The most successful businesses are data-driven. Companies that make decisions based on pre-established metrics they regularly track tend to grow faster. One of the most illustrative and commonly used metrics is the Net Promoter Score (NPS), a measure of customer loyalty.
We have provided a detailed explanation of what NPS research is, who promoters and detractors are, and how to calculate the Customer Loyalty Index in our material, which we highly recommend reading. In this article, we will discuss what NPS is considered a good indicator and how to raise the NPS index in the call center.
What is a good NPS score?
What is considered a normal, good, or poor NPS score? This depends to a large extent on the industry in which the research is conducted. NPS benchmarking is an ongoing process. In other words, Net Promoter Score research needs to be conducted regularly, comparing the performance of your company with the metrics of competitors.
Quick Calculation of the Net Promoter Score (NPS)
To calculate your company’s NPS, follow these three steps:
- Determine the number of detractors (critics), passives, and promoters.
- Then calculate the percentage for each group by dividing the total number of responses for each group by the overall number of responses to the survey.
- Subtract the percentage of the total number of detractors from the overall percentage of promoters.
Here’s how it looks, for example, if 100 customers participated in the NPS survey, and their responses were distributed as follows:
- 15 detractors – 15%
- 30 passives – 30%
- 55 promoters – 55%
The Net Promoter Score (absolute rating) would be (55% promoters – 15% detractors) = 40.
Examples of NPS Across Industries
Let’s consider a few examples. According to Retency’s NPS data for the last five years, the average Net Promoter Score falls within the range of:
- For department stores and specialty shops – 58
- For airlines – 35
- In the healthcare sector – 34
- For communications and media – 19
According to aggregated data, the average Net Promoter Scores for B2B industries range from 39 to 65, and for B2C, it ranges from 9 to 74. It can be observed that for B2C markets, the gap between the highest and lowest scores is more significant than in the case of B2B.
Meaning of NPS Scores from Bain & Company
The creators of NPS, Bain & Company, suggest the following interpretation of scores when measuring the Net Promoter Score:
- More than 0 – Good;
- Above 20 – Favorable;
- Above 50 – Excellent;
- Over 80 – World-class.
From the perspective of the absolute NPS, any score above 0 is considered “good” since there are more promoters than detractors (critics). On the other hand, a decrease in the number of promoters compared to the number of passives may signal potential increased customer churn.
In general, an NPS above 70 means that your customers love you and would recommend your products and services to friends and acquaintances. The higher your NPS, the more likely it is that recommendations from your customers will translate into new potential customers and, therefore, more revenue for your company.
Why is it important to improve NPS in the call center?
For many companies, the call center serves as the cornerstone of their customer service strategy. It is the primary means through which customers interact with the business, making it a key factor in building loyalty and retention. Thus, improving the NPS score in the call center is a natural approach.
NPS Surveys in the Call Center: How Does It Work?
NPS in a consumer-oriented call center is often transactional since customers typically reach out with specific inquiries or requests rather than regularly engaging with the company. This means that every customer interaction with the call center should be investigated for loyalty. How this is done depends on the call center software in use.
Cloud-based call center software can enable managers to create an automatic NPS request after each handled inquiry. This can be done through IVR menus, chatbots, or by sending emails with an invitation to participate in an NPS survey.
How to improve the NPS index in the call center?
The ultimate goal of any call center is to provide a positive customer experience. The NPS level directly correlates with the company’s revenue, as promoters:
- Make repeat purchases 4.2 times more often,
- Are 5.6 times more likely to forgive a company’s mistake,
- Are 7.2 times more likely to try a new product or service.
So, how to improve NPS in the call center?
Evaluate and track NPS metrics regularly
A crucial aspect is the consistent examination of quantitative and qualitative NPS surveys. Create a regular NPS report, breaking down promoters, passives, and detractors. The report should depict a timeline of changes for each group over time. By doing this, you can identify key factors that directly impact your NPS score and make decisions and adjustments that will benefit your team and customers.
Evaluate service quality across all channels
Call center managers should regularly listen to recorded calls and monitor chat transcripts that have been well-rated. It is also necessary to assess the performance of each call center agent in each of the channels. This way, you can see:
- Whether agents adhere to service standards
- What customer-oriented actions were taken
- Which actions yielded positive results
- Which ones proved to be ineffective
In the Global Bilgi contact center, a special AQoS software was developed to assess agent actions. The program helps create automated systems of metrics with all necessary parameters, combining call recordings, web chat transcripts, or messenger transcripts with records on the agent’s desktop in the system to provide a detailed overview of performance.
The goal of such monitoring is to create an evaluation that helps you determine whether each call leads to an optimal result for that interaction. Such feedback with agents is invaluable for improving NPS.
Interact with customers
To improve NPS in the call center, it’s essential to receive feedback from all customer groups: promoters, as well as passives and detractors. Each group will provide answers to questions about improvements you need to implement and how to better resolve customer issues.
Feedback can be obtained through telephone surveys (CATI), marketing research, email, and more.
A key aspect is responding to both positive and negative customer feedback. Reach out to your promoters to thank them for their loyalty and demonstrate your ongoing commitment to assisting them. Also, monitor your critics and passives to let them know that you are actively working on improvements and addressing their concerns.
Conduct training for call center employees
The AQoS call center software will help you identify agents with low efficiency. Ensure that your managers regularly conduct training and coaching sessions. These should not be one-time events but a constant part of the work in the call center. Make every effort to improve the skills of your agents. This will impact the quality of customer service and your NPS.
Focus on achieving a high FCR rate
Imagine encountering a problem, calling the call center, and having the agent attentively listen to you, providing specific advice that immediately resolves the issue. Firstly, this will satisfy you as a customer. Secondly, you’ll want to share this positive experience with friends or colleagues whenever the opportunity arises.
Improving the First Call Resolution (FCR) rate not only increases customer satisfaction but also significantly influences the Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT), leads to a reduction in service costs, and increases the company’s revenue.
Provide self-service options for customers
From the previous point, it’s evident that most customers prefer a quick resolution to their issues. According to a Zendesk survey, 67% of customers prefer self-service options over interacting with a support agent.
Handling requests through channels like messengers and social media using automated bots and live chats gives customers the freedom to choose their time and doesn’t require them to communicate with a live agent. Business must be prepared for these trends and continue expanding personalized self-service options to reduce the number of customer support issues and improve the Net Promoter Score (NPS).
NPS in the call center: conclusions
We live in highly competitive times where customer expectations are higher than ever. It’s much more challenging now to come up with something that can meet customer interests and keep them engaged throughout the entire journey.
An excellent customer experience is crucial for achieving a higher NPS. When it comes to improvement through the call center, factors such as empathetic communication, feedback, service speed, and self-service technologies take center stage. Keep this in mind when aiming to enhance NPS in the call center.
