What are the best practices for increasing NPS among detractors and passives?

Listening to feedback is crucial for converting detractors and passives into promoters, thus boosting your Net Promoter Score (NPS). Start by actively soliciting feedback through surveys, interviews, and feedback forms. When a detractor voices a concern, acknowledge their issue promptly and empathetically. For instance, if a student mentions that learning materials are outdated, thank them for their input and inform them about the steps to update the curriculum. Similarly, if a passive user suggests more flexible scheduling, show appreciation and explain any forthcoming changes or pilot programs. By acting on feedback and communicating improvements, you demonstrate that you value their opinions, turning dissatisfaction into loyalty.

You're piloting a software that's the backbone of many businesses. Despite its robust features, you notice a segment of users—your detractors and passives—aren't fully satisfied. You launch a feedback initiative, sending out surveys with open-ended questions directly through the platform and via email. As responses flow in, you dive into the data, discovering that while your core functionalities are hitting the mark, some users find the interface non-intuitive and the customer support response times slower than expected. Armed with this insight, you prioritize enhancements: revamping the user interface for better navigation and beefing up your customer support with more hands on deck and training for quicker, more effective resolutions.

A high NPS is meaningless if customers don't buy or if the cost of delivering a great experience is too high. The key is to understand what NPS means for your business. Analyze the relationship between NPS, feedback, business KPIs, and external factors (such as market conditions and competition). This analysis will help identify whether issues lie in experience delivery, the sales funnel, the business model, or external factors.

There are two key ways to get value from feedback 1) Process it empirically - not just qualitatively 2) Leverage past verbatims to anticipate and act proactively on your NPS, rather than waiting for the score to drop (then wondering why). Apply Narrative Analytics to historical NPS verbatims, and you will identify drivers that disproportionally impact advocacy vs detraction. Suppose "impolite repair service" verbatims explains 60% of your detractor problem. From that point, you listen for "impolite service" proactively through research or customer service channels, and nip it in the bud when it blips - rather than waiting for your score to drop. Listening via Narrative Analytics enables proactive management of NPS performance.

Listening to the feedback is important, but not easy task. Generally speaking analyzing feedbacks from customers for mid / big enterprise may require processing of thousands feedbacks on a weekly basis. Reading every feedback one-by-one quite often is not possible in real operation. By obtaining customers' feedbacks in massive ways it is important to understand main pain points (tags) in the feedbacks and associate with the given score, thus to monitor and control overall situation with your brand. It can be done ny aggregating the feedbacks in order to extract the most used words given in the feedbacks.

Acting on feedback boosts NPS by converting detractors and passives into promoters. Start by collecting and analyzing feedback through surveys and direct channels. Address common issues promptly—if users complain about slow response times, implement a faster ticketing system. Inform those who provided feedback about the changes and thank them. This shows their input is valued and builds trust. Personalize follow-ups, such as sending a tailored email after updating a feature based on their suggestions, explaining the improvements, and inviting them to test it. This approach demonstrates commitment and fosters loyalty.

First, you analyze the surveys and support tickets, identifying a common thread: the need for more intuitive navigation and faster customer support response times. Seeing these as actionable insights, you set your team on a path to refine the user interface for ease of use and to streamline support processes for efficiency. Once these improvements are in place, you don't just stop there. You reach out directly to those who voiced their concerns, sharing the specific steps taken to address their feedback and inviting them to see the changes for themselves. This isn't merely a notification; it's a conversation, showing your commitment to not just hearing but truly listening to your users.

Turning passives and detractors into promoters is crucial. Closing the loop individually with customers is ideal if resources allow. However, it's important to study the background of each NPS group, including purchase history, CLV, and segment. Detractors might be loyal customers who recently faced a problem and will be delighted if their issue is resolved. From my experience, the most concerning group is the non-respondents. Their lack of response indicates a lack of engagement and attachment to your brand, which requires immediate attention.

from my perspective - many users, when they are giving their feedbacks within the NPS survey, are expecting the reaction from the company. By other words - users are using NPS survey as a complaint channel to express their concerns. It is crucial to split feedbacks between those that help to understand overall trend and those which require real response and an action. Typically it is done with ML tecniques by anchor words identification. Splitting all your feedbacks between "general" and "used to complain" help you to increase loyalty of your users and keep NPS improved.

To segment and target customers effectively for improving NPS, start by analyzing your customer base to identify distinct groups based on behavior, feedback, and demographics. For example, categorize detractors who are unhappy with specific aspects like customer service or product quality. Tailor interventions for each segment: offer personalized support and solutions to address their specific pain points. For passives, provide incentives or enhanced features to increase engagement and satisfaction. By targeting these segments with relevant strategies, you address their unique needs and increase the likelihood of converting them into promoters.

This meticulous segmentation reveals distinct clusters: a group of high-value users frustrated by specific features, and another segment of passives indifferent due to a lack of awareness about your platform's full capabilities. Armed with this insight, you launch targeted campaigns: for the high-value users, a series of webinars showcasing upcoming feature improvements directly addressing their feedback; for the passives, a personalised email series highlighting underused features that could transform their workflow.

To engage and educate customers effectively, focus on personalized communication and proactive support. For instance, if a customer expresses frustration with a product feature, promptly address their concern through a tailored email or call, providing step-by-step guidance or resources that clarify the issue. Host webinars or create video tutorials that address common questions or challenges, ensuring these are easily accessible. By actively listening and providing clear, helpful information, you not only resolve immediate concerns but also build trust, turning detractors into advocates and boosting your Net Promoter Score (NPS).

You start with a monthly newsletter, "The Insider," packed with tips, user success stories, and sneak peeks at upcoming features. Then, you launch a webinar series, "Mastering the Platform," where users can learn directly from product experts and ask questions in real-time. Additionally, you produce short, informative videos on tackling common challenges and maximising new features, making them easily accessible within your app and on social media. This concerted effort is to enrich your users' understanding and application of your product. This will foster a deeper connection with your platform.

What we do at Routine is that we systematically close the loop. This includes users providing feedback on the product, but also users taking the time to answer surveys (NPS, PMF, testimonials). We link all feedback to feature requests and bug reports and come back to the users when those get developed. Users are extremely happy to know that not only their feedback was taken into account but also that the team took the time to get back to them to let them know.

You start by sending personalised thank-you notes to users who've taken the time to provide feedback or refer new customers, acknowledging their contribution and the difference it makes. You roll out a referral program, rewarding both the referrer and the new customer with credits towards their subscription, and a loyalty program that offers exclusive early access to new features and beta tests to your most engaged users. As word spreads, customers begin to feel a renewed sense of belonging and appreciation. They're not just users of a platform; they're vital members of a growing community whose voices are heard and valued.

To boost NPS, actively appreciating and rewarding customers is crucial. Start by acknowledging their loyalty with personalized thank-you notes or exclusive offers. For instance, if a customer has provided valuable feedback or made repeated purchases, send them a handwritten note or a discount coupon as a token of appreciation. Additionally, create a rewards program that offers points or perks for referrals or continued engagement. For example, a customer who refers a friend could receive a discount on their next purchase. By making customers feel valued and recognized, you enhance their overall experience, turning passives into promoters and mitigating detractors' dissatisfaction.

There is potential risk with rewarding your customers that has to be avoided. One of the big CX conferences I met a company with NPS 80. They were clear - they ask their customers to promote the services to friends and to get a voucher as a reward for the promotion. It clearly led to growth of NPS, as answer "9-10" would give them 5 EUR voucher. I would recommend including customer in the process of quality improvement and reward them for it, rather than rewarding for NPS participation or responses. Though it can be combined - after NPS response for passives (or promoters) there can be a program proposed "to improve quality / performance together" - to make customer feeling involved in the improvement processes.

Be cautious when comparing your NPS with industry benchmarks and competitors. Generally, a score above 0 is good, above 20 is favorable, above 50 is excellent, and above 80 is world-class. However, this can vary significantly across cultures and industries. NPS scores are influenced by when and how you measure them and the survey questions used. Since the methodology behind publicly available scores is often unknown, comparing them with competitors can be unreliable. Best approach is to rely on your own progress.