NPS Survey Best Practices: A Proven Guide for Customer Success

Are you ready to take your business’s customer satisfaction and loyalty to the next level? Look no further than a Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey! This simple yet powerful tool helps businesses measure customer loyalty by asking a simple question like “How likely are you to recommend our products or services to a friend or colleague?”. In this article, we’ll cover the 12 NPS survey best practices every business needs to know. Get ready to take your customer satisfaction to the next level!

But conducting an NPS survey isn’t just about asking a question; it’s about following best practices to ensure you get accurate, meaningful results that can drive real improvements towards customer success.

Photo by Celpax on Unsplash

What Is NPS in a Survey

Are you familiar with NPS surveys? Let’s fill you in on some key information you need to know.

Firstly, NPS stands for Net Promoter Score, a measurement tool businesses use to determine how likely their customers are to recommend their products or services to others.

Developed by Bain & Company in 2003, NPS involves a single question that asks customers to rate their likelihood of recommending the company on a scale of 0 to 10.

But why are NPS surveys essential? The answer lies in the fact that they help businesses understand their customers’ needs and preferences. Implementing NPS survey best practices empowers companies to make data-driven decisions that improve customer satisfaction and increase revenue by collecting and analyzing feedback.

It’s worth noting that NPS scores are calculated by subtracting the percentage of detractors (customers who give a rating of 0 to 6) from the percentage of promoters (customers who give a rating of 9 or 10). The resulting score ranges from -100 to 100, with a higher score indicating customer loyalty and satisfaction.

What Makes a Good NPS Score?

But what makes a good NPS score? While the interpretation of NPS scores can vary across industries, a score of 50 or higher is generally considered excellent. In contrast, scores below 0 are considered problematic.

The beauty of NPS surveys lies in their simplicity and versatility. They are easy to administer and can be used by businesses of all sizes, from small startups to multinational corporations.

By implementing NPS survey best practices, businesses can identify areas for improvement in their products or services, evaluate customer satisfaction levels, and develop strategies to retain customers and increase revenue.

NPS surveys should enable companies to seamlessly benchmark themselves against competitors and industry standards, allowing them to set realistic goals and improve their overall performance.

So, if you’re a business owner looking to improve customer loyalty and satisfaction, NPS surveys are worth considering.

12 NPS Survey Best Practices That Drive Results

1. Start with a Clear Objective

Before you launch an NPS survey, setting a clear objective is crucial. Otherwise, you might end up with lots of data that doesn’t provide meaningful insights.

To start, think about why you’re conducting the survey. What do you hope to achieve? Are you looking to improve your customer satisfaction levels, identify areas where you can enhance your product or service, or measure the success of a new launch?

Defining your objective will guide you in setting clear and measurable goals for your survey. Once you’ve identified your objective, you can design your survey questions to collect the data needed to meet your goals.

For instance, if you’re trying to improve customer satisfaction, ask questions that explore different factors that impact customer satisfaction. These could include questions about the customer experience, the quality of your products or services, or the level of support your team provides.

2. Design a Responsive Survey for All Devices

Creating a responsive NPS survey that can be easily accessed on any device is a great way to ensure maximum customer participation and feedback. In today’s digital age, it’s essential to make your survey available on mobile devices, as more and more people are using their smartphones and tablets to access the internet.

A key element of your NPS survey best practices is to consider the various screen sizes and types of devices your customers may be using. To do this, you should test your survey on different devices and platforms to ensure it works well on all of them. This will help you identify any issues and make necessary adjustments to provide an optimal user experience.

The best way to implement this best practice is to choose a mobile-friendly survey maker. A platform with a simple and user-friendly interface can help customers navigate the survey quickly and easily.

Incorporating user-friendly design elements such as large, easy-to-click buttons and simple instructions can further enhance the user experience and increase response rates.

3. Personalize Your NPS Survey Messaging

When it comes to NPS surveys, one crucial aspect is personalizing your survey messaging. Personalized communication about your NPS survey can significantly impact the open and completion rates. This approach will make your users feel valued and hence they will be more likely to complete the survey.

To personalize your NPS survey messaging, start by using your customer’s name in the survey invitation or message. This simple step can make the customer feel like their opinion matters and increase the chances of them completing the survey.

Additionally, explain why their feedback is important and how it will help you improve your product or service. You can also personalize the survey experience by tailoring the questions to the customer’s specific experience with your brand.

For example, if they recently made a purchase, include questions about the ordering process, delivery, and the product itself.

By incorporating NPS surveys into your messaging, such as personalization techniques, you can create a positive and impactful survey experience for your customers, encouraging them to share their insights willingly.

4. Offer an Open-Ended Question

When designing an NPS survey, it’s essential to include at least one open-ended question. Open-ended questions allow customers to provide more detailed feedback and insights beyond a numerical score.

Examples of open-ended questions can be:

• What did you like the most about our product or service?
• What areas do you think we can improve on?
• What changes or new features would you like to see?

These questions provide valuable feedback and help identify specific areas that need improvement.

NPS survey best practices for crafting open-ended questions should include methods to keep them concise and straightforward. Use clear and simple language, avoiding jargon or complicated phrasing. This approach ensures that customers can easily understand and answer the questions.

Additionally, it’s crucial to avoid leading questions that suggest a particular response or bias. The goal is to collect honest and unbiased feedback from your customers.

5. Keep it Short and Sweet

Long surveys can lead to survey fatigue and lower response rates. Your NPS survey best practices should include ways of keeping the survey short and straightforward by focusing on the most critical aspects.

For instance, if you’re an ERP vendor and would like to know the reasons why ERP is important to your customers, you can structure your survey to capture their feedback succinctly.

Instead of overwhelming them with a long list of questions, prioritize the key aspects that directly relate to ERP’s significance. Consider asking targeted questions such as “How has implementing an ERP system improved your overall business operations?” or “What specific challenges did ERP help you address or overcome?”

By focusing on these core aspects, you can obtain valuable insights into why ERP is important to your customers without overwhelming them.

Remember to keep the survey experience user-friendly and encourage honest and specific responses. Creating your feedback survey short and sweet will help increase response rates and make it easier for customers to provide feedback.

6. Use Appropriate Language

The last thing you want is for your customers to feel they need more clarification and support while answering your NPS survey questions. That’s why your NPS survey must promote the use of appropriate language that is easy to understand.

Customers need to be able to read the questions and answer them quickly and accurately without feeling like they need to pull out a dictionary or Google search.

One way to ensure you’re using the right language is to consider your audience’s demographics. Are they primarily young adults, seniors, or somewhere in between? Are they tech-savvy or need to become more familiar with technology? Knowing your audience can help you tailor your language appropriately so you’re speaking directly to them in a way that makes sense.

Remember, your NPS survey should be designed to collect accurate feedback from your customers. So it’s essential to use language that is easy to understand and tailored to your audience. By doing so, you’ll not only get more accurate feedback, but you’ll also make the survey-taking process more enjoyable for your customers.

7. Leverage Referral Marketing

When it comes to NPS surveys, one strategy that can truly transform your business is leveraging referral marketing. Why? Because word of mouth remains one of the most influential forms of marketing, referral programs can unleash its potential by turning satisfied customers into enthusiastic brand advocates.

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To capitalize on this approach, integrate incentives into your referral programs. These incentives should reward customers for each successful referral they generate.

Whether it’s enticing discounts, complementary products or services, or other rewards that align with your brand’s values, the key is to motivate your customers to share their positive experiences with their networks.

By offering these incentives, you create a win-win situation. Not only can you acquire new customers in a cost-effective manner, but you also foster customer loyalty.

When your customers feel appreciated and rewarded for their allegiance, they are more likely to continue doing business with your brand and actively refer others to your products or services.

So, embrace the power of referral marketing and transform your customers into a formidable force that propels your brand forward.

By integrating NPS surveys into your referral programs, you can not only measure customer satisfaction but also unlock a powerful tool for organic growth and brand advocacy.

8. Choose the Right Timing

Timing is everything, especially when it comes to NPS surveys. As such, part of your NPS survey best practices should involve choosing the right moment to send out your survey. This best practice can mean the difference between getting accurate, valuable feedback and missing out on crucial insights.

You want to send the survey immediately after the customer has interacted with your brand. This way, their experience is fresh in their mind, and they can provide feedback based on their recent experience.

However, be mindful of not overwhelming your customers with too many surveys, which can be a turn-off and negatively affect response rates.

On the other hand, your NPS survey should include avoiding coming across as too pushy or aggressive, so consider the frequency of your surveys carefully.

A good rule of thumb is to limit the number of surveys you send out in a specific timeframe, such as once a quarter or twice a year. This way, you can gather enough feedback without bothering your customers with constant requests.

9. Consider Incentives

Who doesn’t love freebies, right? Incentives are a great way to encourage customers to take your NPS survey. You can increase the response rate and get more accurate feedback by providing incentives. Consider offering discounts, rewards, or entries into a prize draw.

But hold on! Don’t just throw any incentive out there. Make sure it’s relevant to your customer’s interests and aligns with your brand values. For instance, if you’re a fitness brand, your NPS survey should include offering a fitness gear discount or a free fitness program trial.

Also, remember that offering incentives that may bias the survey results can negatively impact your survey’s accuracy. Don’t offer rewards only to customers who provide a positive score.

Lastly, ensure the incentives are displayed clearly and prominently in the survey invitation to maximize their impact.

So, give this best practice a shot without second thoughts. Motivate your customers to provide feedback and offer them something in return!

10. Know Your Industry-Specific Benchmarks

When it comes to NPS surveys, understanding industry-specific benchmarks is a game-changer. Why? Because it allows you to gauge how your business stacks up against competitors and helps you set realistic goals for your success.

It’s important to know that NPS for different industries could vary greatly. What might be considered a stellar score of 58 for a fitness institute could be a different story for an internet provider, where a score of 2 might be ideal. So, good research would help you keep reasonable goals and practice healthy competition.

By keeping your finger on the pulse of industry benchmarks and offering appropriate incentives, you empower your business to gather indispensable feedback on customer satisfaction. This data-driven approach enables you to identify areas for improvement with confidence.

11. Choose an NPS Survey Tool Wisely

Another vital part of an NPS survey involves the need to select the right tool to ensure seamless data collection, analysis, and reporting. While there are several survey tools for business in the market, not all are created equal.

Businesses should consider factors such as ease of use, integration capabilities, analytics, customer support, and more when selecting an NPS survey tool.

One excellent tool for creating NPS surveys is Outgrow. This leading interactive content builder offers a drag-and-drop survey builder that allows businesses to create customized surveys without coding knowledge.

With Outgrow’s logic jump feature, businesses can also show only relevant questions to different users, ensuring that respondents only see relevant questions. Outgrow offers robust analytics and integration capabilities, making it easy for businesses to analyze and export reports.

12. Act on Feedback

Once you have collected feedback from your powerful NPS campaigns, it’s essential to act on it. Acting on feedback must be an integral aspect of your NPS surveys. This method demonstrates to customers that their feedback is valued and can help businesses improve their services.

Businesses can act on feedback by first analyzing the responses received from the NPS surveys to identify common themes or issues. Then, prioritize the areas for improvement and develop an action plan to address them.

Communicating the feedback-based changes to customers should also be part of your NPS survey. This ensures they know their feedback is taken seriously. This approach can increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, increasing NPS scores.

Continuous monitoring of NPS scores and feedback can help businesses stay on top of their game and improve customer experience continuously.

Are You Ready to Make Your NPS Surveys Perfect?

Conducting NPS surveys is critical to improving customer loyalty and satisfaction. Following the NPS survey best practices outlined in this article, businesses can create effective NPS surveys that provide valuable insights into their customers’ needs and preferences.

With the help of the best survey maker tools like Outgrow, businesses can seamlessly create, conduct, and analyze surveys, making the process much more efficient.

If you want a step-by-step tutorial on how to make effective surveys, feel free to refer to our guide.

Or if you’re ready to create your survey for free, sign up for Outgrow 7-day free trial. If you like it, you can go for a free or paid plan as per your requirement.

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