There’s so much noise out there in the market, including the marketplace for business-to-business (B2B) software. Most of that noise is coming from a major player—the National Public Services Marketing Association (NPSMA)—and they seem to be popping up everywhere trying to make their mark on the industry, both big and small.
The article below provides a short but comprehensive overview of how NPSMA conducts its survey tactics, what their data actually reveals about businesses, and how you can avoid some common pitfalls when conducting your future surveys. This guide covers everything from deciding what data collection method to use with your clients and customers, to analyzing your results afterward for those extra insights.
What NPS is and how to calculate it
NPS is a consumer satisfaction survey meant to measure customer experience. Its intent is not to rate the usability of a product but rather to provide a measure of how it’s working for the people who are actually using it.
So, in order to calculate an NPS score for your website or software product, you’ll need to have implemented that product on your website/software’s customers’ computers/devices and they’ll need to have engaged in one or more forms of web browsing (or some other form of online activity). You’ll also need to ask them both if they’ve enjoyed their experience so far and, if so, what aspects of it they liked (or disliked) and why.
Why is useful to conduct NPS continuously?
NPS results give you immediate feedback on how your customers and clients view your product or website experience. It also makes it easy to adjust your strategy or product without having to wait for another survey period to come around again in a couple of months.
As a business leader, you need to be able to react immediately when there’s something wrong with the experience you’re providing. If you were using surveys that were only conducted once a quarter, for example, by the time you got the results from that survey and reacted accordingly, it could easily have been too late in some cases.
NPS surveys help you find room for improvement
Of course, being able to take advantage of NPS surveys on a regular basis can be very beneficial for your business. You’re able to quickly identify trends that need attention and make decisions accordingly.
You’ll also be able to use the information gained from NPS results to gauge how your competitors are doing. Many companies recognize that it’s in their best interest to keep an eye out for what their competition is doing in order to learn from it and avoid mistakes.
NPS measures customer loyalty
It is a metric of overall satisfaction with a company’s products or services. In other words, it is the percentage of customers who would recommend their company to others. This metric can be applied across industries and helps companies make better business decisions.
While NPS has become an industry standard, there are many questions surrounding how to implement it accurately in organizations. There are best practices that can help you understand what your NPS score means and how to improve it over time.
NPS can be used as a referral marketing channel
Companies use NPS as a referral marketing channel by collecting and analyzing their customer feedback. Then, they send that feedback to their customers and encourage them to share their experiences with their contacts. This practice is called Net Promoter System (NPSS).
The ultimate goal of the NPSS is for companies to generate referrals by encouraging customers to share positive behavior in the form of recommendations, social media posts, and online reviews.
Aside from using NPS as a referral marketing channel, companies also use it as an internal quality indicator. By sharing the results with teams inside an organization, management can better understand what aspects of their work need improvement.
The bottom line
NPS helps companies improve their products and services, understand which customers are most loyal, and choose the best marketing campaign.
