NPS

Also called Net Promoter Score

A one-question customer satisfaction measure. Widely used, widely over-interpreted.

What it means

Net Promoter Score asks how likely someone is to recommend you, on a scale of nought to ten. Nines and tens are promoters, sevens and eights passives, and everything from six down are detractors.

The score is the percentage of promoters minus the percentage of detractors, giving a number between −100 and +100.

Why it matters

Its value is that it is simple enough to run continuously and comparable over time. A trend in your own score is genuinely informative.

Its limits are equally real: it compresses a lot into one number, it varies enormously by sector and country, and cross-company comparisons are mostly meaningless.

What it looks like in practice

The follow-up question — "what is the main reason for your score?" — is where the value actually is. The number tells you whether to worry; the comments tell you what about.

Ask at a consistent point in the relationship. Asking immediately after a good interaction and comparing it with a survey sent at random will produce a difference that is about timing, not satisfaction.

What to watch out for

Managing the score rather than the experience. Once staff are incentivised on NPS, they start asking for tens, and the measurement stops measuring.

Small samples. At thirty responses the score moves several points on one person's answer.

Where to get proper advice

Any survey tool will run it. The discipline is internal: decide in advance what you will do with a bad score.