Beyond NPS: Turning Passives into Promoters

In today's world, happy customers aren't just a nice-to-have, they're a MUST-HAVE. Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a secret weapon for figuring out how much your customers love you.

Not the reality show kind of love.

I mean the really real kind of love.

What is NPS anyway?

Think of it this way: I ask you, "On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend [your company/product] to a friend?"

• 0-6? You're a Detractor. You're not happy and might even trash-talk us. Ouch.

• 7-8? You're a Passive. You're okay, but easily swayed by the competition. These are the hidden danger! They're satisfied enough for now, but a little extra push from a competitor could easily lose them.

• 9-10? You're a Promoter! You're a loyal fan who spreads the good word.

It's easy to ignore the passives, but don't!

Why should you care about this number?

• Loyalty is key: Promoters stick with you, spend more, and bring in their friends.

• Growth machine: High NPS means more customers, more revenue, and less money spent on finding new ones.

• Actionable insights: NPS isn't just a number; it's a conversation starter. "Why did you give us that score?" helps us understand what we're doing right and wrong.

• Benchmarking: See how you stack up against your competitors. Are you a leader, or lagging behind?

• Customer-centric decisions: NPS keeps the customer at the heart of everything you do.

But here's the thing: Passives are the fence sitters. They're content, but easily swayed. A competitor with a slightly better deal, a more personalised touch, or a slicker marketing campaign could easily steal them away.

How do you use this though?

• Analyze feedback: What are the common themes? Are customers raving about our fast shipping, but complaining about our customer support?

• Segment your data: Are certain customer groups happier than others? This helps us tailor our strategies.

• Fix the problems: Reach out to detractors and passives and find out what went wrong. Show them you care and try to win them back.

• Reward your Promoters: Encourage them to leave reviews, share their love on social media, or even participate in referral programs.

• Make NPS part of your company culture: This is a not a one team job, everyone in your company should be focused on making customers happy.

Imagine you're a coffee shop. You notice your NPS is hovering around the neutral zone. After digging into the feedback, you find many customers are passives. They enjoy their coffee, but feel the atmosphere is a bit bland and the Wi-Fi is unreliable.

Instead of just focusing on attracting new customers, you decide to win back those passives. You invest in some stylish new decor, upgrade the Wi-Fi, and start offering live music on weekends. You also introduce a loyalty program that rewards repeat customers with free drinks.

The result? More Passives become Promoters, word-of-mouth spreads, and your coffee shop becomes the go-to spot in the neighborhood.

Taking your meh customers to promoters

The bottom line: NPS is more than just a number; it's a roadmap to building a loyal customer base and hitting your business goals. Don't underestimate the power of turning Passives into Promoters. It's a more efficient and cost-effective strategy than constantly chasing new customers.