NPS: Net Promoter Score, formula and example
Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures customers' willingness to recommend your product/service to others. Based on answers on a 0–10 scale, respondents are divided into detractors (0–6), passives (7–8), and promoters (9–10). The metric correlates with retention, revenue growth, and LTV, and serves as a "strategic barometer" of the customer experience.
What the Metric Measures
Brand perception and the likelihood of a recommendation broken down by channel, segment, and product. Distinguish transactional NPS (after a specific event) from relational NPS (periodic surveys of the entire customer base).
Calculation
- Promoters, % = Responses 9–10 / All valid responses × 100
- Detractors, % = Responses 0–6 / All valid responses × 100
- NPS = Promoters% − Detractors% (range from −100 to +100)
- Response Rate, % = Responses / Invitations × 100
- Add open-ended comments to analyze reasons and topics
Define the policy: survey frequency, trigger window, delivery channels (email/SMS/in-app), languages, exclusion of recent respondents.
Calculation example
500 customers answered “How likely are you to recommend us to a friend?” on a 0–10 scale: 9–10 — 260 (promoters), 7–8 — 150 (passives), 0–6 — 90 (detractors). NPS = 260 / 500 × 100 − 90 / 500 × 100 = 52 − 18 = 34.
Data Sources
Survey platforms (email/SMS/in-app), CRM/Helpdesk, product analytics, purchase/retention data, the delivery/service module, a classifier of reasons/topics.
Interpretation
- NPS↑ — strong brand/experience; expectations are met or exceeded
- NPS↓ — signals of problems with quality, service, price, or convenience; look for topics in the comments
- It is important to track sentiment and topics: delivery, support, UX, price, assortment
- Compare with churn/retention, repeat purchases, and LTV
Useful Breakdowns
- Segment B2C/B2B/VIP; region/language
- Channel: online/offline, delivery/support
- Product/SKU/service; app version
- New vs. loyal customers; purchase frequency/amount
Dashboard Visualizations
- Trend of NPS and Response Rate over time
- Promoters/Passives/Detractors breakdown
- Heatmap of NPS by channel/segment/product
- Comment topics/tags with the share of negative/positive feedback
- Correlations of NPS ↔ Retention/LTV/repeat purchases
How to Set Targets
Define a target NPS range by market/segment, a minimum Response Rate, and a "closed loop" SLA: contacting detractors within ≤ 24–48 h, an action plan (RCA/CAPA), control of repeat requests and compensations.
Common Mistakes
- Treating NPS as an "average score"; ignoring the response rate
- Mixing transactional and relational measurements
- An unbalanced sample (skewed by channel/language/segment)
- No work with comments and detractors
- Comparing brands without considering market/channel/season
Questions for Discussion
- Which 3 topics drive most detractor responses, and how can they be eliminated?
- Does closed-loop feedback work, and within what time frames?
- What is the impact of NPS on churn and repeat purchases?
- Where does NPS dip: channel, segment, product, or journey stage?