There are many ways to know what your customers think about your business. The most common and successful method out of all is to send out an Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey. It consists of a list of questions that collect data related to customer experience. All types of NPS surveys such as relationship NPS, transactional NPS, brand NPS, and many others generate a net promoter score based on a 0-10 rating given by customers.
It is a parameter of how likely they are to refer your business to others. Customers are sent an NPS email survey invitation with a survey link embedded in it. If they don’t answer in the first go, they are sent a reminder email. In case they respond to the survey, they are sent a follow-up email with questions that further explore their rating.
The follow-up email reiterates the request to give more feedback. But how do you ask subtly so that they don’t feel annoyed? This is where the art of writing NPS follow-up question lies. You need to engage with them such that it will increase customer satisfaction and lead to more referrals. Your choice of questions will impact their overall experience with your brand and so you need to be careful with ‘How’ you ask.
You can either program the survey to present the NPS follow-up question based on the net promoter score or send a separate email with a follow-up question. In either case, you’ll need to frame the question the right way. Below are some of the tips and tricks you can apply while asking follow-up questions on NPS.
Tips and tricks to apply while asking NPS follow-up questions
1. Use open-ended questions
You would have already asked a rating or score based question. Now you need to ask a question that will gather feedback that can be used not only quantitatively but also qualitatively. Customers can insert their detailed comments in the text box of open-ended questions. Their feedback can be analyzed to understand what do they like and what do they want you to improve on. Sentiment analysis of these comments or suggestions can bring to the surface the underlying emotion.
2. Customize the question based on the score
Based on the score, some of your customers will be promoters, passives, or detractors. Hence you need to phrase your net promoter question wording differently for each group of customers. You can use sample NPS follow-up questions below to customize the question based on the type of customer.
- Promoters:
- We’re glad you like us. Would you like to refer us to your friends?
- We’re happy to know you had a great experience with our services. Would you like to spread the word on Facebook?
- Passives:
- Thank you for your feedback. Would you like to tell us why would you score us that way?
- We appreciate your feedback. Please share the reason behind your score.
- Detractors:
- We’re sorry to hear that. What would you like us to improve on?
- Thank you for your feedback. How can we improve your experience?
3. The follow-up email must reflect your brand voice
Each email is an interaction of your customer with your brand. If yours is a youthful, casual, and fun brand, you can be more informal with the language. However, businesses like banks and healthcare organizations should sound more formal.
4. Create an opportunity to engage with customers
Mostly follow-up questions are open-ended questions that have the potential to create a platform for further communication. Their comments can give you a chance to engage with them and talk further about their experience. It can help you optimize product development or learn more about their business.
NPS follow-up questions can help you discover insights into the customer experience. Taking the right action on their feedback can improve their experience significantly and have a better score next time. Thus, it has the potential to convert detractors into promoters. Hence, asking the right follow-up question is key to making the most of the NPS survey. If you need any help regarding how to improve customer experience, we’d love to have a chat with you.
Customizing your Net Promoter Score (NPS) follow-up questions
Knowing your NPS score is crucial for brands to define or refine their customer strategies. The NPS score lets brands understand where they stand in terms of their competitors. When shared with your organization’s other departments and functions, this data can help generate and implement ideas to boost your NPS and outperform your competitors.
LEARN ABOUT: Good Net Promoter Score (NPS)
The NPS follow-up question has to be open-ended to figure out the reasons behind the score. This will help in identifying areas that need looking into. You can then accordingly take measures to bridge gap areas. Here are key reasons why you should customize your NPS follow-up questions.
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Better customer engagement
Customizing your NPS follow-up question is guaranteed to result in higher customer engagement and survey feedback.
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Branding focus
Use branding colors, themes, and language unique to your brand to relate more with customers and add authenticity.
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Know reasons
Ask specific questions to get deeper insights into what your customers think and understand the reasons behind their ratings.
LEARN ABOUT: This or that questions
Goals to keep in mind while following up on your NPS email
Having goals in mind for sending out an NPS follow-up email is crucial. This helps you gather additional data on understanding why they rated the way they did and what could be done to improve your rating. Customers are more than willing to give their feedback; it depends on how and what you ask them. Here are pointers to keep in mind when sending your NPS follow-up questions bifurcated into categories
Promoters
- Ask for their testimonial questions
- Request them to submit product/service reviews
- Cross-sell or up-sell any related or complementary products or services
- Request a call to know the reasons behind their good score
- Gather their quick, candid, and honest feedback
- Understand what other brands they’d recommend to their family and friends
Detractors
- Schedule a telecon to know the reasons behind their unhappiness and how can that be addressed
- Learn about their experiences with the website and its navigation
- What improvements can make them give you a better rating
- Know which aspect or aspects of your offering they disliked
- Offer discounts or gift codes to retain them
- Understand if your detractors prefer a competitor over you and for what reasons
Passives
- Understand what they think is missing from your product or service
- Dig in to see what would make your passives give you a better rating
- Know if they prefer a competing brand
- Offer cashback or discount coupons to encourage them to make new purchases
- Up-sell or cross-sell related offerings
At QuestionPro, we work on what we believe in. Schedule a demo with Ken and discover how to boost customer loyalty and collect valuable consumer insights through our CX survey and analytics management platform.
