Net Promoter Score: Listening to Your Customers

Most business owners understand the power of word-of-mouth advertising. Excellent customer service leads to satisfied customers who share their positive experiences with family and friends. This is why 48% of businesses globally rely on it. However, few implement disciplined feedback practices to better serve their customers. Understanding your store’s Net Promoter Score (NPS) can benefit your business beyond just marketing.  

NPS is a straightforward way to gauge your customers’ opinions on your store’s customer service and their satisfaction. It involves a single question: “On a scale from 1 to 10, how likely are you to recommend this product or company to a friend or colleague?”  

Identifying promoters helps stores learn more about their customer service, what works, and what doesn’t.  

How NPS Helps Businesses

NPS does more than reveal who likes your store. It can also:  

Online and big-box giants like Amazon, Google, Walmart, Home Depot and Lowe’s have transformed the business landscape by leveraging vast amounts of customer and retail data. We often see ads for products we browsed online appearing on various websites later. That’s big retail data at work.  

Independent businesses can operate just as efficiently by using comprehensive retail platforms that collect and manage transaction and customer data.

Ways to Put Data to Work

Savvy business owners know how to mine retail data by collecting customer information through sales transactions in their point-of-sale (POS) systems and rewards programs. Customer management data from POS systems and rewards programs provide insights into buying habits and intervals. Reports from these tools enable stores to offer personalized sale coupons and more.  

Warren Pipe and Supply, a family-owned business in Fraser, Michigan, recently implemented an NPS program from Paladin Point of Sale, and the feedback was almost immediate. Within the first two weeks, they received two dozen responses.  

“They’re mostly 10s,” says Diane Gauthier, who has been with the business for 40 years. “I’m not really surprised. We’ve been around for 60 years and sell mostly to industry – contractors, municipalities, schools, organizations like that. We have a good reputation and long-term working relationships.”  

Part of an NPS survey includes an option to offer comments. Diane recalls one of the first responses: “All the employees who work at the desk are extremely knowledgeable and friendly. I constantly recommend your products and services.”  

High praise for a small business competing in the same vicinity as Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Harbor Freight.  

“They often send customers here because they don’t have the knowledgeable service or the hard-to-find parts that we do,” Diane says. She also monitors NPS scores and posts praises on the company’s social media sites. 

Customers are Kings and Queens

Customer satisfaction isn’t what it used to be. Before the internet, businesses dictated terms as customers shopped at local stores during regular hours. Today, the customer is king. E-commerce is open 24/7, with shipping options ranging from same-day pick-up in-store to free next-day delivery. Customers shop on their terms without leaving the couch. However, unlimited shopping options mean competition for customers has never been greater.  

Consumer confidence in businesses has also changed. The barrage of online sales pitches and lack of ethical oversight in using personal information has made consumers wary. Research from HubSpot shows:  

Consumers are more knowledgeable than ever – 92% research products online before purchasing. That’s why a store’s shopping experience and customer service are critical today.  

Digital Tools Improve Customer Service

The best way to enhance the customer experience is by understanding what shoppers think of your business through retail data analysis. Tools like Net Promoter Score, which help businesses gauge customer experience, satisfaction, and loyalty, are more important than ever.  

NPS surveys can be administered in various ways:  

Paladin Data Corporation offers tools like Rich Rewards, NPS capabilities, and the PaladinShop digital store through Paladin Point of Sale to help stores improve customer service and business performance.  

As retail stores increasingly combine their online and in-store customer experiences and mobile shopping gains momentum, retail data from customers is readily available and valuable. Using it to improve customer service and refine product offerings is easy with the right tools.  

brian bullock 

Author