Misunderstanding Reichheld's "one number you need to grow" paper has led a lot of teams to build one-question NPS surveys. But they don't collect enough information to enable change. Drawing on hundreds of NPS survey designs across B2B and B2C, here are the elements of an effective NPS survey: one that tracks where you are and shows you how to improve.
When skeptical executives ask whether NPS actually moves revenue, vague assertions don't help. Here's a running collection of public case studies, B2B and B2C, with the hard numbers, for the next time you need proof in the room.
What is a good survey response rate is the wrong question. What matters is whether you've got enough responses to draw a conclusion, and that's a different number for every situation. Here's how to calculate the response rate you actually need.
Skip the reminder and response rate drops 33%. Use an image-only survey link and it drops another 43%. Use a department in the "from" field and there goes another 43%. Fix those three things and you can lift response rates by 500%. Here's the complete guide to maximising survey response rate, with every detail mapped, calculation, contact data, pre-notification, invite copy, and timing.
Who invented it? What's a good score? Can you do it on a 5-point scale? Every question about NPS the textbooks gloss over, answered in plain English, including the ones that keep getting the wrong answer in LinkedIn posts.
Most companies can run a Net Promoter Score programme themselves. The hard part is starting one. Here is what an outside consultant is actually for, what it costs you in executive time rather than fees, and the cases where we tell people to do it in-house.
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