What Is Net Promoter Score?
NPS measures customer loyalty with one question: 'How likely are you to recommend us to a friend?' Scores range from -100 to +100 — above 50 is excellent.
Definition
Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a customer loyalty metric based on a single question: 'On a scale of 0–10, how likely are you to recommend our product to a friend or colleague?' Responses are categorized: 9-10 = Promoters, 7-8 = Passives, 0-6 = Detractors. NPS = % Promoters - % Detractors.
NPS ranges from -100 (everyone is a Detractor) to +100 (everyone is a Promoter). Industry benchmarks: NPS above 0 is acceptable, above 30 is good, above 50 is excellent, above 70 is world-class. Apple, Tesla, and Amazon consistently score above 60.
Follow-up qualitative questions ('What's the main reason for your score?') are what make NPS actionable. The raw score tells you where you are; the qualitative responses tell you why and what to fix. Running NPS surveys quarterly and tracking trends is more useful than any single snapshot.
Real-World Example
A SaaS company surveys 100 customers: 45 give 9-10 (Promoters), 30 give 7-8 (Passives), 25 give 0-6 (Detractors). NPS = 45% - 25% = +20. This is passable but indicates real dissatisfaction among a quarter of customers. The top qualitative complaint is 'clunky onboarding' — a clear priority for the product team.
Why It Matters
NPS correlates with word-of-mouth growth (Promoters refer others), churn risk (Detractors are about to leave), and product quality. It's a fast, repeatable pulse check on customer sentiment that's comparable across time periods and competitors.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good NPS for SaaS?
Above 30 is good for B2B SaaS; above 50 is excellent. Consumer apps can score higher due to emotional attachment. The more important metric is your NPS trend over time — a score improving from 20 to 35 over a year shows meaningful improvement in customer sentiment.
Is NPS a reliable metric?
NPS has critics — the methodology is simple, easily gamed, and varies across industries. But its simplicity is also its strength: it's easy to run, easy to understand, and highly comparable across time. The key is pairing the score with qualitative feedback to make it actionable.
How often should you survey for NPS?
Most companies run relationship NPS surveys quarterly or after key milestones (renewal, onboarding completion). Some run transactional NPS after specific interactions (support tickets, feature releases). Quarterly is the standard for tracking business health trends.
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