Over the years I’ve found Net Promoter Score (NPS) to be the most valuable metric to consistently track over time. It’s proven to be the best bellwether of future growth for brands with a market cap of billions to independently produced television and film.
Why?
- Anyone in the organization from a part time customer service associate to the CEO can understand that customer satisfaction and retention are the most important metrics for success.
- A numerical score that can be tracked over time from a large segment of your customer base is much more valuable than dribs and drabs of random feedback from social media or website/app analytics.
This video does a nice job of explaining why word of mouth is so important:
For those who aren’t familiar with the metric here is an overview:
Why is the Net Promoter Score an important metric for brands?
The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a metric used to measure customer satisfaction and loyalty. It is a simple and effective way for companies to gauge how likely their customers are to recommend their products or services to others. A high NPS indicates that a brand has a strong reputation and that customers are likely to be repeat buyers and refer others to the brand. This can lead to increased customer retention, sales, and positive word-of-mouth marketing.
How do you measure the Net Promoter Score?
The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is typically measured by asking customers to rate their likelihood of recommending a brand, product, or service to others on a scale of 0 to 10. This rating is then used to classify customers into one of three categories:
- Promoters (9-10 rating) – These are customers who are highly satisfied and likely to recommend the brand to others.
- Passives (7-8 rating) – These are customers who are satisfied but not necessarily enthusiastic about the brand. They may or may not recommend the brand to others.
- Detractors (0-6 rating) – These are customers who are unhappy with the brand and are likely to discourage others from using it.
To calculate the NPS, the percentage of customers who are Promoters is subtracted from the percentage of customers who are Detractors. This results in a score between -100 and 100. A positive score indicates that a brand has more Promoters than Detractors, while a negative score indicates the opposite. A score of 0 means that the number of Promoters and Detractors is equal.
It’s important to note that NPS surveys should be sent to a representative sample of customers and should be done regularly to track the changes in NPS over time.
Which brands have the highest Net Promoter Score (NPS)?
Scores vary across industries but here is a cross section of high scoring companies from a variety of different business categories.
- Apple = 71
- Amazon = 63
- Google = 61
- Netflix = 61
- Zappos = 72
- USAA = 70
- Harley-Davidson = 69
- The Ritz-Carlton = 67
- Nordstrom = 67
- Patagonia = 67
- Publix = 67
- The Four Seasons = 69
- Southwest Airlines = 63, prior to the self inflicted systems meltdown in December of 2022
- Hootsuite = 63
- UPS = 61
- BMW = 60
- Dell = 59
- American Express = 59
- Marriott = 57
- McDonald’s = 55
Here are some companies that have been benchmarked as low scorers:
- Comcast and Time Warner Cable who have been criticized for poor customer service and high prices.
- United Airlines who has struggled with customer service issues and operational problems, leading to a low NPS.
- BP in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, due to the negative impact on the environment and local communities.
- Wells Fargo always scores low due to several scandals involving unethical sales practices.
Reach out to find out more about measuring Net Promoter Score for your brand or business of any size:
Rob Sheard 