The average level of the nps index in grocery retail. Sales management. Calculation of the NPS index

(Net Promoter Score) - an indicator of the commitment of buyers to a product / service / company. It is used to assess readiness for repeat purchases. It is also called the readiness to recommend index. You can learn how to work with NPS on,.

The Buyer Loyalty Index represents helps to evaluate and understand how to increase the degree of customer loyalty.

The consequences of insufficient efforts in this direction are deplorable:

  • The average check is declining
  • Decreasing LTV (buyer value)
  • New products do not arouse interest among buyers, as there is no understanding of the portrait target audience,
  • The indicator of "dump" of buyers is growing.

As a result, all this will lead to a noticeable drop in sales and, as a result, a decrease in profits. To prevent this from happening, you must:

  • Measure the loyalty index monthly,
  • To be interested in the opinion of consumers about the company and the product,
  • Categorize customer references,
  • Collect feedback from satisfied supporters (promoters) and critics (detractors).

Customer loyalty index: how to measure

The NPS index is measured using a survey of your current customers. Ask them a simple question: “On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to recommend us to your family/friends/acquaintances?”

Use this question also as an opportunity to get recommendations. To do this, ask one more question in an open form: “What needs to be done so that next time you give us 10 points?”

Remember that recommendations should also be asked from those who “rated” the company’s work by 10 points. 100% supporters can always have bright ideas to improve the product. Just in gratitude, because they are pleased with you, and you inspire them.

To conduct a survey, you can combine several channels to get as much information as possible:

  • calling on the current base;
  • form on the site;
  • survey in the office;
  • survey in a social network;
  • survey partners if you use their network to sell your product.

Customer Loyalty Index: How to Calculate

To calculate the loyalty index, divide all respondents into 3 groups depending on the rating they gave you.

1. Critics or dissatisfied (detractors) - buyers who put you from "0" to "6" points. They won't recommend you to anyone. Don't even hope.

2. Neutral or passive - people who gave you a "7" or "8" rating. In general, they are satisfied. But they won't recommend it. You just didn't get them. Work with them purposefully. And they will promote you.

3. Supporters or promoters (promoters) - this group is completely loyal to you and puts you 9-10 points. Listen carefully. Cherish their trust.

Now let's calculate the actual NPS indicator itself using the formula:

NPS = (Number of supporters / overall volume respondents) - (number of critics / total number of respondents)

Customer loyalty index: what does the result mean

There is a classification of loyalty indices, according to which you can classify your business into 1 of 3 categories.

5-10% NPS is a rather low loyalty indicator. A company with such a loyalty index practically does not develop. And is about to fall victim to competition and the market.

45% NPS is a good indicator. He says that the business is growing and successfully competing, although it is not the industry leader. To improve NPS, here you don’t even need to protect the positions you have won, but move forward, increasing the number of loyal customers.

50-80% of NPS are market leaders. Buyers are ready to return to them again and again. Such companies have excellent potential for further growth. But don't rest on your laurels.

Of course, this classification is quite approximate and one must also take into account the specifics of the industry. Here are a few examples of "normal" indicators for business areas.

  • Communications / telecommunications - 25%
  • Car sales - 60%
  • Insurance — 35%
  • Banks - 25%
  • Shops and supermarkets - 50%
  • Internet trading - 20%
  • Restaurants, cafes - 20%
  • Construction/renovation - 15%
  • Health care/private clinics - 10%
  • Training/consulting — 40%

Customer Loyalty Index: how to manage

Measurements and calculations of the customer loyalty index should be optimal and carried out with a high degree of expediency. Be guided by 4 principles.

Fast reaction. Measure NPS based on the results of a marketing campaign, improvement, new product introduction, etc.

Follow the trends. All recommendations must be typed. Study the portrait of the target audience whose reviews fell into one category. What do you see? Maybe you notice that the older generation tends to criticize? Or is this group of buyers expecting better service?

Change plans. In any normal business there is road map plans for marketing and improving points of contact. If the trends that were identified as a result of the analysis of the recommendations of the respondents did not coincide with your development intentions, correct immediately.

Literally 2-3 days ago, I was simply indignant at the incompetence of a journalist from the Irkutsk branch of Komsomolskaya Pravda when placing ads on their website.

And now, when I have calmed down, my emotions have subsided, I understand that I will never again turn to them myself, but I will not advise my friends either. But maybe that's a good thing!

Because I am writing this article about the nps customer loyalty index, which should save you from stupid mistakes of your employees and help you make money.

The tool is extremely cunning, atypical for the Russian market and therefore no less interesting. After all, whoever uses new technologies first wins the competition.

I understood you

Brief background

We have in marketing consulting there is a coffee shop. The owner has money and we are slowly investing it in advertising and marketing.

Recently, a journalist from the Irkutsk branch of Komsomolskaya Pravda called the manager and offered to place an advertising article on their website in the section “Where to go on February 14th”.

The cost was only 3,000 rubles, and almost 50,000 people a month. We considered it a profitable investment and agreed with pleasure.


Declaration example

A journalist came, we talked about the coffee house, its advantages, showed everything we could, gave all the contacts, pictures and everything you need to create a professional and selling article.

Problems began immediately after receiving the money. The apotheosis of all this was the release of our article without any contacts, links to the site and other things (for the sake of which, in fact, everything was started).

When I pointed out all these oversights, they didn’t even ask for forgiveness, but simply said that it was the site’s editor’s fault and “if possible, we will fix everything.” Believe it or not, they fixed it as soon as I demanded the money back.

Why am I all this?

Moreover, the unprofessional actions of one journalist reduced the nps loyalty index to this publication by a couple of points. And this is despite the fact that the advertising market is now falling anyway, and they would cling to every client.

But, most likely, you have not even come across such a concept as the nps index, how it is considered, what it shows and how much it affects your money. However, many of you have seen similar pictures on websites or in.


Collecting Feedback

Remember the last time you called your customers a month or even 2 after the purchase (when the emotions from the purchase had already subsided) with one question:

You must answer on a 10-point scale, where 0 is “I will never recommend it to anyone”, and 10 is a Definitely recommend”.

Most likely never. But this is a very important index, but, unfortunately, very rarely used in Russia. As long as they only resort to it large companies who understand that there are no trifles in business.

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Calculation instruction

So, let's move on to the calculation steps themselves. NPS index(Net Promoter Score/Customer Satisfaction Index).

Step 1 - Conduct a Survey

The first step is to interview at least 30-50 customers. There are many options for conducting a survey. I will now describe a few of them.

Telephone survey. You are already doing well and are collecting contacts of your customers? And form them into a single client base?

For those who are still “in the tank” and are just gathering their thoughts, I wrote an article about and about what is most important in it and how not to miss anything.

Important. The survey must be conducted by a completely independent person. Or "Service Director". I don't know why, but as soon as people hear this phrase, the truth starts pouring out of them.

Questionnaires for clients. Here, as an example, the basics for the questionnaire -. Use it as a technical task for a designer, design it in your corporate style.

Online survey. Alternatively, you can use special services that create online surveys with answers that you simply fill out.

Leave the calculations to the service, it will do it automatically. It is very convenient and saves a lot of time.
For example, SurveyMonkey can help you with this.


Online survey service

And all because now you can conduct such surveys (the functionality now allows) right on the sites social networks where people feel much more comfortable and are more willing to answer you.

How exactly you will conduct the survey is up to you. Choose the method that is most convenient for you and suitable for your niche.

Important. In no case do not give any clues to the respondents, otherwise you will simply kill the entire survey.

Step 2 - commit the results

No matter how good your memory is, record all the results. It's one thing when you call 5 clients and remember everything in detail, another when there are already more than 100 of them.

Ideally, if you add all this information to the client card in your CRM system, but excel or notepad will also work.

Step 3 - Divide the interviewees

All customers you interview should be divided into 3 categories. Very soon you will find out why this is necessary, but for now, ruthlessly share:

  1. 9-10 - promoters or supporters, that is, people who like your product / company / brand and are ready to recommend it to their friends and acquaintances;
  2. 7-8 are neutrals, in other words, your passive clients. They are satisfied with everything, but they are not ready to recommend you;
  3. 0-6 - critics, that is, those people who are not satisfied with your product or company and will not recommend it to their friends.

Poll results

Each promoter is guaranteed to bring one to your business additional client. You can be completely sure of this.

A critic, on the contrary, will take up to 4 clients out of your business. Moreover, it does not matter at all what he answered in the survey (0 or 6), if he fell into the category of critics - this is very, very bad for your business.

Especially in the era of the Internet, when news, and even more so complaints, scatter faster speed Sveta.

Step 5 - Calculate NPS

The final stage is the calculation of the loyalty index itself. There is a simple formula for this:

NPS formula

That's all. Now you know the nps customer loyalty index in your company. And as I already wrote, in Russia, few people measure this index. And very in vain.

For example, in the USA this is done by any more or less self-respecting company. And it’s no coincidence, because according to Stanford University research, the higher the company’s NPS (that is, the closer it is to 100), the more successfully it will develop.

And this is quite logical - the success of any company directly depends on the loyalty of its customers, or, to use the Russian proverb: “Do it right, it will be fine!”.

The best part is that it doesn't matter who your customer is to calculate this index. Whether you sell him shawarma at the train station or supply equipment for rockets for $15 million.

The system is completely universal and works for any company, be it b2b or services, and maybe even b2c.

Bonus

I think you know such a person as. Of course, because in Russia Igor Mann has long been associated with the word “marketing”.

And not so long ago, we interviewed the number 1 marketer in Russia (although the Federal Antimonopoly Service forbade him to be called that). Among the first free ways to increase sales, Igor named the consumer loyalty index.

What is most surprising, it turned out that the measurement of this indicator has a positive effect on sales not in a delayed moment, but what is called here and now.

That is, people begin to remember you and, accordingly, make repeated purchases.

Now for the shocking details. Imagine a car service. Pretty good and clean. There are 10 boxes, which measures the NPS index. Nonsense? It can not be? What for!?

But our client from Komsomolsk-on-Amur does not consider this nonsense and unnecessary action. What's more, he found that after each phone survey, they sign up about 7-8 clients for their services.

Here's a free tool to increase sales that you've obviously never used.

Briefly about the main

In order for the information to be fixed for you better, I suggest you watch a short video on this topic.

Summing up, what can I advise you? Conduct a survey to find out the consumer loyalty index in your company,

  • If it is above 50, then, in principle, everything is not bad in your company, but there is always room for growth;
  • If it is below 50, then urgently start investing in customer focus.

And here is an example: Vimpelcom (aka Beeline) systematically monitors the level of NPS.

So why am I, in 2014, the customer loyalty index in the company turned out to be the lowest in their entire history.

But, thanks to the timely measures taken, they were able not only to restore the level of NPS, but also to make it the highest among the big three players cellular communication(“Megafon”, “MTS” and “Beeline”).

P.s. And by the way, since I am now in the category of critics of the Irkutsk branch of Komsomolskaya Pravda, I should, in theory, steal 4 clients (present or future) from them.

You see, the management will see this article and come to their senses that it does not matter how much money the client brings in the first transaction, 3,000 or 30,000 rubles. The only thing that matters is whether he becomes loyal after that or not.

Measuring customer loyalty

What is Net Promoter Score (NPS)?

"NPS" is an abbreviation for Net Promoter Score, which can literally be translated as "Net Promoter Index". The NPS methodology as a tool for measuring customer loyalty was proposed in 2003 by Fred Reicheld in the Harvard Business Review. With the goal of identifying which metrics are most associated with customer loyalty, Fred Reicheld analyzed massive amounts of data and came to the conclusion that the willingness to recommend a company to friends and acquaintances is most strongly correlated with actual loyalty. The NPS methodology he created is based precisely on the willingness to recommend a company as the only indicator of loyalty.

For several years of its existence, this technique has gained wide popularity in the world due to its simplicity and operational efficiency. Based on NPS measurements, accepted management decisions, branches open and close, bonuses are paid or not paid, etc.

How is the NPS index calculated?

The essence of the methodology for measuring customer loyalty in the NPS model is quite simple. It is built on the basis of two main questions asked by the company's customers (see the diagram above). Moreover, it is fundamentally important to ask current customers, and not former or potential ones. The first and main question is: “How likely is it that you will recommend company X to your friends/acquaintances”? The client rates on a scale from 0 to 10, where 10 means “definitely recommend”, and 0 means “definitely do not recommend”. Further, based on the answers, customers are divided into three groups:

  • "Promoters" (originally "promoters") - those who scored 9 and 10. According to Reicheld, these are customers who are highly loyal to the company and are very likely to recommend it to their friends.
  • "Neutrals" (in the original "passive clients") - who gave ratings of 7 and 8. They are considered "passive" clients who are not only very ready to recommend the company, but not very dissatisfied with it either.
  • "Criticists" (in the original "detractors") - who gave ratings from 0 to 6 - dissatisfied customers who would rather not recommend the Company to their friends/acquaintances, and, moreover, may even “advise” to use its services.

Actually, the NPS index itself is calculated as the difference between the percentage of "promoters" and "critics" and shows the level of customer loyalty. The final value can vary from -100 (if 100% of the company's customers are "critics") to +100% (if all customers are "promoters").

In addition to the NPS index itself, the question is also asked about the reasons for the assessment in order to identify the main drivers and barriers to loyalty. This question can be either open or closed in the form of scale ratings on several parameters.

Net Promoter Score) - an index for determining the commitment of consumers to a product or company (readiness to recommend index), is used to assess readiness for repeat purchases.

Measuring the NPS Loyalty Index involves several steps.

  1. Consumers are asked to answer the question “What is the probability that you will recommend the company/product/brand to your friends/acquaintances/colleagues?” on an 11-point scale, where 0 corresponds to the answer "I will not recommend in any case", and 10 - "I definitely recommend".
  2. Based on the ratings obtained, all consumers are divided into 3 groups: 9-10 points - supporters (promoters) of the product / brand, 7-8 points - neutral consumers, 0-6 points - critics (detractors).
  3. Direct calculation of the NPS index. NPS = % Supporters - % Critics.

Story

The founder of the method is Frederick Reicheld, who first announced it in the article The One Number You Need to Grow, published in the Harvard Business Review in December 2003. In 2006, he released a book called The Ultimate Question: Driving Good Profits and True Growth, which Russian market known as The Book of Real Profits and Real Growth (2007). In it, he continued his discourse on loyalty, profitability, and company growth.

In 2001, Reicheld conducted a study of more than 400 American companies, where the main task was to measure the impact of customer loyalty (measured by NPS) on its growth rates. The main result was that the market average NPS across industries was 16%, but companies like eBay and Amazon had an NPS of 75%. Reicheld does not say that communication is present everywhere, it is absent at all in monopolistic markets. However, industries such as passenger air travel, insurance and car rentals have become a prime example of interconnectedness. These companies are service companies, where customer satisfaction and loyalty depend on the level of customer service.

Many companies have become adherents of this technology, including GE, Allianz, P&G, Intuit, Apple, American Express, Philips, eBay, Amazon, etc. In the Russian market, this technology is used by such companies as BestDoctor, Rostelecom, Ozon, AlfaStrakhovanie Insurance Group, Krasny Kub, Megafon North-West, MTS, 1C-Bitrix, ROSNO, MIAN, TELE2, Home Credit Bank, QIWI and others.

Research on the Russian market

Research using this technology is carried out by many research agencies in Russia and abroad.

Customer loyalty assessment using the NPS index can be used in various industries: IT, finance, construction, etc. In Russia, the NPS index is actively used by banks and insurance companies in their work.

AT banking this approach to assessing loyalty is particularly common. [ ] Some companies take measurements themselves, for example using a feedback tablet. There are organizations that prefer to hire independent experts to carry out the assessment. NPS for the banking market can be calculated both for the main bank (which is determined by the clients themselves), and for all banks whose services are used by consumers. [ ] In 2016, a survey of users of Russian banks was conducted in Russia, which showed that the average NPS value for the main bank is 44 points, and for all banks used by Russian customers, the NPS value is much lower - 30 points (the survey was conducted Analytical center NAFI). [

Most companies are overly focused on growing customers and growing profits. However, it is very important to understand the fact that it is like fishing with a holey net. It seems that you managed to "catch" a lot of fish, but as a result you are left with nothing.

Customer retention is not the goal, but consumer loyalty to the company is. The problem is that this indicator is very difficult to measure, as it is not quantitative. Fortunately, there is a blueprint to help you meet customer needs and build long-term, rewarding relationships with them. In addition, you will be able to predict their loyalty to your brand.

This article will focus on the basic concepts associated with such an indicator as the consumer loyalty index (NPS, Net Promoter Score). You'll learn how a simple one-question survey can help you measure your customer satisfaction. You will learn how to start using and further apply this indicator in your marketing campaigns.

Loyalty measurement methodology

The founder of the NPS measurement methodology is Frederik Reicheld. His research was published in the Harvard Business Review in an article titled "One Number You need to Grow." In it, Reicheld criticized traditional customer satisfaction surveys. He said that all of them do not allow "to keep abreast" and assess how happy the buyers are.

As a result, Reicheld and his colleagues developed a simplified schema that linked consumer responses and behavior.

At the heart of measuring the consumer loyalty index is the belief that loyalty is nothing more than a person’s willingness to contact a company again and, more importantly, recommend a product or company to their friends. This indicator is defined very simply. We will talk about this now.

How to conduct a survey

So, NPS is an index that measures the desire of a consumer to recommend your company's products or services to their friends. To calculate it, you need to ask customers two questions:

  1. On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to recommend a product (service) of our company to your friends or colleagues?
  2. What exactly influenced your answer?

Next, you need to create a survey and send it to your customers. Typically, these questionnaires are sent to e-mail, via SMS, offer in the form or ask by phone. Ideally, the survey should be completed in less than 24 hours.

Once your clients have answered both questions, you will need to divide them into the following categories based on their rating:

  • 9-10: Brand Adherents (Promoters). They value your company's products and tend to recommend them to their friends and associates. They also often make repeat purchases. These customers are the most valuable.
  • 7-8: Neutral consumers (Passives). They don't spread negative reviews about your company, but if someone makes them more profitable proposition- refuse your services. Such customers do not often recommend you to their friends.
  • 0-6: Critics (Detractors). They are unhappy with the quality of your company's products or services and want to ruin your reputation by spreading negative reviews.

How to calculate NPS?

Based on the audience segmentation data (see previous section), the consumer loyalty index can be calculated using a simple formula:

NPS = (% Brand Adherents) - (% Critics)

The value you get will be between -100 and 100. If the consumer loyalty index is 100, this means that absolutely all of your customers are fans of your brand ( best case scenario). If this indicator is -100, then on the contrary, all your customers criticize you (worst case scenario).

Why is it worth tracking the consumer loyalty index?

Periodic tracking of the consumer loyalty index is necessary, since this indicator:

  • easy to understand - this system very easy to understand and adapt to your company;
  • easy to calculate - the survey is very short, and your customers will be able to quickly and easily answer the proposed questions;
  • gives feedback having practical value;
  • helps identify target segment audience (if you combine the information received with);
  • will allow you to develop a plan to improve products or services;
  • will help build a "customer cult" in your company - each department will be aimed at building long and fruitful relationships with customers;
  • gives you competitive advantages- the conclusions drawn on the basis of the NPS analysis will allow you to make decisions quickly, while your competitors will have to spend several months on it;
  • is available for any business - conducting such surveys will not greatly affect the budget, and you will be able to "keep your finger on the pulse" of consumer sentiment.

Using the NPS Score to Grow Your Company

1. Sustainable growth and customer retention

  • Extensive research has shown that NPS is one of the top indicators of growth. If it is higher than that of competitors, this means that your company has a larger market share.
  • According to a Gartner study, 65% of start-up companies already have a ready-made customer base. Attracting new customers costs 5 times more than retaining old ones. The Customer Loyalty Score is an affordable way to measure customer satisfaction and retention.
  • NPS can be used as a development metric to turn a company's current growth into sustainable growth.

2. Sales management

  • The consumer satisfaction index can be used to make decisions about the company's product itself.
  • NPS allows you to properly prioritize based on . They can get feedback very quickly and make changes to the marketing process.

3. Marketing

  • Verizon research has shown that 85% of new customers come to small companies thanks to. Keeping your NPS high will help you reach more customers without spending money on advertising and marketing campaigns.
  • The Consumer Loyalty Index helps marketers measure the mood and opinions of customers, and then give feedback to all team members. Thus, all departments of the company will be able to work more harmoniously in order to achieve one common goal - customer satisfaction.
  • NPS, combined with analytics tools, can help you predict consumer behavior and create so-called behavioral patterns.

4. Employee potential management

  • A customer loyalty score can help you determine the satisfaction level of your employees. This is especially important for companies operating in the service sector.
  • NPS can also be used to select a new vector corporate culture. In addition, with the help of this indicator, you can find out the opinion of your employees about the new corporate policy.

5. General KPIs and reporting

  • You can use NPS as the only customer satisfaction metric. To do this, the indicator must be measured on an ongoing basis and quarterly reports should be made. This will help you get meaningful insights and build a long-term plan for the development of the company.
  • If you link NPS with financial statements, then you can draw a conclusion about the general state of development of the company. For example, if profits are rising and NPS is declining, then this is an alarming sign regarding the long-term development prospects.

6. Benefits of the consumer loyalty index

  • Increasing profits per customer: Brand loyalists tend to spend more on the company's products and services than the average customer.
  • Reducing ongoing costs: Brand adherents are tolerant and tolerant of problems that arise in the company, so they are less likely to complain. This helps to reduce maintenance costs. In addition, loyal customers decrease as they spread positive feedback.
  • Churn reduction: By reducing the number of neutral customers and critics, you can reduce customer churn.
  • Motivation for employees: all departments of the company will work together to achieve a common goal.

Increasing customer lifecycle value

Only 14% of customers stop using the company's services because they are not satisfied with the quality of service or the product itself. 69% of consumers stop using a company because they feel like they've been forgotten.

Most dissatisfied customers will never come to complain directly. They will just leave silently and then start leaving negative reviews online. That's why it's so important to keep "connected" with your customers at all times.

Continuous measurement of NPS will allow you to identify those customers who:

  • are going to refuse the services of the company;
  • ready to act as “advocates” of the brand;
  • see any shortcomings in your product or services, but do not talk about them.

With this valuable information, you can prevent.

When to conduct a survey?

Often, the effectiveness of an NPS campaign is not about how you ask questions, but when you ask them. Here are a few "right things":

1. After potential client took advantage of the free test period (Post Free Trial). If the trial period has expired and the customer does not want to purchase the paid version, then this is an indication that he is interested, but not yet sufficiently involved in the purchase process. Why not ask him to give you feedback to find out what went wrong.

2. Before the client finally refuses the services of the company (Exit Survey). The price is a repulsive factor for a person only when he does not see the value of the product. If a client decides to break off their relationship with a company after having already used their services for a while, this means that you are doing something wrong. Instead of just letting him go, you can re-engage him by asking him to take a survey. Even if that client leaves anyway, you can learn valuable insights.

Criteria for evaluating the consumer loyalty index

You can't draw objective conclusions just by looking at your customer loyalty score. It is necessary to take into account the position of the company in the chosen business area. For example, a large store may have an NPS of 30, but it will still be the worst in the market. At the same time, the telecommunications company's NPS will be 32, and it will be the leader among competitors.

What factors influence the NPS evaluation criteria? How do you know if your customer loyalty score is good? First of all, there are three factors that affect the criteria for evaluating the consumer loyalty index:

1. Level of competition

If you are in a highly competitive industry such as insurance, banking, or medical service, then the average NPS indicator will be considered normal. But if your company only covers a small segment of the market (such as electric cars or wireless headphones), then you need to make sure that your NPS is high enough. This will be an indicator that your offer is unique and that your customers perceive your brand positively.

Optimal NPS for different areas businesses: banking (0), auto insurance (22), health and life insurance (27), airlines (36), tourism (38), hotels (43), online shopping (45), online services (48).

2. Tolerance

Customer tolerance is another key factor, which defines the NPS evaluation criteria. This is due to the fact that people are peremptory about how good the product or service they use regularly is.

To visualize how this factor affects NPS, you need to give an example. Verizon's Consumer Loyalty Index is 38, which may seem like a very average value, but this company occupies one of the leading positions in the market. By comparison, their competitors (AT&T and MediaCom) have scores of 15 and 22. This low score is not due to the company's lack of quality service. This means that these firms operate in a highly competitive environment where customers are absolutely unwilling to tolerate even minor "errors" in the quality of service.

3. Obstacles

Usually, a person cannot afford to improve ("upgrade") the purchased product or start using the services of another company without certain financial losses. Thus, in order to appear consistent in their decisions, the client prefers to remain committed to the same brand.

SaaS companies face this problem all the time. To become a client of one of these firms, you need to deposit a certain amount, so it is very difficult for a business to retain its customers and maintain their loyalty. In this regard, the NPS indicator of SaaS companies is kept at “below average” levels.

What is considered a good indicator of NPS?

So, there is no quantitative indicator that can be called good, since this value varies depending on what kind of business you are in. But there are a few questions that you can ask yourself to understand how high your consumer loyalty index is:

  1. Is my NPS higher than my direct competitors? If yes, then this is a good indicator. However, this is not enough to consider your business successful.
  2. Is my NPS going up? If after 3-6 months the consumer loyalty index has grown, then this is a good indicator.
  3. Is my NPS above zero? If your NPS is -50, which is higher than your competitors, then don't jump to conclusions. Such a low NPS is a sign that your customers are not satisfied.

It must be remembered that the consumer loyalty index should not be taken literally. Most companies are simply obsessed with growth rates and do everything possible and impossible to make performance indicators grow. NPS is not a quantitative metric. It is rather a qualitative indicator that gives you food for thought.

In general, while NPS claims to be the new standard for measuring customer satisfaction and loyalty, it has been criticized for its simplicity. Some experts claim that the index does not give an accurate picture of how satisfied a company's customers are. For example, they highlight the fact that companies with the same NPS may have different percentages of adherents, neutral consumers, and detractors. Therefore, entrepreneurs need to focus not on the indicator itself, but on what these numbers tell them.

What to do after measuring NPS

This section will summarize the goals of measuring the loyalty index and will also close the customer feedback loop. This inclusive strategy will give you consistent growth and keep track of customer churn.

1. Critics: Make a Personal Touch

According to a study by Lee Resources, 70% of clients are ready to use the services of the company again if an unpleasant situation is resolved in their favor. Your goal here is to show your customers that you care.

Most companies believe that the category of customers called "critics" is impossible to convince. However, this is not at all the case. In fact, those customers who want to end their relationship with the company and spread negative reviews are the future adherents of your brand. They just want you to pay attention to them and solve their problem.

Perhaps emails with questions about possible problems and ways to solve them will help you regain lost customers, for example:

  • What would you like to do with our product but can't?
  • Could you formulate an ideal solution to your problem that would completely satisfy you?
  • If you had a magic wand, what changes would you make to the product?

Once you receive feedback, you can take the following actions to keep your customers:

  • provide them with instructions (if your product has the desired function);
  • extend the trial period and give access to premium features;
  • offer any third-party service that would help solve their problem.

By offering solutions to problems, you can turn critics into brand followers.

2. Passive Consumers: Engage Before They Leave

Passive customers are a very interesting category of customers: they don't love your product, but they don't hate it either. It seems that they are just waiting for something good or bad to happen in order to make a specific decision.

However, passive consumers are not inclined to respond to open questions and give business owners feedback. For example, Zendesk found that only 37% of this customer category responded to a survey. While 50% of critics and 55% of the company's supporters share their opinion about the company's services with pleasure.

It seems like passive consumers can't ruin your brand's reputation. But they, like critics, are more likely to refuse your services. Here are the steps you can take to keep these customers:

  • By offering discounts or upgrades, you can re-engage passive consumers in the buying cycle.
  • Send them introductory user guides: they may not be involved in the purchase process due to an unfavorable first impression, as a result of which they never return to the site. You can periodically send them various brochures that tell them about the latest releases or new features of your product.

3. Brand Adherents: Show Your Appreciation

Brand loyalists are, without a doubt, ideal clients for any company. But most firms take them for granted in vain. They make no attempt to reward or thank those customers who bring them the most income.

Undoubtedly, gratitude will help strengthen your relationship with this category of buyers, and will also contribute to the development of the company.
Here is what you can do for this:

According to statistics, the average share of people responding to an NPS survey is 60%. Thus, each company will have at least 40% of those customers who did not answer the questionnaire. Surprisingly, according to several studies, this category of customers is more likely than others to refuse the services of your company in the future.

In fact, you're more likely to re-engage a critic than you are to convince a customer who didn't take the survey. If no action is taken, then usually 40-70% of these people stop contacting the company within the next 6 months.

The only way to interest them is the methods described above. The same tactics are suitable for them as for critics and indifferent consumers.

Conclusion

Gathering information about how customers feel about your brand is an integral part of a long-term growth perspective. Of course, the consumer loyalty index has its drawbacks, but they can be overcome through the active implementation of effective metrics.