, in the United States, the methodology has become one of the main means of obtaining feedback and measuring the degree of customer loyalty.

Reichheld’s great insight was to create a simple and effective method, starting from the following question: “On a scale of 0 to 10, how much would you recommend our company to a friend?”. The idea was so successful that the author launched the bestseller “The Definitive Question”, which had a second version years later, and the methodology began to be widely adopted, including by giants such as Apple and Amazon.

When answering the question, customers who give scores from 0 to 6 are considered “detractors”; Ratings between 7 and 8 are “neutral”; and notes 9 and 10 indicate the “promoters”. The NPS value is the subtraction of the number of promoters by the number of detractors.

A simple account that brings a rich return to the retailer and indications of how to deal with different types of customers. If the detractors are those who were totally dissatisfied with the purchase (and have a high chance of making negative advertising) and the neutrals only buy when they really need to, without showing enthusiasm and loyalty to a company or brand, promoters can be important partners for the company’s growth.

They are those who were very satisfied with the shopping experience and are likely to make public compliments and referrals, something enhanced in current times with social media.

NPS: Goals for improvement

Some companies in the market classify NPS into zones of excellence, critical, quality, and improvement. However, such tables are generalist and ignore important points that we should consider when setting goals (read more here).

With the results of the NPS, combined with complementary studies, it is possible to give a guide for companies to improve their management and strengthen the relationship with consumers. In this way, they are able to close the loop, as the process of responding to dissatisfied customers is known. This moment deserves special attention, as it is the chance to understand the reasons for the discontent, effectively solve the problem and try to reverse the situation, winning another fan for your company.

In a successful loop closure, a detractor can become neutral – which, in turn, can become a promoter. One of the secrets is to identify patterns of behavior of promoters and seek to replicate them to the entire customer base.

In short: NPS is a valuable tool, but only the company’s real interest in improving its relationship with customers, being open to dialogue and prepared to solve setbacks, will be able to keep it in the zone of excellence.  

NPS and SoluCX

The startup SoluCX uses NPS as the basis of its innovative tool for evaluating retail shopping experiences. The solution goes beyond the classic methodology, providing a series of complementary data that helps companies understand the needs of buyers and improve the service offered.

The technology developed by SoluCX allows companies of all sizes to have access to important information to track brand performance. Through indicators at all levels, the program provides in-depth analysis, comparing results between regions, units and employees, based on information provided by customers.

The packages are customized and can include opinion collection channels such as mobile apps, Facebook Messenger, email, interactive totem, SMS and phone calls.

With SoluCX’s software for evaluating shopping experiences, retailers can compare satisfaction indicators with their operational data, bringing much more clarity to the results.