What Are NPS^® Surveys?

When customers are asked for feedback at key interaction points on the website, they act as an endless source of information. Website surveys give a deeper insight than the statistical evaluation of endless clicks. They provide a forum for suggestions and a channel for deeper customer insights. The results allow companies to create profiles of their customers, accurately identify customer needs, or measure the impact of new products, websites, or experiences.

The most important thing: this does not require endless online questionnaires. Instead of looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack through the use of indiscriminate questions, more and more organizations choose the easy route and rely on NPS surveys. These are based on a metric that provides information on customer loyalty and satisfaction based on a single key figure — the Net Promoter Score.

How Are Online NPS Surveys Built?

NPS surveys follow the „KISS“ principle (Keep It Short and Sweet) and these so-called micro-surveys impress with their short and simple structure. Both companies and participants profit from such an approach. As the survey takes only one to two minutes, it is not particularly time-consuming for the participants and companies benefit from a high number of participants. At the same time, NPS surveys are capable of winning over support from the board and management. They are not only easy to understand, but also require no complicated analysis. Even the choice of words is simple. In the best-case scenario, it is based on the language used by the target group. After all, participation should bring joy and not be an annoying duty.

For Fred Reichheld, the developer of the Net Promoter Score, this is the only important question. Why? His research revealed that the Net Promoter Score is the most effective measurement of customer satisfaction. Only really satisfied customers recommend a product or service to friends or acquaintances. 

The evaluation question is then followed by an open question. Here the customer is asked to justify their choice of score:

What is the most important reason for the review you just gave? 

An empty text field offers the possibility to express praise and criticism in detail. The open question does not follow the evaluation question without reason – customers are more willing to give additional feedback in text form when the question relates to a review they have previously given. Organizations get to know the experiences and thoughts of their customers in more detail. Finally, the Net Promoter Score is calculated from all responses, which can range between +100 and -100 depending on the willingness of the customers to recommend. The NPS survey can also be used to determine employee loyalty. In this case, it is called the ENPs or Employee Net Promoter Score.

How Are NPS Surveys Used?

Many roads lead to Rome – the micro survey can be shared with the customer in different ways. It can be questioned directly in the shop, via email, online questionnaire, SMS, or within a mobile app. In most cases, however, the NPS survey takes place online in the following ways:

• On-Site and In-App

NPS surveys integrated into the website provide a great opportunity to receive real-time feedback. In-app surveys guarantee a particularly high willingness to participate. They usually pop up directly on the users' mobile phones while using the service or product on the website. E-commerce websites, blogs, or magazines can incorporate NPS surveys into individual article pages or the landing page. Even when the survey should appear can be determined. Most popular are so-called exit surveys, which ask the user for their feedback shortly before leaving the website.

• Email


  Another way to assess customer opinions is via email survey. However, companies should be aware that this requires more effort on the customer‘s part: he or she needs to open their email program, read the email, and finally click through to the questionnaire. In our fast-paced society, this can result in users abandoning the process halfway and showing less willingness to participate.

  However, email surveys sent after a certain time interval leads to a much more useful customer evaluation. The customers have had the opportunity to get to know the product or service better due to the time interval between purchase and receiving the link to the survey. This allows them to take a closer look at the product and reflect on their experience. Although in this case, fewer people take part in the survey, their responses are often more detailed.

When Should NPS Surveys Be Sent?

It's all about timing. Not only content but also when it arrives determines the success of an NPS survey. But when is the best moment to ask customers for feedback? A look at the individual stages of the Customer Journey can provide orientation.

Before purchasing a product, a customer usually goes through different stages. In marketing, these stages are also described as touchpoints that a consumer has with a brand, service, or product. This is a good reason to ask the customer multiple times – at the end of each stage – for feedback, increasing the likelihood that it will be given truthfully.

At which touchpoint, that is to say, at what point, should the survey take place? Feedback is often different at each stage. Therefore, the company should, first of all, know what it wants to know from its customer. Anyone who asks their customers about their satisfaction with a product before the end of the ordering process may receive no, or only fictitious feedback.

How does one draw qualitative or quantitative from NPS?

The classic NPS question gives a quantitative result. The customer expresses his willingness to recommend in the form of a number. Most often, the result refers to the company in general. The Net Promoter Score can also be determined for individual company areas, functioning like a magnifying glass, enlarging and illuminating details. Thus, the question at the end of an order process can query satisfaction with the order process, whereas sending the question a few weeks after purchase can provide illuminating information about product satisfaction.

Even with detailed analyses and promising forecasts, the Net Promoter Score is and remains only a number. A number alone does not provide answers to why the customer chose to give a particular score. If companies want to use the NPS as a basis for decision-making and action, the Net Promoter Score alone is not enough.

Hier kommt der zweite Teil der NPS-Umfrage in Spiel, denn mit dem offenen Antwortfeld haben die Teilnehmer die Möglichkeit, ihre Bewertung zu begründen. Die Zusatzfrage räumt Stolpersteine aus dem Weg. Denn mit den qualitativen Antworten wird den Unternehmen der Schlüssel zum weiteren Erfolg quasi auf dem Silbertablett serviert.

This is where the second part of the NPS survey comes into play because the open answer field gives participants the opportunity to justify their evaluation. The supplementary question brings clarity. With qualitative answers, companies are given the keys to success on a silver platter.

The answers provide valuable impulses for almost all areas of the company and help to

• optimize processes and products,
• create new innovation,
• improve customer service and increase customer loyalty,
• detect company crises early on,
• define the strategic orientation for the company,
• avoid erroneous decisions,
• deliver topics for marketing and public relations and therefore
• polish up the corporate image.

How Do NPS Surveys Differ from Ordinary Online Surveys?

Online customer surveys are usually quite broad. If a company still knows little about its customers, such extensive website surveys can provide important basic data. For example, this can be socio-demographic data such as age, gender, or marital status. Surveys can also be used to query the exact requirements, needs, and wishes of their different user groups. This often results in a catalog of questions that should cover many different facets of a company, product, or service in as much detail as possible. However, the bounce rate often grows with the length of the survey. The number of participants is small and because of their size, online surveys are often conducted only annually.

NPS surveys, on the other hand, focus on two key topics. They ask for customer satisfaction and leave recipients free to express praise, criticism, or potential for improvement with the open response field. Because the survey takes place at specific touchpoints, companies also avoid asking customers for feedback in areas where they haven't had any contact points. Due to the brevity, many customers are often willing to take part in the survey. In addition, the survey can be conducted several times a year and the results can be compared at regular intervals. Positive as well as negative developments become more apparent and thus gives the company the chance to react more quickly.

Summary

Compared to traditional website surveys, NPS surveys are simple, fast, and cost-effective. The mini-surveys provide information about customers' willingness to recommend and thus possess a relatively high level of relevance with regard to customer loyalty. Depending on which information a company wants to collect, the micro survey can also be used at different stages of the customer journey. Rather than just asking customers for feedback about the company, more and more companies ask customers to evaluate individual products, their brand, or their performance. The qualitative answers thus obtained can provide valuable input for almost all areas of the company and thus drive change within the organization.