[image via reddit]
Looking at ecommerce top-performers, you'll notice that their customers are more than just customers. They're fans. Warby Parker, Bevel, and Huckberry customers love their brands, and promote them without even considering it as promotion. That's pure customer loyalty, and it's one of the trickiest pieces of your business strategy to develop.
If you want what those companies have, you'll have to focus on a metric you're probably not tracking, or maybe not even aware of: your Net Promoter Score (NPS).
Your Net Promoter Score can help you determine how likely your customers are to become loyal customers and mini-referral engines. It labels customers on a scale of 1 to 10, based on a single survey question: "How likely are you to recommend this company to a friend?"
One important product of calculating your NPS is the ability to compare it with your competition. This can help you understand your position in the market according to your customers. For example, Warby Parker has been focused on delivering great customer satisfaction since their launch, and they've maintained a NPS in the high 80s and low 90s. Their strategy of measuring and delivering great customer satisfaction has helped them to not only become a well-known brand, but to sell more than a half a million frames in just 4 years.
Imagine how much power knowing this information could give your overall business strategy! Let's dig into how to calculate your NPS and why it is the most important metric you're not using.
Measuring Your Own Ecommerce Net Promoter Score
1. Create your survey
Simply Google "Net Promoter Score calculator", and you will find tools like Survey Monkey and Gain Sight, which can help you figure out your NPS. In addition, many customer service and support applications offer NPS surveys as a feature.
With one of these tools, create a simple survey and ask your customers to rate how likely they are to recommend your company to a friend. Make it short and sweet: Users are more likely to participate if the survey is easy and short.
For an example of how the survey works, click here.
2. Distribute the survey to end customers
Once you've created the survey, it is time to get the survey in front of your customers. There are numerous ways to distribute the survey, but the easiest and most direct way is via email. Another way to distribute is to add the survey to your website as a popup so it gets maximum attention from your customers. You can also distribute the survey via social media and promoted posts or tweets. If you have high customer engagement on your social media channels, this may be your best option.
Whatever your distribution method is, be sure you make the language enticing and the survey simple. Tell them "it takes less than 5 minutes to complete" to encourage participation, or offer a reward in exchange. This could be a freebie or a discount - anything that helps ease your customer into providing feedback.
3. Analyze your results & take action
Once the survey is complete and closed, it's time to look through your customer feedback. Depending on where you fall on the NPS spectrum, there are a few different actions you can take. If your results were mid to high, you could consider implementing a referral program. Incentivizing referrals from existing customers.
If your score was on the lower end, it may mean you should look at implementing new customer service rules or put extra effort into personalization. Both of these are a good way to reverse a low NPS and begin building relationships with your customers that will, in turn, convert them into brand advocates.