Recently there has been a lot of talk in the business community about Net Promoter which, according to the official website for the product is "a discipline by which companies profitably grow by focusing on their customers." The Net Promoter is the subject of a book titled The Ultimate Question by Frederick F. Reichheld. In this book, Reichheld claims that the ultimate question for businesses to ask their customers is "would you recommend us to a friend/relative?" He also purports that if you ask this "ultimate question" in a regular, systematic, and timely fashion, and then track and publicize the answers and put the information to work right away, you will be on "the only path to prosperity and true growth."
A company's Net Promoter Score is simply the number of promoters minus the number of detractors; Promoters minus Detractors equals Net Promoter Score.
In the promoters camp, happy customers mean higher retention rates, higher margins, increased purchases, increased word of mouth advertising, etc. These are your raving fans; the very people that can help you build your business by referring your business to family, friends and neighbors.
In the detractors corner, these folks account for most of the negative word of mouth, complain more often, spend less and are not loyal to your business. These folks can suck the life right out of you. We have all experienced this type; obviously a business owner doesn't want detractors. But, we want to know why they are unhappy, so the second Ultimate Question a business owner should ask those people who scored the first question as a one, two or three should be...
Either way, finding a way to profit from serving your customers, inspiring their loyalty and receiving their referrals, is your best option for long-term success.
All of these will be better served by using the telephone approach in the early stages of your Net Promoter program. Lastly, your clients will respect that you are calling them to find out how to serve them better. A properly executed Net Promoter survey interview is another positive touch point that improves the value of your client relationships!