NPS - Much more than a number

Listening carefully to customers is of course fundamental to the success of any business. But ensuring that everyone at all levels of an organisation is eager to obtain and act on all feedback, including negative, remains an evergreen challenge for most leaders.

Around ten years ago, we implemented the Net Promoter Score (NPS) methodology as our ‘listening device’ for customers. Although many Fortune 500 companies now use NPS, the concept was relatively new back then - we were one of the first Australian companies to introduce it.

NPS was right for us because we believe the simple question of whether someone would refer us to family or friends is a fundamental one, and why. The answers to these two basic questions determine if we have delivered a customer experience of which we can be proud. In a digital age that amplifies promotion of good and bad experiences but also ignores geography, the question only becomes more relevant.

Like all new things, there was a considerable amount of resistance within our group at first. The feeling from some was that we were overstepping the mark, that the right to ask a client how they experienced the service they received was owned by the franchisee, not the franchisor. We were also concerned that buyers would be reluctant to give positive feedback - after all, if we have done our job well, they will have paid more than they wanted to!

We quickly found that the greatest challenge was to encourage our members to use the results of the surveys as a development tool rather than a marketing tool. Whilst we have introduced new avenues of recognition for customer experience, we also know that the program produces the best impact when leaders of businesses use all feedback to both praise the delivery of 10/10 experiences and identify opportunities to improve. It’s no surprise then that in our largest and fastest growing businesses, sales meetings always start with a review of their NPS feedback.

Over the past decade, the learnings of the NPS program have been immense. It has reinforced those areas of service we knew were important, especially around timeliness and transparency of communication. Equally, it highlighted areas that we didn’t appreciate were important to the whole experience, such as pre-settlement services. The program has also confirmed to us that what was considered great service just a few years ago will need to improve to be seen as great this year.

There will always be critics of the NPS methodology. Of course, no algorithm is perfect and the temptation to ‘game’ any system to improve results can be too tempting for some. Many prefer other more commonly used star-rating survey systems, that seek positive reinforcement from the general public in the form of glowing reviews rather than the learnings NPS delivers.

Used well, NPS is a listening tool that our best leaders use to create an environment that inspires their team to deliver great experiences. It’s a basis upon which to build a business that stands for something. Its impact cannot be trivialised. It’s so much more than two questions.

Dan White