The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a metric used to measure customer satisfaction and loyalty. It indicates how likely customers are to recommend a company, a product or a service to others.
The NPS is based on a simple survey question:
- „How likely are you to recommend our company / product to others?“
Answers are given on a scale of 0 to 10.
Based on their answers, customers are divided into three groups:
- Supervisors (9–10): highly satisfied, loyal customers who actively recommend us to others
- Passive (7–8): Satisfied customers, but not particularly keen to recommend the business to others
- Detractors (0–6): dissatisfied customers who may speak negatively about the company
The NPS is calculated using the following formula:
- NPS = Percentage of promoters − Percentage of detractors
The result can be between -100 and +100.
The significance of the NPS lies in the fact that it is a simple yet meaningful indicator of customer experience and brand perception.
Typical interpretations:
- High NPS → strong customer loyalty and positive growth potential through word-of-mouth recommendations
- Low NPS → potential issues with the product, service or customer experience
Advantages of the NPS:
- very straightforward measurement and interpretation
- good comparability over time and between companies
- early warning of customer issues
- a direct link to growth through word-of-mouth referrals
The NPS is particularly valuable for start-ups, as it provides rapid feedback from the market and helps to prioritise improvements to products and services.
At the same time, the NPS should not be viewed in isolation, but rather in conjunction with other key performance indicators such as:
- Churn rate
- Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)
- Conversion rates
- User engagement
A high NPS is often a strong indicator of product-market fit and sustainable growth potential.
innoWerft helps start-up founders to systematically collect customer feedback, make effective use of the NPS, and use this to inform specific product and growth decisions.