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The Ultimate Guide to Tracking NPS for PLG Teams

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Jen Chin

February 23, 2024

Learn how to track NPS effectively, run NPS surveys, identify trends, and elevate your business by understanding customer sentiment.

Just as astrology buffs believe that the time and place of your birth shape your personality, the world of SaaS is governed by a different kind of cosmic force: Net Promoter Score (NPS) tracking.

In this article, we’ll explore NPS tracking and its significance in the world of product-led growth (PLG). Much like how astrologers interpret celestial bodies to understand personality traits, NPS scoring categorizes customers based on their feedback, offering invaluable insights into their satisfaction and loyalty.

But why should you pay attention to this cosmic phenomenon? Consider NPS as the zodiac chart of your SaaS business, revealing insights into customer behavior, preferences, and potential growth trajectories. By decoding the secrets of NPS, SaaS companies can align their strategies with customer sentiment, guiding them toward stellar success.

Together, we’ll navigate the currents of customer satisfaction, unlocking the knowledge that will propel your product to new heights.

    What is NPS?

    NPS is a metric for measuring customer satisfaction and loyalty. It is like a fitness tracker for your business, monitoring product health and your progress toward customer success goals.

    Your NPS is measured by asking your customers, “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend us to a friend?”. Their responses help you understand if your business is in good shape, needs some improvement, or has some areas to address. It also helps you categorize users into three groups, based on their scores: Promoters, Passives, and Detractors.

    NPS tracking

    Why track NPS?

    Just like tracking your steps or heart rate helps you stay healthy, tracking NPS helps keep your business thriving. SaaS companies track NPS for the same reason a Customer Support Representative will ask you to evaluate your experience at the end of a call: to rate the quality of customer service and find areas for improvement.

    But more than that, tracking NPS is crucial for SaaS teams because it indicates how likely customers are to remain loyal and advocate for the product. It’s a powerful metric that helps you position your product against competitors, drive higher user retention rates, influence organic growth, and guide your product development efforts toward features and product enhancements that users truly need.

    Let’s dig deeper into some of these reasons for tracking NPS.

    NPS as an Early Warning System: Identify potential issues before they escalate.

    One of the most powerful functions of NPS is its role as an early warning system, alerting businesses to potential issues before they spiral out of control. But how exactly does NPS function in this capacity?

    Deeper insight.

    A Net Promoter Score is more than just a number; it’s a window into the hearts and minds of your customers. When NPS takes a sudden dip, it’s like a red flag signaling that something might be wrong. Regularly doing surveys and tracking NPS gives your team the ability to catch these issues early, much like how a weather forecaster predicts storms before they hit. This proactive approach allows companies to address concerns swiftly and prevent them from snowballing into larger problems.

    Proactive problem resolution.

    Taking swift action in response to a drop in NPS can nip potential problems in the bud. By promptly addressing customer concerns, businesses show that they’re attentive and responsive, building trust and loyalty in the process. It’s like taking your car to the mechanic as soon as the engine light turns on, but before it causes a breakdown on the highway.

    Proactively resolving issues not only keeps customers happy but also strengthens the bond between businesses and their customers.

    early warning system customer loyalty

    Benchmarking: Compare performance over time and against industry standards.

    Benchmarking is like having a measuring stick for your SaaS business. It’s all about comparing how you’re doing over time and against others in your industry. This is super important because it gives you a clear picture of where you stand and how you’re doing compared to the competition. It’s like being in a race and keeping an eye on who’s ahead and who’s behind so you can adjust your strategy and keep moving forward.

    Competitive insight.

    When you track your NPS over time, you keep track of your progress throughout your product’s evolution journey. It helps SaaS teams see if their efforts to improve customer experience are paying off. And when you benchmark against industry standards, it’s like getting a sneak peek at how others are doing. This insight is gold because it lets you know if you’re leading the pack or if you need to pick up the pace.

    Continuous improvement.

    Think of benchmarking as your secret weapon for staying ahead of the game. By constantly comparing yourself to others and looking for ways to improve your product and, consequently improve your NPS, you keep your team sharp and agile. It’s like fine-tuning your skills in a video game – the more you practice and learn from others, the better you become.

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    Customer-Centric Improvement: Direct efforts towards areas that matter most to customers.

    Introducing a customer-centric approach to your growth strategy is all about getting right to the heart of what your customers want and need. This approach isn’t just about making customers happy; it’s about understanding their pain points and priorities to drive meaningful improvements.

    Now, let’s explore how tracking NPS and conducting NPS surveys can help businesses fine-tune their efforts to deliver exceptional customer experiences.

    Tailored enhancements.

    Think of NPS survey feedback as your treasure map, guiding you to hidden gems of insight about what matters most to your customers. By listening to user feedback, you uncover specific pain points and areas they truly value. This intel becomes your compass, steering decision-making towards improvements that directly address customer needs and expectations.

    Resource optimization.

    When you prioritize customer-centric improvements, you’re investing your time and resources where they’ll make the biggest impact. By aligning efforts with customer feedback, you ensure that every move you make counts towards enhancing satisfaction and loyalty. When you’re not wasting resources or time on things that don’t matter, you’re optimizing for efficiency and effectiveness.

    So keep our eyes and ears open to what our customers are saying and keep fine-tuning our approach to make their experiences truly exceptional.

     nps tool

    Using NPS surveys and tracking to improve customer satisfaction.

    Understanding the link between NPS and customer satisfaction helps us steer toward building better products for loyal customers. Let’s dive into how NPS helps measure and boost customer satisfaction.

    NPS as a compass for product enhancement.

    NPS is your compass in the world of customer satisfaction. It’s like a trusty guide that tells you how happy your customers are and whether they’d recommend your product to others.

    Holistic understanding.

    NPS simplifies the complex world of customer satisfaction into one easy-to-understand number. It’s like having a summary of how happy our customers are overall. This simplicity helps us see the big picture and pinpoint exactly where we need to focus our efforts to make things better.

    Continuous improvement cycle.

    Thinking of NPS as a compass reminds us that improving customer satisfaction isn’t a one-and-done deal. It’s an ongoing process of listening to feedback, analyzing it, and making changes. Just like how a compass keeps pointing us in the right direction, NPS keeps us on track toward making our customers happier and more satisfied, one step at a time.

    NPS survey, nps tool

    Identifying NPS Promoters, Passives, and Detractors.

    Promoters, Passives, and Detractors are three categories used to classify customers based on their responses to the NPS question. Based on their scores, customers are classified into one of these three groups, providing insights into the overall sentiment toward the product or service.

    • Promoters: These are customers who respond with a score of 9 or 10 on the NPS scale. They are enthusiastic advocates of the product or service and are likely to recommend it to others.
    • Passives: Customers who give a score of 7 or 8 are considered Passives. They are somewhat satisfied with the product or service but may not be actively recommending it to others.
    • Detractors: Customers who rate their likelihood to recommend the product or service with a score of 0 to 6 are Detractors. They are not satisfied and may even share negative feedback with others, potentially harming the company’s reputation.
    new-nps-prompt

    Segmenting for targeted strategies.

    Segmenting customers based on their NPS categorization allows your team to tailor your product communication and even your product’s offerings based on customer sentiment. Each group presents different opportunities to scale and improve your product.

    Let’s break down how SaaS teams can use targeted strategies for NPS respondents:

    Convert detractors.

    For Detractors, it’s all about turning their frowns upside down. You can reach out to them with proactive issue resolution, personalized messages, and special offers to win back their trust. It’s like going the extra mile to make things right when a friend feels let down – we listen, we apologize, and we offer something special to make amends.

    Nurture passives.

    Passives might not be singing your praises just yet, but they’re not far off. By understanding their feedback and making small improvements, we can gradually turn them into enthusiastic supporters. It’s like watering a plant – with a little attention and care, it grows into something beautiful. We can nurture Passives by addressing their concerns and showing them that you’re listening and improving.

    Leverage promoters.

    Identifying Promoters is like striking gold – they’re your biggest fans, and they can help you grow. Engaging with Promoters through referral programs, testimonials, or loyalty incentives can spread positive word-of-mouth, attracting new customers and strengthening loyalty. It’s like having a group of friends who rave about your favorite restaurant – their enthusiasm brings more people in, and everyone keeps coming back for more.

    But remember, having a good NPS score overall doesn’t mean your work is done. To ensure long-term customer satisfaction, you need to approach NPS surveys and tracking as an iterative process.

    survey tool

    How can Beamer help you improve your NPS tracking?

    Beamer offers a range of features designed to help SaaS teams improve NPS tracking and ultimately enhance customer satisfaction.

    • Beamer NPS: Our free NPS tool helps you get NPS feedback with in-app surveys that have high response rates and can be tracked in real time and over time. Make informed roadmap decisions based on what your customers want and promote your product’s strengths based on what they advocate for.
    • Beamer Feedback: Beamer enables SaaS teams to collect feedback from users effortlessly. Whether it’s through targeted surveys, polls, or feedback forms, Beamer makes it easy to gather insights and ideas directly from customers, helping teams understand their needs and preferences better.
    • Changelog and Release Notes Management: Beamer allows SaaS teams to easily communicate product updates, feature releases, and improvements to users. By keeping customers informed about changes, teams can gather feedback and insights directly from their release notes, helping to gauge sentiment and identify areas for improvement.
    • In-App Notifications: With in-app notifications, you can reach users directly within their product interface. This provides an opportunity to solicit feedback on specific features or gather NPS responses seamlessly while users are engaged with the product.
    • User Segmentation: Beamer allows SaaS teams to segment users based on various criteria, including NPS scores. This segmentation enables you to tailor communication and engagement strategies specifically to each group, whether it’s nurturing Promoters, converting Detractors, or engaging with Passives.
    • Integrations and Automation: Whether it’s via our API, webhooks, or direct integrations, Beamer can connect to over 3,000 tools to elevate your user engagement and customer satisfaction efforts. Leverage customer data to segment user communication, automate feedback response processes, and optimize your team’s workflow.
    nps survey tool

    Overall, Beamer serves as a comprehensive platform that empowers SaaS teams to effectively run NPS surveys, track NPS, gather feedback, and engage with users to drive improvements in customer satisfaction and loyalty.

    Signup for free to immediately see user engagement skyrocket. Or book a demo to learn more about how we can help steer your product toward exponential growth.

    Read “How to Improve Your Net Promoter Score & Why It’s Important” to get more insights.

    Jen Chin

    Product Marketing Lead at Beamer

    Jen is a full-stack PMM and experienced SaaS marketer based in Vancouver, BC :bandera-ca:. She is passionate about transforming customers into champions and ridding the world of boring product updates.

    This article is about Customer Engagement + customer feedback + Product Management + User Engagement + User Feedback

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    “Beamer is the perfect tool for SaaS companies to engage users and reduce churn. Beamer has helped us achieve huge improvements in click through rates, reductions in churn and increased upselling.”

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    Go-to-Market Marketeer

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