Net Promoter Score Criticism
Written by Support EXP
Net Promoter Score (NPS)® is a one-question customer loyalty metric often touted as the “one metric you need to know.”
In marketing, it’s easy to see customers as numbers on a page—one more piece in a reasonably predictable algorithm. Behind all the statistics and percentages, however, consumers are real people, and their behaviors are complex and impossible to fully capture in one number.
While metrics and surveys can identify general trends, they can’t paint a complete picture or predict customer behaviors with absolute certainty.
While NPS can certainly help create a broad picture of customer satisfaction, it creates problems when companies treat the metric as the definitive benchmark.
Key Takeaways:
- NPS is not the single source of truth for evaluating CX.
- NPS can be easy to manipulate, contradictory, unactionable, and lagging behind actual CX.
- NPS still provides value despite its criticism.
Problems with Net Promoter Score
Net Promoter Score criticism comes from a few main areas. Here are some of the significant NPS disadvantages:
Easy to Manipulate
Because NPS is based on a 0–10 numerical score, it’s easy to accidentally or intentionally skew the results. “Gaming the system” can be as simple as telling customers to give a 9 or 10 if service was good, implying that jobs or employee reviews depend on a higher score, or even using graphics and face-to-face methods to deliver the survey (customers are less likely to criticize in person).
Contrary to Personal Experience
Many executives criticize Net Promoter Score because it doesn’t seem to reflect their own experiences. Customers who answer 7 or 8 (classified as “Passive” in the NPS system) might recommend the company to others, while a customer who answered a 9 might be tight-lipped about their experiences.
It Doesn’t Translate to Action
Detractors rate their customer experience at a 6 or below. These people are the ones who likely did not have a good experience and who might even warn others about your company.
Lagging Indicator
By nature, NPS reports after the fact, meaning that it lags behind actual customer experience. If you’re making changes to improve the score, you won’t see those changes reflected in your ratings immediately.
Net Promoter Score Alternatives
While NPS can be a valuable tool for understanding customer loyalty, you can address common Net Promoter Score criticisms by using additional metrics. Here are a few options:
Customer Effort/Ease of Use
The Customer Effort/Ease of Use metric asks customers how easy it was to deal with your company. This specific survey question can help you pinpoint friction points in your customer journeys.
Customer Satisfaction
This survey question is similar to NPS, but instead of asking how likely customers are to recommend your brand, it simply asks them how satisfied they were with their experience. Typically, customers answer on a scale of 1–5.
Customer Journey Mapping
Customer journey mapping creates an expansive visual “map” of each stop on the customer journey, helping you visualize each interaction from the customer’s point of view. While this metric is more involved than other single-question surveys, it can be a helpful way to immerse yourself in the experience of potential customers.
Predictive/Prescriptive Analytics
Predictive analytics use past customer experience and company performance data to predict future sales and satisfaction trends. Prescriptive analytics use these models to recommend action based on expected future events. This method can use the data from various surveys, including NPS, to help create a more comprehensive picture of future issues and opportunities.
Is Net Promoter Score Criticism Justified?
Ultimately, no single metric will be able to predict the complexities of human behavior perfectly.
NPS is a valuable indicator that can help you understand when you need to make changes, but it doesn’t tell you what changes to make or where to apply them.
Instead, to be genuinely effective, the Net Promoter Score should be used alongside other metrics to create a comprehensive plan for future change.
To truly address the concerns of the people purchasing your products, you’ll need to adopt a complete strategy, of which NPS is just one part.
Have More Questions? Reach Out to Our Team Of Experts
Net Promoter®, NPS®, NPS Prism®, and the NPS-related emoticons are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., Satmetrix Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld.