How many of you have been asked to complete a survey before? Did you actually fill it out? Were you honest with your answers?
Many times companies and organizations are looking for feedback to help improve their customer service, programming, or overall customer experience. However, there is really only one question on any survey that provides the most value to any business. This question reveals the likelihood of a referral. Period.
You see, when it comes right down to it, at the end of the day our success is ultimately measured by how referable we are. We can think that everyone is our customer so that number seems almost limitless, but in reality there are three variables that say otherwise:
- Negative reviews and experiences travel much faster than good ones do.
- Customers are people, and people buy from people who happen to represent a company – enter the “know, like, and trust” factor.
- And is everyone or anyone really our ideal customer?
The Net Promoter Score (NPS) “is based on the fundamental perspective that every company’s customers can be divided into three categories: Promoters, Passives, and Detractors” according to The Net Promoter Community. On a scale from 1-10, Promoters are the highest with a score of a 9 or 10. These are the customers who WILL refer you! Passives fall in the 7-8 range. Passives are relatively happy with their experience with you, but can and will be swayed by a competitor. Customers who fall below 7 are Detractors and will NEVER refer you due to their negative experience.
The lesson here? While surveys are great tools to help improve business, knowing how referable you are is the linchpin that drives future growth.
Keep it simple.
