Metrics that matter: Is NPS still relevant today?

Business leaders and strategists want tangible data to determine how well (or poorly) their teams deliver on customer expectations. One of the most widely recognized metrics for gauging customer sentiment is Net Promoter Score (NPS).

Some appreciate NPS for its simplicity, but it can lack clarity. Without context of the score, management may find it difficult to pinpoint the reasons behind it or be able to create an action plan. Understanding the "why" behind the number is key to making meaningful improvements.

Maybe that’s why Gartner predicted that 75% of organizations would abandon NPS as a measure of success for customer service by the end of this year.

However, Gartner also says that NPS can be a useful metric when part of a broader, more holistic view. Here, we’ll take a look at why NPS can be important, provide practical tips for improving customer sentiment, and explore how NPS fits into your customer experience management strategy.

What is NPS (Net Promoter Score)?

A Net Promoter Score is a measure of customer loyalty. Customers are asked to rank their likelihood of recommending your business to a friend or colleague on an 11-point scale (0–10). 

• Score = 9–10: Indicates promoters—those who are likely to recommend your brand 
• Score = 7–8: Indicates passives—those who may or may not recommend your brand
• Score = 0–6: Indicates detractors—those unlikely to recommend your brand

Your overall NPS is calculated by subtracting the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters. The higher the score, the better. 

NPS survey methods can vary but generally focus on a single question:

On a scale from 0-10, how likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?

However, there is no indicator of why someone might have given a certain score. That’s where context comes into play, requiring additional follow-up questions, like:

• What did we do well?
• What can we improve?
• Why did you give us your score?

NPS might be a good North Star, but on its own it doesn’t tell you much or what to do to improve it.

Note: For more on NPS basics, read our earlier blog, "What role Net Promoter Score should play in measuring the customer experience.”

Benchmarking NPS

Benchmarking NPS can be tricky. While industry benchmarks provide some context, the most valuable comparison is with an organization’s own past performance. Tracking historical data over time offers a clearer picture of trends and more actionable insights.

When analyzing NPS, it’s important to consider the factors that can impact them, such as the customer segment surveyed, how the data is collected, and whether incentives are involved. For example, surveying loyal customers will likely result in higher scores than surveying infrequent customers. Understanding these nuances ensures a more accurate interpretation of NPS data.

Without this context, businesses may misinterpret their NPS, either overestimating success or missing key areas for improvement. A sudden shift in scores could signal a meaningful trend, but it might also be due to seasonal changes or adjustments in survey methods. By tracking internal trends over time and segmenting data effectively, organizations can better identify the true factors influencing their scores.

Leveraging NPS for multi-unit businesses

For multi-unit retail and restaurant businesses, NPS is a widely recognized loyalty metric, but it may not always provide frontline managers with the actionable insights they need. While NPS serves as a broad performance indicator, local managers benefit from more detailed data that reflects their specific customer base and operational challenges.

By supplementing NPS with location-specific insights, businesses can empower individual units to make targeted improvements. This approach maintains brand-wide consistency while allowing the flexibility needed to address unique, localized customer experiences.

How to ensure NPS bring value

Metrics are only valuable when they drive action and link to business outcomes. To make NPS truly effective, businesses should connect it to key outcomes like revenue growth, customer retention, and brand reputation—turning insights into meaningful improvements.

When integrated into a broader CX strategy, NPS becomes a powerful tool for tracking customer sentiment and measuring the impact of changes over time. By embedding NPS into company-wide decision-making, teams across product development, customer service, and beyond can see how their efforts influence customer loyalty and business performance. This creates a culture of continuous improvement, ensuring CX metrics lead to real, strategic progress.

Pro tip: A holistic view of NPS and data help, but there is no one-size-fits-all approach. When you pair data with a professional’s insights and strategic guidance—like the experts at SMG—you can leverage the data to drive improvements organization wide.     

You know your NPS. Now what?

Getting your NPS is just the beginning—the real value comes from what you do with it. A high score doesn’t mean you can sit back, and a low score isn’t the end of the world. The key is digging into the why behind the numbers. Start by analyzing open-ended feedback from promoters, passives, and detractors to uncover common themes. Are there recurring pain points? What’s driving customer enthusiasm? Segment your NPS data by customer journey stage, location, or demographics to identify patterns and opportunities for improvement.

Next, take action. Where you have contact information, close the loop with detractors by addressing their concerns and showing them you’re listening. Engage passives to understand what’s missing in their experience and how you can turn them into promoters. And don’t forget about your promoters—these loyal customers are powerful advocates. Encourage them to share their experiences, write reviews, or participate in referral programs. Also combine the information with the transactional feedback you get to address issues that likely drive negative scores and celebrate wins.

Integrating NPS with other CX metrics, such as CSAT or CES, provides a more comprehensive view of customer experience. And integrating it with additional CX data can help answer questions that lead to action. Some examples might include: 

• Do customers who visit a restaurant location give better scores when a certain manager or staff member is on duty? 
• Do customers at a specialty retailer value product knowledge by staff members as a key driving factor of satisfaction, or do they appreciate helpful displays that allow them to see a product in action?
• Does a convenience store location consistently receive high scores for clean restrooms and friendly staff? Or do customers repeatedly mention that the coffee machines are always out of order?

Finally, integrate NPS insights with your broader CX strategy. Track changes over time, link NPS to business outcomes like retention and revenue, and ensure your teams are aligned on using feedback to drive meaningful improvements. NPS isn’t just a score—it’s a tool for continuous growth and customer-centric decision-making.

Anyone can collect data, but metrics that aren’t aligned with goals are of little value. At SMG, we go beyond data to deliver a tailored action plan for improvement. Connect with our team of CX experts to talk through your challenges and start improving your results with a strategic approach by reaching out today!

Josie Gaeckle | SVP, Client Insights