Net Promoter Scores: 7 Fast Ways To Raise Them

Net Promoter Scores is one of the hottest business measurement tools. In fact your next promotion or bonus may be based on your Net Promoter Score – which asks customers one question – “On a scale of zero to 10, how likely is it that you would recommend us to your friends or colleagues?”

Customers who respond zero to 6 are detractors, all who respond 7 or 8 are passive, and 9 or 10 are promoters. The percentage of promoters minus that of detractors is your <a href="http://www.customerfocusinc.com/">Net Promoter Score</a>.

So, let’s suppose your company just implemented the Net Promoter Score. That means you, your pay, and your future promotions are tied to your ability to turn customers into promoters. At <a href="http://www.customerfocusinc.com/">Customer Focus, Inc.</a> (www.customerfocusinc.com) we’re a <a href="http://www.customerfocusinc.com/content/view/23/35/">customer service training</a> company who helps raise Net Promoter Scores. We’ve discovered fast ways to raise your scores.

Whether you use a <a href="http://www.customerfocusinc.com/content/view/23/35/">professional customer service training</a> company or do it yourself, have your people learn and practice these seven techniques. Then observe, measure, and reward them. They may sound simple, but they work and do so quickly.
   
<b>1. Welcome and thank every customer</b>

Begin with every customer “Welcome to…” or “Thank you for calling …” And use a warm and sincere tone of voice that lets the customer feel like an invited guest. And if you recognize, say “It’s good to see (hear from) you again”. Score 2 or 3 points already.

<b>2. Use names as often as possible</b>

Quick quiz: What’s the most important word customers want to hear? In an increasingly impersonal world, customers thirst to hear their name. Train your people to use each customer’s name at least twice. Each time is worth a point up to three points. Then, to lock in those points, have your people state their own name twice. The first time, the customer didn’t hear it. Then after you use the customer’s name, they hear your name the second time you say it.

<b>3. Say glad, happy, pleased, or pleasure for every request</b>

There’s a reason at Ritz Carlton they say, “My pleasure.” Train your people to respond to every request with, “I’d be glad to take care of that,” or “I’d be happy to do that,” or even, “Sure, that’d be no problem.” Let them use their own words and let the positive feelings rub off onto your customer.. Rack up at least two points the first time you say it, and one or two more for saying it consistently.

<b>4. Apologize whether you’re sorry or not</b>

You work hard to build up your points with a customer, but you could lose 3 or 4 points in a blink. When customers feel wronged or upset, apologize and show empathy to keep your points.  Take responsibility and never blame anybody else. The customer will feel they can trust you to take care of them and who they recommend. Sincere apologies create promoters. A person in one of our <a href="http://www.customerfocusinc.com/content/view/23/35/">training classes</a> once said, “We were told never to apologize. You never want to admit blame.”
Employees don’t have to admit blame or say, “We were wrong” to apologize. Apologize for the customer’s inconvenience, or for having made the customer upset, or for the situation. In the Net Promoter world, such words are magic.

<b>5. Provide GEMs to meet Uniqueness Need</b>

We start our <a href="http://www.customerfocusinc.com/">customer service training</a> by saying that customers have three TRU needs: Task Need, Respect Need, and Uniqueness Need.  You create a Distractor by not meeting either of the first two needs, you create a Passive customer when you meet just the first two needs, and you create a Promoter when you meet all three.
To make a customer feel Unique do something extra that exceeds expectations. We call those extras GEMs™ for Going the Extra Mile. We provide many guidelines and examples of GEMs, but one thing is common in all GEMs – you cannot standardize them. Train your employees to think, “What else can I do for this customer” or “What more can I do?” And the greatest opportunities are with your greatest challenges. Give a great GEM and do the first four above, and you’re good for an 8 or 9.

<b>6. Train your employees to create an “experience” for the customer.</b>

Net Promoter is all about getting people to talk about your company in a positive way. <a href="http://www.customerfocusinc.com/">Great experiences</a> generate great stories, and terrible experiences generate horror stories. What stories are your people generating? As a manager, you can encourage <a href="http://www.customerfocusinc.com/">great customer experiences</a> by collecting stories of those experiences and rewarding those who create them. You can set the bar for the rest of your company by featuring and publicizing these stories, as well as receiving the high Net Promoter scores these experiences engender.


<b>7. Create a “Cheat Sheet” for your employees to use with every customer</b>

If employees don’t know how to turn detractors and passives into promoters, a company’s Net Promoter scores will never go up. Ongoing training and reinforcement in these skills is crucial for high net promoter scores. After training, create a “Cheat Sheet” for your employees to use with every customer. Then, either hold a team meeting or coach your people individually, or both. Do ongoing role-plays with each employee to practice these skills. Observe them in action and give them feedback, especially praise. Companies are adopting <a href="http://www.customerfocusinc.com/">Net Promoter</a> because it is remarkable in its power and simplicity. By taking all these actions, you just might get to keep your job, get that bonus, and move on up.

Go to our website at www.customerfocusinc.com or call us to find out more about getting fast training to increase your Net Promoter scores.  

<b>About the Author</b>

<a href="http://www.customerfocusinc.com/">Customer Focus, Inc.</a> is an international <a href="http://www.customerfocusinc.com/content/view/23/35/">customer service training</a> company that provides innovative, world-class <a href="http://www.customerfocusinc.com/content/view/23/35/">customer service skill building</a> and culture-building training programs at low cost. Contact Steve Fugate: (817) 303-5256<br><br>
&#169; Copyright 2007 Customer Focus Inc.
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