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What is NPS Detractor? & How to Turn NPS Detractors to Promoters

Fasna Savad

27 March 2024

10 min read

In customer feedback, the voices of NPS detractors are often as significant, if not more so, than those of the promoters. Surprised? Consider this common scenario encountered in the product review sections of countless online marketplaces:

“This product is a complete disappointment!”

Chances are, you’ve stumbled upon this type of review more often than you’d like. It’s a clear signal from a disgruntled customer, warning others of potential pitfalls.

Now, contrast that with the much rarer:

“This product exceeded my expectations!”

Positive reviews, while heartening, are less frequently encountered. The reality is stark: customers are inherently more motivated to share their experiences when they skew negative, eager to alert their peers about the slightest issue. This dynamic amplifies the weight of negative feedback, making every detractor’s voice a critical piece of the customer satisfaction puzzle.

So, the million-dollar question arises: Do companies effectively harness the potential to transform these NPS detractors into promoters?

The unfortunate answer is often no. But understanding the ‘why’ and ‘how’ could be the first step in turning the tide.

Welcome to “What is NPS Detractors & How to Turn NPS Detractors into Promoters” — a deep dive into the significance of detractors in the Net Promoter Score (NPS) metric and strategic insights on converting these critics into your most fervent supporters.

But first, let me introduce you to an NPS Survey question.

NPS Survey Template

 

What is an NPS Detractor?

Net Promoter Score (NPS) detractors are respondents in an NPS survey who give a score from 0 to 6. The NPS is a widely used market research metric that companies use to gauge the loyalty of their customer relationships.

It is based on a single question: “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our company/product/service to a friend or colleague?”

Respondents are categorized into three groups:

  • Promoters (score 9-10): They will likely exhibit value-creating behaviors, such as buying more, remaining customers for longer, and making more positive referrals to other potential customers.
  • Passives (score 7-8): They are satisfied with your service but not happy enough to be considered promoters. They are vulnerable to competitive offerings.
  • Detractors (score 0-6): They are unhappy customers who can damage your brand and impede growth through negative word-of-mouth.

nps-scale

 

Detractors are seen as customers who are not likely to purchase again and may even dissuade potential customers from buying from you due to their negative feedback and perceptions. Understanding and analyzing the feedback from detractors is crucial for any business looking to improve its products, services, and customer experience.

How to Identify Your NPS Detractors?

Identifying your Net Promoter Score (NPS) detractors is a straightforward process that involves collecting and analyzing customer feedback through the NPS survey. Here’s how you can identify your NPS detractors effectively:

1. Conduct an NPS Survey

Start by asking your customers the classic NPS question: “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our company/product/service to a friend or colleague?”

This question is the foundation of the NPS system and is designed to gauge the customer’s loyalty to your brand.

Why use NPS

Get Access to the free NPS Survey Template.

2. Categorize the Responses

Once you’ve collected the responses, categorize your customers based on their ratings:

  • Promoters are those who responded with a score of 9 or 10. They’re your most enthusiastic and loyal customers.
  • Passives are those who gave a score of 7 or 8. They’re satisfied but not enthusiastic customers who are vulnerable to competitive offerings.
  • Detractors are those who responded with a score from 0 to 6. These customers are unhappy with your product or service and are less likely to make repeat purchases. They could potentially damage your brand through negative word-of-mouth.

net-promoter-score-voice-of-the-customer-framework

3. Calculate Your NPS

Although not necessary for identifying detractors, calculating your overall NPS can provide context. Subtract the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters. This score can range from -100 (if every customer is a detractor) to 100 (if every customer is a promoter).

NPS Calculation:

NPS Score = % of Promoters – % of Detractors

4. Analyze Detractor Feedback

Identifying your detractors is just the first step. You need to understand why these customers are dissatisfied to improve your NPS. Analyze their feedback for common themes and issues. This could be done through follow-up questions in the survey or through direct outreach to those who have given low scores.

5. Take Action

Use the insights gained from detractor feedback to make targeted improvements to your products, services, or customer experience. This can help reduce the number of detractors and potentially convert some into promoters or passives.

Best Practices

  1. Ensure Anonymity: Guaranteeing respondent anonymity can encourage more honest and constructive feedback.
  2. Frequency: Regularly conduct NPS surveys to keep a pulse on customer sentiment and track the effectiveness of your improvement efforts.
  3. Follow-Up: Consider reaching out to detractors for more in-depth conversations about their experiences and suggestions for improvement.

net-promoter-score-best-practices

By systematically identifying your NPS detractors and understanding the reasons behind their scores, you can address issues, improve customer satisfaction, and convert detractors into promoters.

Why Should You Turn NPS Detractors into NPS Promotors

Turning NPS detractors into promoters isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a strategic move with tangible benefits. So, why should you focus on making this shift? Let’s break it down in a way that feels a bit more like we’re chatting over coffee:

1. Boosting Your Brand’s Reputation

Imagine someone spreading not-so-great stories about your brand. That’s your detractors. Now, picture turning those stories into rave reviews. That’s the magic of converting detractors into promoters. Positive word-of-mouth is gold in today’s market, and promoters are your most enthusiastic brand advocates. They don’t just bring in good vibes but new customers.

2. Reducing Churn

Detractors are on the edge, ready to jump ship at the next best offer. By addressing their concerns and turning their experience around, you’re not just saving a customer but building loyalty. And loyal customers? They stick around, reducing your churn rate and increasing the lifetime value of each customer.

3. Enhanced Product and Service Insights

Detractors often provide the most insightful feedback because they highlight what’s not working. By listening to them and making changes, you’re not just converting a detractor into a promoter but upgrading your offerings based on real user feedback. It’s like crowdsourcing your R&D, but better, because it’s from the folks who cared enough to tell you what’s up.

4. Financial Upside

Here’s the deal: acquiring a new customer is anywhere from 5 to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one. By turning a detractor into a promoter, you’re securing a customer who is more likely to buy more and stay longer. This means better financial performance for your business without the hefty acquisition costs.

5. Creating a Feedback Loop Culture

When you actively work on converting detractors to promoters, you foster a culture that values feedback and continuous improvement. This mindset can permeate your organization, leading to products, services, and experiences constantly evolving to meet and exceed customer expectations.

6. Competitive Edge

In a world where customers are bombarded with choices, your ability to listen, adapt, and improve based on customer feedback can set you apart. It’s not just about having a superior product anymore; it’s about your superior experience. Turning detractors into promoters shows you’re a brand that cares and listens, giving you a competitive edge.

So, there you have it. Working on converting your detractors isn’t just about damage control; it’s a strategic move that can enhance your brand’s reputation, improve your offerings, reduce churn, and drive your business’s financial health. Plus, it’s just good karma. Who doesn’t love a comeback story, especially when it’s about someone turning their less-than-stellar experience into a reason to sing your praises?

Ok, So here’s the deal…

Looking to turn those frowns upside down? Say hello to SurveySparrow, your go-to NPS tool for flipping detractors into your biggest fans. With our super engaging surveys and sharp analytics, you’re not just collecting feedback; you’re having a heart-to-heart with your customers.

 

So, let’s chat and understand what ticks them off and, more importantly, how we can make it right. Together with SurveySparrow, let’s make every piece of feedback your secret weapon to winning hearts and driving growth. Ready to transform your customer experience from meh to wow?

5 Steps To Turn NPS Detractors Into NPS Promoters

Promoters are your loyal customers, always prefer your brand over your competitors, and constantly contribute to your overall revenue and reputation.

So, how do you convert those detractors to your loyal customers?

1. Encourage Your Customers To Give Feedback

Companies often forget to collect customer feedback, and at other times, they are too scared of the results. Just because there isn’t any negative feedback doesn’t mean your products are all good. You haven’t found the customers who are dissatisfied with the products.

Try collecting feedback through a less irritating channel. Instead of pestering them with long, boring questions and a form that takes years to load, rely on good survey software. Forward the survey forms at appropriate touch points and seriously consider the reviews.

The more you are enthusiastic about what customer thinks, the more they feel valued.

Consider customer satisfaction surveys a need for your business, and don’t conduct them just for your namesake. With perfectly targeted questions, you can easily understand the areas where you fail to impact your customers and then act on them to improve your services.

2. Be Active And Respond Immediately

Whenever you receive a complaint, respond to it as quickly as possible. Never let the customer wait. Even if it’s an email or a comment on your social media channels, ask the representatives to take quick action by connecting with the customers and attending to their needs.

Customers would like to get some attention and feel great when their efforts find fruit. So don’t let the comment sit unanswered on your social media platform for hours. Remember, the world is watching. If you fail to tend to the angry customer, you would quickly lose a customer and gain a negative reputation.

At times, the representatives may not be able to tackle the issue.

Say it’s a technical issue. The representatives may not be well versed in the queries or problems the customer is facing. In that case, let the customer know you have looped in the product developers and promise them a deadline.

3. Be Empathetic: Don’t Always Rely On Chatbots

It’s great to have chatbots on your website! However, when a customer is desperate and needs immediate answers, the pre-recorded messages will not do any good.

Be empathetic and always have a human touch to your conversations with them. Let the customers know if your representatives aren’t available during a particular time. Ask them to leave a message and promise that your representatives will get back in touch as soon as they are available.

4. Accept The Mistake And Evolve

Never commit a mistake twice. For example, if a customer contacts you with some glitch in your software, ensure that future customers don’t experience the same.

The software keeps on crashing!

There’s some glitch in the software I can’t complete my payment. The app closes automatically!

The crux of both these comments is the same. Think how much harm it can cause your brand if these messages or different variants keep on accumulating on your social media channels.

The surveys you conducted open up a plethora of ways in which you can better your services. However, all your efforts go to waste if you aren’t keen enough to look into your customers’ queries.

5. Deliver The Promises You Make

Never make promises you can’t deliver!

Stay true to your word and never give your customers false hopes. Those NPS detractors are already agitated; you don’t want to warm up them more.

If you promised the issue would be solved in two days, try to stick to it. If not, let the customers know you require time and share your progress. This way, they would see that you are taking some action and valuing their opinion.

Wrapping Up…

NPS detractors aren’t your brand’s enemies!

The faster you realize this, the better.

The road to delivering a WOW experience takes extreme patience and constant improvement. The detractors help you with the improvement factor by pointing out what needs attention.

Start by converting the not-so-good reviews to good ones. Then, consider the good ones and work on your product to deliver the WOW experience that would even make the passives your NPS promoters.

I know it’s easier said than done.

But now you know where to start and what to focus on. Baby steps to success!

Read More…

What is NPS

NPS, or Net Promoter Score, is simply a metric used to gauge a customer’s loyalty to the brand. You can easily measure the score with the help of an NPS survey and analyze it later to find the current NPS score of your brand. While the NPS survey may contain many questions, the most important and the must-have question is:

On a scale of 1 to 10, How likely are you to recommend our products to your friends/peers?

Based on the score they selected, the respondents are categorized into three:

Promoters are customers who answered with a score of 9 or 10 and are loyal to your brand.

Passives are the ones who responded with a score of 7 or 8. They are satisfied with your products but not too happy to be the promoters of your brand.

Detractors have responded with a score of 0 to 6, and they are unhappy with your service or product. Unfortunately, these customers often leave those negative reviews to alert their fellow customers of their unpleasant experiences with your company.

Who Are Detractors

Detractors are customers who care about your brand just like the promoters, but the main difference is the former isn’t satisfied or marveled by your product. They are currently quite dissatisfied with your product and are reaching out to you in ways possible, hoping they get a good experience from your side at some point.

But why should you care?

If the number of detractors exceeds the number of promoters, your NPS score becomes negative, and this would repel customers in the future. Further, the higher the churn rate, the less the revenue generated.

Detractors Vs. Passives

Passives are customers who buy your product out of habit or because their peers suggested so. They aren’t exactly interested in your product or don’t have a concern to help you improve.

With that said, passives aren’t dissatisfied with your products. They aren’t just happy enough to recommend it to their friends. In short, they are “just satisfied” with your products, and you couldn’t deliver the WOW experience they expected.

On the other hand, detractors care about your product. They were calm enough to leave a review (even if negative) in the hopes that you might hear their call and sort out the issue ASAP. These customers know their rights and expect only the best. With the right push, you can instill a sense of satisfaction and convert them to promoters.

So why care about detractors more than passives? You may ask.

It’s easy to turn a bad experience into a good one. All you need to do is rectify the problems that the detractors mentioned. But it takes extra effort and patience to turn the excellent experience into a WOW moment. Further, you don’t precisely know what area your passives have problems with.

With that said, you should value your passives, but make sure you take care of the detractors before, as it might be too late when you finally have time for them. As we all know, bad news spreads faster than good news!

Fasna Savad

Full-time introvert with a dash of spontaneity and at times, A writer!

fasna

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