A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption to our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider to our business. He is a part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us the opportunity to do so.
–Mahatma Gandhi
By now, you’ve probably heard the term Net Promoter Score (NPS). It’s a system that focuses on the answer to one simple question:
On a scale of 1-10, where 1 is not likely and 10 is very likely, would you recommend this company/product/service to a friend or colleague?
That’s it. One question that sums up a customer’s entire experience…and also measures their loyalty. A person who responds with a 9 or 10 is a promoter, 7’s and 8’s are passive, and 1-6 is a detractor.
Promoters are not only loyal buyers, but they go out of their way to spread the good news about a company they like.
Passives are just that, passive. Their loyalty is weak…a fair-weather friend. They can be swayed easily to switch to another company if an alternative presents itself.
Detractors will go out of their way to spread bad news about a company. They’ve had a bad experience, and are happy to tell everyone about it.
Thousands of companies monitor their NPS. Perennially high NPS companies include Apple, Starbucks, Nordstrom, USAA, Amazon, and Trader Joe’s. Each invests time, energy, and money to deliver excellence, above all else, to their customers.
Consistent excellence (awesomeness) drives higher NPS.
How much time are you investing in your personal NPS? Are you paying attention to the impact you have on those around you? Are you consistently delivering excellence to those you care about the most?
How would the people you serve (family, friends, co-workers, employees, managers, strangers) answer this question about you:
On a scale of 1-10 where 1 is not likely, and 10 is very likely, would you recommend ______your name here_______ to a friend or colleague?
More importantly, how do you answer this question about yourself?
Encouragement is Personal 
There is a reason why at Peet’s coffee they ask for your name when you place your order. They want to refer to you by your name not by your coffee order. Others have copied this model – but it becomes part of your DNA as an individual or as a company. Treat people well, be warm, thank people for being loyal – kinda makes sense, huh? Good manners and respect or in business speak – Net Promoter Score
Since the NPS is dynamic and can range from -100 to 100, perhaps a benchmark score for this blog is worth measuring to keep us honest? Nostradamus predicts 77.7!
I’ll take 77.7 any day! Thanks!
This is a great write up Bob. You mind if I borrow some of your comments for a presentation on “branding” I have to do to my Sr. mgmt?
Go for it. Happy to help!