Top 3 Reasons why most NPS programs miss the mark in delivering business outcomes

The NPS program lacks insight into what exactly drives customer experiences	The NPS program lacks the tools to turn data into actions at the frontline	The NPS program is not empowered with stakeholders

Reason 1: The NPS program lacks insight into what exactly drives customer experiences

An NPS score by itself is a ship without a compass or map. It will move over time but maybe not in the intended direction. Without effective insight into what drives customer experiences, the NPS program is navigating blind. Customer Experience teams might pour resources into sending out surveys, receiving Net Promoter Scores and reporting across their organisation, however, deeper context given by an effectively designed and insights-backed NPS drivers these results it harder to extract a sustainable return on investment from the NPS program.

The ideal NPS program will identify and track drivers and that map the story behind their movements. This empowers CX teams with the understanding of why their NPS is moving, and how they can best impact it. The more effective drivers are at explaining what creates promoters, the better the business can achieve customer experience outcomes.

A lack of understanding of what drives NPS is a problem that needs to be addressed from both qualitative and quantitative perspectives.

Qualitatively, NPS programs with strong text analytics allow a story to be revealed about why detractors or promoters are being created. It gives a customer-centric view of the final statistic and highlights hidden pain points. The most effective NPS programs will reveal problems in the qualitative data before they are reflected in scores or statistics. It will be well before customers become detractors and create churn.

A quantitative understanding of NPS drivers is equally important. For an NPS program to excel, additional driver questions built around aspects of the customer experience create insight into what is most important for driving advocacy. A strong NPS program will build correlation models around NPS and driver statistics to determine how effective specific drivers are at explaining NPS. This understanding will create data-informed business decisions to improve overall customer advocacy.

Reason 2: The NPS program lacks the tools to turn data into actions at the frontline

There is a big difference between raw customer data and data backed with ‘Why’. NPS programs without the proper tools don’t lead to action. In order to create actionable insights, the data must be relevant in the context of the person actioning it. Further, it should be timely and simple to understand.

Insight tools such as a well-designed dashboard, prescriptive workflows, callback queues and contextual visualisations are compelling to the very busy frontline teams. They naturally create action, turning raw data into stories that can effectively guide decisions and deliver positive business outcomes. Our clients use a variety of tools from email notifications to complex real-time pivot tables to decipher the constant influx of customer experience data.

Different NPS tools are necessary for different stakeholders and organisational levels. Frontline staff should be empowered to close the CX loop with tools to address individual customer responses effectively. While the C-suite and regional managers need a birds-eye view that still reveals pain points and up-to-the-minute insights. These tools are a necessary part of a strong NPS program to create actionable insights and strong business outcomes.

Reason 3: The NPS program is not empowered with stakeholders

CX teams with the most successful NPS programs and business outcomes will have an evangelistic approach to it throughout their organisational hierarchy. From frontline managers to the C-suite, these businesses have deeply engaged with their customers and in understanding the experience they deliver. They are in tune with their customer’s needs, wants and know what turns Detractors into Promoters.

When companies make their NPS a core part of their operational strategy at all levels, they see strong business results. At a high level, we see success when companies empower cross-silo Customer Experience teams with access to C-Suite decision-makers. On a granular level success happens when frontline managers and staff integrate NPS insights into their daily operating rhythms. They see how their actions on the floor create promoters or detractors, and the impact these have on their day-to-day business. Some of our clients have NPS built into their individual performance metrics, others have their NPS dashboard set as their homepage, and others have whiteboards in the team room tracking their NPS. All these actions bring NPS to the heart of business operations. The goal of these actions is to promote a culture that is CX-first and brings real business outcomes that are lasting and marketing-making. To empower the NPS program with stakeholders, a CX Champion role or a team had created across levels of operation. It should have the power to break down silos that impact customer experience. Placing these evangelists in key positions will reinforce the customer-centric view of business necessary to get great results from an NPS program.

Get in touch if you would like to understand how your NPS has powered up to drive business impact.

Read more:

Different types of NPS – why and when to use them

3 Key Focus Points to Increase NPS post-COVID-19