What are some similarities that brands with high NPS have?

Some of the biggest names in business today use the Net Promoter Score (NPS) system to understand what their customers think. They use this information to improve what they do and the experience of their customers. This in turn helps to grow their business. 

This is because they know that listening to their customers will save them money. Keeping your existing customers happy and with your business can help ensure your ongoing success because acquiring new customers is six times more expensive than retaining existing ones. Using NPS can help gain the necessary insights into what your customers think to help increase retention.

So how do you ensure a high NPS? Understanding what these high scoring companies have in common will give you insights into what you can implement into your own business to help increase your score.

What do companies with high NPS have in common? 

1. Easy to use, easy to understand product

Your customers want to be able to pick up your product or sign in to your service and almost intuitively know how to use it. Services like Amazon don’t come with an instruction manual but working out how to navigate the platform feels almost instinctive. Don’t overcomplicate things. If there is an industry-standard or process customers are used to, use that. Better yet, make that process easier. 

Designing your product to suit the user helps ensure a good NPS as your customers are more likely to enjoy interacting with it. Ease of use helps customers see the value in what you’re offering, leading to more satisfied customers and a higher NPS.

2. Great customer service

Your NPS is not just related to your actual product or service. 70% of the customer's experience is based on how they feel they are being treated (McKinsey), so ensuring good customer service is imperative. Netflix knows this, which is why they ensure their customers can get hold of a real person when they reach out with questions.

One great place to start improving your customers’ experience is through personalization. Asking and using your customers’ names during your interactions can increase their likelihood to purchase by 75% (Retently). Next, listening to feedback from customers can give you insights into where you can (or need to) improve customer service. Starbucks implemented this by asking customers for suggestions via their app, some of which made it onto the menu!

3. User-friendly online experience

Your customers’ experience also includes how they interact with your business online. Often they will turn to online platforms to answer questions or to seek help. By gathering data on what they are generally looking for you can make their experience effortless.

Businesses like Netflix have created a knowledge base with answers to frequently asked questions to allow users to find answers on their own, without having to wait to speak to a person. Another solution is to create chatbot functionality that can solve common queries. This can feed complicated issues on to a customer service agent that is briefed with the relevant data already provided by the customer. This can speed up finding solutions and prevent the customer from repeating themselves. 

4. They constantly innovate according to consumer needs

Great brands don’t stand still. They are always on the lookout for ways to improve customer experience. By listening to what your customers want, don’t want and what they think, you can discover ways to innovate what you offer to meet their needs in new and surprising ways. 

Netflix began as a DVD sales and rental business via the mail. Then they pivoted to an online streaming platform. And now they’re in the content creation business. The leaders of the organization could see that consumer needs were changing and they innovated on their business model to continue to provide entertainment, regardless of how it was delivered.

5. Consistency 

Once you’ve created a great customer experience, it needs to be consistently maintained over time. Roughly 50% of customers say they would switch to a new brand after one bad experience (Zendesk) so if you’re only occasionally providing exceptional customer service, you’re likely to lose customers.

They’ll also begin to expect great service once they’ve begun to regularly receive it. Customers know that when they log into Amazon, whether they’re on the app, a phone, tablet or laptop, they’ll get the same, easy-to-navigate platform. They’ll also be able to access all their data of past, saved and recommended products from anywhere.

Conclusion:

Across a diverse range of product offerings, there are similarities in businesses that continue to receive high NPS. This generally involves making sure you’re providing great customer service online and offline as well as consistently improving your product and your service levels. 

Putting your customers at the core of your business can help you understand how to create a better customer experience. Using a tool like AskNicely’s customer feedback software can help you gather feedback from your customers to better understand what you’re doing well and the areas you can improve on. Using this data you can continuously improve their experience and grow your business.