THE REAL NATURE OF THE NET PROMOTER SCORE

The Net Promoter Score detects the positive (and free) word of mouth rate that your brand generates

According to a recent research of Digitas LBi, customers trust more recommendations of friends and colleagues rather than reviews of bloggers and influencers. In Italy 36% vs 21%.

The real health condition of your Brand is measured by the number of promoters. In other words, those “fanatics” of your brand who respond to the question “How likely is it that you would recommend our Brand X, to friends and colleagues, based on a 0 to 10 scale?” with a score of 9 or 10Net Promoter Score is calculated by subtracting the percentage of customers who are detractors (those who respond with a score of 0 to 6) from the percentage of customers who are promoters. The result measures the positive word of mouth rate generated by “shopping recommendations” between friends and colleagues.

Temkin-con-sfondoThe table shows the average Net Promoter Score of many industries in the United States (source: Temkin Group, collection of data: last quarter 2014). It would be very interesting to understand whether your brand is above or below the average of your industry, in other words whether your company is able to attract investments.

In order to boost the number of promoters, it’s necessary to hear their voice and engage them in the construction of a superior customer experience. The ultimate goal is to offer an outstanding experience to all customers not only at the time of shopping but also when the product/service purchased is used. Usually all promoters are both enthusiastic, deep experts and demanding clients, they pretend to have an experience consistent or superior to their high expectations.

The data reported in the research of Digitas LBi lead to the conclusion that it’s necessary to invest for real on the customer experience. Specifically, investments on communication “influence the influencers” more than the real customer who is seduced above all by the enthusiasm for a brand of a friend or a colleague considered a credible and reliable testimonial.

This is the real nature of each promoter: the enthusiasm that infects everyone. The promoter recommends something not only when asked for advice, but passionately talks about her favorite Brand and its recent developments on every occasion, appropriately or “inappropriately”. This vibrant enthusiasm infects everyone. The promoter is not able to avoid to tell friends and colleagues her recent purchase or the last news regarding her favorite brand. Whether it is a scooter, a formal dress, an houseware, a perfume, an airline, a restaurant or an insurance company, the promoter will talk about it. And she will speak well about it and gratis! It’s exactly the word “gratis” (from Latin: grateful, thankful) that describes really well the nature of each promoter. Furthermore, it’s better to trust somebody that communicates something for free rather than somebody who is paid to deliver a message!