Part 3 · Article 14 of 14
What is a client satisfaction (NPS) survey?
In short
- A client satisfaction survey asks clients how they experience your work. The best-known version uses Net Promoter Score (NPS).
- NPS asks how likely clients are to recommend you to a friend or colleague, on a 0 to 10 scale, followed by "why?"
- NPS is the percentage of promoters (9 or 10) minus the percentage of detractors (0 to 6), from minus 100 to plus 100.
- Client surveys work best always on: sent after each project or delivery, with the trend read over time.
Org360 defines a client satisfaction survey as a short, recurring survey that asks clients how likely they are to recommend you and why, so you can track their experience over time and act on what they say.
What is Net Promoter Score?
Fred Reichheld of Bain & Company introduced Net Promoter Score in a December 2003 Harvard Business Review article, "The One Number You Need to Grow." It rests on one question: "How likely is it that you would recommend [company] to a friend or colleague?"
NPS is calculated the same way as eNPS (article 13): the percentage of promoters (9 or 10) minus the percentage of detractors (0 to 6).
What should a client survey ask?
Org360's short client survey, Happy Clients, has 3 questions:
- The NPS question, on a 0 to 10 scale.
- An open-text question on what you did well.
- An open-text question on what you could do better.
A longer version adds 9 scored questions on specific parts of the service. Short surveys get more replies, and clients are busier than employees.
When should you send a client survey?
Send it at the natural end of a piece of work: after a project, a delivery, an event or a service visit. Keep the survey open all the time and send it each time, instead of surveying all clients once a year. That turns NPS into a running measure (article 7).
How does Org360 report client NPS?
Org360's ongoing reports show:
- the NPS trend over time
- the number of responses each month
- time filters, such as the last 30 days
- the open-text answers
- individual responses, when clients answer under their name, so you can follow up
- an AI summary you can refresh as new answers come in
Client NPS surveys are included on every Org360 plan. For nonprofits, Org360 offers Happy Beneficiaries, the same short survey for the people a nonprofit serves.
What the research says
- NPS is simple, and its critics have a point. Keiningham and colleagues (2007), in the Journal of Marketing, questioned the claim that NPS predicts company growth better than other customer measures. That's a reason to read the score alongside the comments, which explain what to change.
- The "why" matters most. Reichheld's original approach pairs the score with a follow-up question asking for the reason, and that's where clients tell you what to fix.
Key readings: Reichheld (2003); Keiningham and colleagues (2007). Full references are in the research reading list.
Org360's view
Org360 sees client NPS as the simplest way for any business, consultancy or nonprofit to keep a finger on the pulse of its clients. One question, 2 open-text answers, sent after every piece of work, with the trend reviewed each month. The comments tell you what to fix, and the trend tells you whether it worked.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good NPS?
Above 0 means more promoters than detractors. Benchmarks vary a lot by industry, so compare against your own trend.
How is NPS different from eNPS?
NPS asks clients whether they'd recommend you. eNPS asks employees whether they'd recommend you as a place to work. The calculation is the same.
Should client surveys be anonymous?
Not necessarily. Named answers let you follow up with an unhappy client. Make the choice clear to clients before they answer.
How often should I send a client survey?
After each project, delivery or service visit, with no more than one survey per client per piece of work.
Sources: Wikipedia: Net Promoter Score · Reichheld (2003), Harvard Business Review