Business leaders know that understanding customers’ needs and wants are critical to developing a competitive customer experience. A recent study of 162 executives found that 64% of business leaders strongly agree customer insights are crucial to their success. And, yet, 97% of online businesses fail, in part, because they don’t know who their customers are...
Business leaders know that understanding customers’ needs and wants are critical to developing a competitive customer experience.
A recent study of 162 executives found that 64% of business leaders strongly agree customer insights are crucial to their success. And, yet, 97% of online businesses fail, in part, because they don’t know who their customers are or what they want. Many of these businesses assume they already understand their customers or, if they do ask for feedback, go about asking for it in the wrong way or never bother to use it.
Here are three common assumptions these failing businesses make and why the Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey is one of the easiest and most effective ways they could approach their customers to get the feedback they need.
Assumption #1: Customers hate being asked for feedback
While customer feedback can provide businesses with a competitive advantage, many businesses overlook a key point: the advantage doesn’t come from merely gathering customer insights. It’s how those insights are translated into providing a better experience which makes the difference.
According to one study, 81% of customers admit they are happy to provide feedback if a business will actually use it to create a better overall experience. A different study finds that 60% of customers will provide feedback if it enables a business to become more efficient and 58% will provide feedback if it is used to create a more personalized experience across all channels.
Why NPS works
The NPS survey makes it very easy to identify what is and isn’t working for your customers. You can quickly find out why your unhappiest customers are not satisfied and take immediate action to address their concerns. At the same time, you can find out why your biggest supporters are coming to you, so as to identify and recreate what is working. In other words, the NPS survey is an efficient means by which you can gather feedback to create meaningful change, which is exactly what customers want you to do.
Assumption #2: Customers don’t have the time to complete a survey
To be effective, your survey needs to be designed so that it encourages maximum response rates. And one of the quickest ways you can discourage customers from completing your survey is by overwhelming them with unnecessary and time-consuming questions, the reason why 80% of customers will abandon a survey.
When 52% of customers claim they will complete a feedback survey but not spend more than 3 minutes doing so, you have no choice but to become more efficient, designing a survey that is both low-friction and useful. A simple customer satisfaction survey like the NPS will, undoubtedly, stand a better chance of inspiring your customers to provide you with honest, in-the-moment feedback. In fact, NPS users generally aim for a response rate of 30-50%, with the average rate being somewhere around 40%.
Why NPS Works
You are likely to see stronger response rates given the short and simple nature of the NPS survey. Answering the questions places little or no burden on customers, since they are never asked to answer more than one or two core questions, questions that are always clean and direct: How likely are they to recommend you and why? One of the greatest strengths of the NPS survey is that it’s so straightforward, not requiring customers to click on various links. Really, no survey could be simpler.
Assumption #3: You only need to worry about complaining customers
Businesses wrongly assume that complaining customers are most likely to defect. However, it is the quietly disappointed ones you have to worry about. They are the ones who, when approached by a competitor with a slightly better experience or offer, will abandon you for the promise of a more hassle-free experience.
91% of unhappy customers who are non-complainers simply leave without explanation. What’s worse is that an estimated 67% of this customer churn is preventable if a customer issue is resolved at the time it occurs. These customers never give the business a second chance to make things better, having come to the conclusion that voicing their complaints either isn’t worth the trouble or that the business doesn’t care anyway. Consequently, you will never know what you could have done to retain them.
Why NPS works
An NPS survey will identify who your least passionate customers are, your detractors and passives. Actively reaching out to these customers is one way to ensure you are meeting and exceeding their expectations, increasing their chances of becoming your biggest advocates. And the more advocates you have the better. When customers are loyal to you, they are more likely to make repeat purchases and recommend you to others. In this way, they can actually become more than just customers; they can be your most effective marketing weapon.
For all of these reasons, the NPS survey is one of the best investments you can make. This one simple survey will provide you with the invaluable data, insights, and feedback you need to keep your business healthy, profitable, and competitive.
