• The Ultimate Question… again

    Posted on August 17th, 2006 by and currently 2 commenting.

    Hello!

    Six months ago, I posted a very similar post. And I will explain now, as I explained then, that we are an introspective company. We spend a lot of time examining ourselves and our processes to make us better. It’s a simple concept… one that we’ve talked a lot about… the idea that your company is not what you say, but what others say.

    Ultimate Question.gifSo, Fred Reichheld’s formula for tracking your company’s recommend-ability, The Net Promoter Score, has become a very important benchmark for many companies… ours included. Of course, the important thing about a benchmark is that you have to measure and remeasure to see if you’re making progress. So, six months later, we’re asking again… how likely would you be to recommend Brains on Fire to a friend, relative or colleague? So we invite you to give us your feedback, your impressions. If you answered six months ago, we invite you to let us know how your opinion has (or hasn’t) changed. If you’re new, we invite you to join the dialogue. I do have to ask that, if you have already received this survey from me in email form, please do not respond through the blog. But other than that, I hope that you will take a few minutes to help us grow!
    Answer the Ultimate Question

  • http://www.communityguy.com Jake

    So on the subject of NPS… here’s two questions I’ve always struggled with.

    1. Does it work with kids? (I assume not, since kids don’t quite understand the concept of “recommendation” the same as adults)

    2. Does the NPS concept cap out? (Meaning, if there’s a group of hardcore company fans, their likelyhood of recommending the company is usually near 100%, until something happens to change their mind…even if that event has taken years to build up to. Perhaps I just don’t understand NPS well enough?)

  • http://brainsonfire.com Jennifer

    Jake –

    Great Questions. Does it work with kids… honestly, I think it would. You might have to work with them to explain the concept a little, but I think that kids are capable of grasping the concept. (This said after spending the weekend with my young cousins… all of whom are, of course, geniuses!)

    Also… does the NPS concept cap out? According to the examples in Reichheld’s book, I would say no. The formula is built to calculate for hardcore promoters and hardcore detractors. There is no higher score than a 10 and there is no lower score than a 0. So even if you have hardcore fans, they still only have that same scale and their response is not weighted over anyone else’s. Even brands like USAA and Harley Davidson operate in the 80% range. No brand is perfect, so even with rabid advocates, the NPS should still be able to provide an accurate picture. Of course, you have to be willing to open the question up to ANYONE… not just your hardcore supporters. Accuracy depends on not being afraid to ask the people who love you AND who might as likely kick you in the shin.