Use NPS to change face of business
When measuring customer advocacy, net promoter score techniques (MW last week) are both a great place to start and the worst place to stop.
However, a non-diagnostic NPS programme is merely an exercise in data collection, a slave to the balanced scorecard. Too many companies use NPS as a short-term research tool rather than a business change programme.
For NPS to work, it needs to permeate the day-to-day lives of every individual in the organisation. Yes, frontline staff can easily understand the headline measure, but without knowing what they must do to improve the score such programmes lead to unnecessary self-congratulation or anxiety.
What really matters is what is done with the information to create consistent and coherent messages across all brand and service touchpoints. Organisations that recognise this will derive the greatest value, both from greater customer advocacy and better business profitability.
Andrew WisemanDirector technology, ICM Research