Introduction 

Most brands are familiar with the Net Promoter Score question and its implications. Yet, it's astonishing that many still find it challenging to ask this question in a way that yields meaningful results.

Are you struggling with this, too? Then this article is for you. Keep reading to discover some practical templates you can adopt for your surveys. 

An Overview Of How The Net Promoter Score Question Works

Will they recommend your products to others? (Image source: Pxhere). 

Definition

As a key part of a customer experience (CX) program, the NPS is a single survey question that reveals how likely customers are to recommend a service, product, or brand to their friends or colleagues. The scale is typically 0 to 10, calculated by subtracting the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters. 

How To Calculate

Here's a more detailed breakdown of the formula:

NPS = % Promoters - % Detractors

• % Promoters: This represents the percentage of customers who responded with a 9 or 10 on the 0-10 scale, which indicates they are highly likely to recommend your company. These are your loyal advocates.
• % Detractors: % Detractors point to the percentage of customers who responded with a 0 to 6 on the scale. These unsatisfied people are unlikely to recommend your products and even bad-mouth the brand in the worst-case scenarios.
• Passives (scores of 7 or 8) are not included in the NPS calculation itself, but their feedback can still give you more insights into customer sentiment.

Let's say your brand sent an NPS survey to 100 customers and received 60 responses:

• Promoters: 30 customers responded with a 9 or 10 (30/60) = 50%
• Detractors: 10 customers responded with a 0 to 6 (10/60) = 16.7%
• NPS = 50% (Promoters) - 16.7% (Detractors) = 33.3%

Score Interpretation

In the example above, the NPS score is 33.3, considered a decent score based on the following interpretation:

• 0-30: Needs Improvement. The numbers indicate you have more detractors than promoters, so it's a good idea to dig further into the feedback and address customer concerns. 
• 31-70: Good. Though customer sentiment is mostly positive, there's still room for improvement. 
• 71-100: Excellent. Customers are highly likely to recommend your products, indicating impressive loyalty and satisfaction. 

>>>> Read more: How To Improve Call Center Agent Performance?

Top 10 Net Promoter Score Question Templates

You can use this question for both customers and employees (Image source: Pxhere). 

Part I. Standard Questions

1. Asks Customers What They Think About Your Company

• Wording: "How likely are you to recommend [Your Company Name] to a colleague or friend?"
• Scale: Provide a rating scale from 0 to 10, with labels at each end (e.g., 0 = Not at all likely, 10 = Extremely likely).

This question is clear, concise, and easy for customers to understand. You can also personalise the intro by mentioning the customer's name or their specific past interaction with your company. For example:

"Hi [Customer Name], Thank you for using [Your Company Name]! We'd love to hear your feedback."

2. Replace Company’s Name With A Service Or Product

Wording:

"Hi [Customer Name], Thank you for using [Your Service/Product Name]! We'd love to hear your feedback. 

On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend [Your Service/Product Name] to a colleague or friend after the latest updates?" 

This question asks directly about the service/product to give you a clearer view of customer loyalty. With these insights into customer sentiment, you can identify strengths and weaknesses of the product to make data-driven decisions, such as:

• Replicating the strengths across the customer's journey (for Promoters) 
• Addressing the root causes of dissatisfaction (for Detractors)
• Improving certain aspects of the experience to sway Passives into Promoters 

3. Ask Customers About A Specific Experience

Wording: 

Hi [Customer Name],

"Thank you for [Specific Experience, e.g., using our new mobile app, contacting our customer support team, visiting our store]. We'd love to hear your feedback!

On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend this [Experience] to a friend or colleague?"

Rather than focusing on a general impression of your entire company or product, this NPS survey gathers feedback on specific touchpoints to improve those interactions if necessary. Such targeted adjustments result in a smoother, more satisfying overall customer journey.

To measure how likely they will recommend your product right after interacting with your team or receiving their purchase, you can modify the template with additional phrases like:

• "Considering your most recent experience."
• "Following your experience"
• "After your latest interactions with"

4. Replace "Colleague Or Friend" With Target Audience

Wording:

"Hi [Customer Name],

Thank you for [Experience, e.g., crushing your workout with our app, trying our learning platform]. We'd love to hear your feedback!

On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend this [Experience] to a [Target Audience, e.g., fellow fitness enthusiasts, other educators in your school district]?"

Replacing "friend/colleague" with a term relevant to your target audience makes the question more personal and resonant with customers; they will respond with honest and genuine feedback.

From there, you can tailor your improvement efforts to serve the needs of that particular audience. 

And since the audience-specific language in your survey clearly shows you understand their needs and preferences, the brand's identity is also strengthened as a result. This is likely to foster greater loyalty within that target market! 

5. Ask Your Employees To Rate Their Satisfaction

Wording:

Hi [Employee Name],

We value your feedback! How likely are you to recommend [Company Name] as a great place to work to a friend or colleague? (0 = Not at all likely, 10 = Extremely likely)

An NPS survey is an effective way to measure employee engagement as well, not just that of your clients or customers. High scores indicate that employees are happy and would recommend your company to other job seekers, while lower scores suggest areas for improvement in the work environment. 

It opens the door for numerous opportunities to change the work culture for the better. For instance, you can implement new programs, address workload concerns, recognize employee achievements more effectively, etc.

Part II. Open-Ended Questions

Use the open-ended questions to understand the reason behind the score (Image source: Pxhere). 

6. What Is Your Favourite/Least Favourite Experience/Feature?

Understanding the "why" behind a high or low score is crucial for future targeted adjustments. Positive responses highlight aspects of your service/product that customers truly value, while a more constructive review pinpoints specific issues you must address.

Example:

• For Promoters (Score 9-10): "What features of Zoom do you find most helpful for your video conferencing needs?"
• For Passives/Detractors (Score 0-8): "What is your least favourite experience? Is there anything we could have done better?

7. (For Detractors) What Was Disappointing Or Missing In Your Past Experiences With Us?

This is one of the smartest approaches to get customers talking about what they do not like about your service or product. Constructive criticism is a game-changer for any business, and once you let customers know you're open to hearing their thoughts, they will likely speak up!

That's right; more people are shying away from giving negative feedback than you may think. But now, this question reassures them it's perfectly fine to mention any downsides they noticed while using your products. It shows them you value opinions and see them as a crucial part of your business' growth. 

8. (For Passives) What Do You Expect From Us In Your Future Experience?

At least one customer will give your brand a Passive rating; that's quite common. In that case, this open-ended question will provide valuable suggestions that help take the products to another level. Based on customer input, you can now identify key areas for improvement and prioritise more urgent changes! 

9. How Does Our Service/Product Benefit You?

This question might seem similar to the ones above, but it actually brings a fresh angle. 

Suppose your mobile app has many customers gushing thanks to its user-friendly and quick-loading dashboard; they would share in their responses why quick and easy usage is crucial to them. Some might value the feature variety, while others are more impressed with how easy it is to navigate the menu. 

As a result, you will gain more insights into your product's performance from multiple perspectives. Including these answers in your marketing campaigns is an excellent move since they are exactly what your prospects are curious about.

10. Why Did You Choose Us Over Other Brands? 

It will be quite interesting to hear what the Detractors say about this. (Image source: Stockvault). 

Businesses always monitor their rivals and invest lots of money and time in new product features. 

But what precisely do people love about the products that convinced them to stay with you and not others? Is it the affordable price, easy usage, quick delivery, diverse options, or something else entirely? This question helps pinpoint what sets you apart so that you can capitalise on that advantage.

It will be quite interesting to hear what the Detractors say about this. Even when your product boasts many standout features, they are somehow still not enough to meet these people's demands. Their detailed responses might reveal why they are considering switching to other companies.

Conclusion

A Net Promoter Score question (along with the right follow-up questions) offers incredible insights that even expensive research might miss. 

Feel free to modify our templates and choose your preferred method for collecting feedback. Sharing the questionnaire across social media platforms and tracking all responses via StringeeX is also a smart move!