Want To Achieve World-Class NPS? You Need To Go Beyond the Numbers

In 2003, Fred Reichheld invented the Net Promoter Score℠ (NPS®) to measure how well companies create customer loyalty. Twenty years later, Net Promoter Score is nearly ubiquitous—used by organizations around the world to understand and improve customer relationships. Revolutionary yet simple, Net Promoter Score boils down to this: Do your customers love your service enough to recommend it to others? 

In a recent session with broadband service provider (BSP) leaders, Fred shared his concern that NPS has become just another key performance indicator (KPI) that companies track. It comes up during business or individual performance reviews, but nothing is actionable. To make Net Promoter Score truly meaningful, we need to go beyond the number, asking what the score and underlying data tell us.

Net Promoter Score: The Catalyst for Stronger Subscriber Relationships

Service providers have vast data that continues to grow as they expand their managed services portfolios, add new subscribers, and move into new markets. But it can be challenging to transform this data into actionable insights that drive results. That’s why the Calix Services team is developing a new service—Customer Analytics as a Service—that will help BSPs strategically leverage their data to grow their business.  

 Our first engagements in this service focus on Net Promoter Score business analysis. Many Calix customers are already tracking NPS, with scores that far exceed industry averages—ALLO Communications, CentraCom, Cumberland Connect, GVTC, HTC, Jade Communications, and OTTC, to name just a few. Our goal is to help every Calix customer achieve a world-class Net Promoter Score and create enduring subscriber loyalty that will fuel business growth.  

Use Trends and Insight To Impact Subscriber Satisfaction

By combining Net Promoter Score results with data from Calix Support Cloud and Calix Marketing Cloud, we can identify detailed trends and insights that impact subscriber satisfaction. We can then provide action plans with concrete steps you can take to improve your subscriber relationships. Here are three insights that can guide you to NPS success:    

1. Ensure your subscribers’ lifestyles match their service plans. We can see potential problem areas by examining Net Promoter Score for different personas (gamers, streamers, or subscribers who work from home) through the lens of various service tiers. For example, if gamers on your lowest tier have a significantly lower NPS, you can take proactive steps to upgrade them and increase satisfaction—and win their loyalty.  
2. Subscriber tenure does not equal subscriber happiness. The fact that subscribers stay with their BSP for an extended period does not necessarily mean they’re satisfied. Our sample data shows that Net Promoter Score can decrease dramatically over time. Look at the qualitative comments for further insight. Do subscribers only interact with you when they have a problem, or do they feel unappreciated? Once you understand the issues, you can build programs to encourage loyalty over time.
3. Become proactive versus reactive. Using Calix Marketing Cloud data and Calix Support Cloud data matched to your Net Promoter Score data, identify factors to build predictive profiles for potential promoters, passives, and detractors amongst the larger subscriber base. Campaigns, customer support initiatives, and loyalty programs can then be initiated to bring more people into your “promoter” profile to create customer satisfaction.

It’s important to remember that NPS should be more than just a score or a KPI. It must be viewed as a long-term program and embraced across your organization. It can be the catalyst to help you better understand your subscribers’ wants and needs and ultimately lead to stronger relationships with subscribers. 

If you're a Calix customer and want to explore this new service around Net Promoter Score, please reach out to your Customer Success Manager to find out more.

How do you know if you’re hitting the mark with your customer support? Watch our recent webinar, "How to Know If Your Subscribers Love You."

Net Promoter^®, NPS^®, NPS Prism^®, and the NPS-related emoticons are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., Satmetrix Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld. Net Promoter Score℠ and Net Promoter System℠ are service marks of Bain & Company, Inc., Satmetrix Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld.