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Net Promoter Score (NPS)

2003
  • Fred Reichheld
  • Bain & Company
  • Satmetrix

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a widely used market research metric that measures customer loyalty and their willingness to engage in word-of-mouth marketing. It is based on a single survey question: “How likely is it that you would recommend our company/product/service to a friend or colleague?” The score is calculated as the percentage of “Promoters” minus the percentage of “Detractors.”

The Net Promoter Score is calculated based on responses to a 0-10 scale question. Respondents are grouped into three categories: “Promoters” (score 9-10) are loyal enthusiasts who will keep buying and refer others, fueling growth. “Passives” (score 7-8) are satisfied but unenthusiastic customers who are vulnerable to competitive offerings. “Detractors” (score 0-6) are unhappy customers who can damage the brand and impede growth through negative word-of-mouth. The final NPS score is calculated by subtracting the percentage of Detractors from the percentage of Promoters. The resulting score can range from -100 (if every customer is a Detractor) to +100 (if every customer is a Promoter).

The simplicity of NPS is both its greatest strength and a point of criticism. Proponents argue that it provides a simple, easily understood metric that can be tracked over time and benchmarked against competitors. It focuses organizations on the crucial task of creating more Promoters and fewer Detractors. Critics, however, argue that a single question oversimplifies the complexity of customer loyalty and that the score lacks deep diagnostic power without follow-up qualitative questions to understand the “why” behind the score. Despite these criticisms, its ease of implementation and intuitive nature have led to its widespread adoption as a key performance indicator for customer-centric companies.

UNESCO Nomenclature: 3301
– Economics

Type

Abstract System

Disruption

Substantial

Usage

Widespread Use

Precursors

  • Customer satisfaction surveys (CSAT)
  • Customer Effort Score (CES) methodologies
  • Loyalty program development
  • Market research principles

Applications

  • customer experience management
  • measuring customer loyalty across industries
  • linking customer satisfaction to business growth
  • employee engagement measurement (eNPS)
  • product development feedback

Patents:

NA

Potential Innovations Ideas

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Related to: net promoter score, nps, customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, word-of-mouth, market research, fred reichheld, customer experience

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