What is Net Promoter Score (NPS)?

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is an unbiased way for companies to measure the satisfaction of their customers. It’s used by everyone from budding startups to Fortune 500 companies.

But before we get into the details, let’s talk about what we mean by satisfaction.

Customer satisfaction explained

Customer satisfaction is all about the gap between what your customers expect and what they actually get. In other words, what was the perceived value of the product and did it deliver on those expectations?

For example, if you buy a $2 lightbulb and it stops working after six months, you probably aren’t going to be too surprised or dissatisfied. But if you buy a $100 smart bulb and can’t even connect it to your WiFi network, your satisfaction level would be far lower.

It’s all a matter of being ahead of the curve. Lots of companies will sell the same types of devices that you do. But if you can outperform them on customer satisfaction, you’ll come out on top.

The key question that fuels your NPS

When setting up your NPS survey, this is the question you should ask your customers: “How likely are you to recommend X to a friend or family member?”

This is the question behind every single company’s Net Promoter Score – wherever they are in the world.

Why? Many books have been written on the topic, diving into the rationale and calculation behind the result. This has led the biggest companies in the world to monitor and publish their NPS.

Some companies go a step further by measuring leaders against NPS. After all, marketing, support, and product all have an influence on brand recognition. In these scenarios, NPS puts a pin on a product’s perceived value and can be the difference between someone getting promoted or losing their job.

Ready to hear more? Learn how NPS is calculated and how to follow and segment your results.