In a world where people research on the internet before making a decision, it is vital to have reviews (ideally positive) on your website and Google My Business. Consumers read an average of 10 online reviews before feeling they are able to trust a local business and 57% of consumers will only use a business if it has 4 or more stars.
Whilst most accounting and legal firms do not have a validated NPS, it is well worthwhile for them to apply the same type of objective logic to the firm’s clients. Are they Promoters, Passives or Detractors?
Food for thought: I once asked the partner group a large accounting firm if they thought that their own staff would recommend their friends and family members to the firm. Let me say, the feedback was far from a resounding yes. So, if your own staff aren’t giving you a great NPS then what about your clients?
Following is an article written by our friends at Greenfish Marketing and re-published with their consent.
No matter how good you think your customer service and support is, it really relies on the people that experience it and how they view it. Really, your customers hold the power to make or break the relationship and perception of your company.
Your customers can do your best free marketing by spreading love and brand awareness through word-of-mouth. So, it makes sense that you should be tracking how many of them are happy with their experiences.
So, reviews are important but you can’t make people give you them?
This is true. We wouldn’t recommend going up to a new customer and ask them to leave a stellar google review about your service. But through a strategic process, you can encourage your best, happiest and most loyal customers to advocate for your business.
We do this through an NPS Automation process to establish a perceived score/rating of our client’s service to their customers. You would have completed a type of NPS survey, every time you order food or catch an Uber, you’re asked to give a rating out of 5 stars, this is a basic survey to help build an NPS on drivers, restaurants or delivery personnel.
So, what is an NPS?
NPS measures customer experience. The question, how likely is it that you would recommend [brand] to a friend or colleague?
- Promoters (score 9-10) are loyal enthusiasts who will keep buying and refer others, fuelling growth.
- Passives (score 7-8) are satisfied but unenthusiastic customers who are vulnerable to competitive offerings.
- Detractors (score 0-6) are unhappy customers who can damage your brand and impede growth through negative word-of-mouth.
Subtracting the percentage of Detractors from the percentage of Promoters yields the Net Promoter Score, which ranges from a low of -100 (if every customer is a Detractor) to a high of 100 (if every customer is a Promoter). (netpromoter.com)
A Net Promoter Score can give your business valuable insight into the percentage of customers that are happy, happy but not 100% satisfied and customers that are unhappy. This valuable insight can highlight what is working within your business, what isn’t and what needs improving.
Valuable insight but what about the reviews?
At Greenfish Marketing we don’t just deploy an NPS survey to see what your customers think about your business and leave it there. We don’t just give you the result and see how you can figure out the improvements required to get everyone to be a promoter.
We take it a step further through the use of strategic emails and systems to encourage your promoters to advocate your business through testimonials and reviews. We ask passives of what can be improved, and we ask detractors how we can fix their experience, get them to come back and ask for feedback to increase their loyalty to your brand.
Through a carefully crafted process that doesn’t push customers, we highlight their experiences and segment them and guide them to complete our desired task. In the most positive aspect, we guide loyal, promoters to leave a review on Google which will increase your overall rating.
This helps future customers have an educated guess when coming to your business, knowing they’ll have a good experience. It also helps with SEO and Google positioning as Google rewards businesses who have a higher customer experience rating. The more 5 star reviews, the better. And we are all guilty of it, would you go to a hairdresser with a 1-star rating? What about a mechanic with 2 stars compared to one with 4.5 or 5 stars?
The questions you just answered are what help businesses grow exponentially or can halt their progress. Reviews and NPS ratings, as mentioned also allow businesses to review their processes and systems. If their rating is low, there is room to improve. But as highlighted in this post, an NPS automation can highlight your best, most loyal customers who will promote on your behalf, for FREE!
