An NPS survey that explains its score
A Net Promoter Score tells you a number moved. It does not tell you why, and the open “reason for your score” box often comes back as one word. The survey is worth running when it asks the follow-up that turns that word into something a team can act on.
What should teams running an NPS survey ask first?
| Ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| From 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague? | The standard question, so the score compares with your own history. |
| What is the main reason for your score? | The reason is the part of the survey a team can act on. |
| What is the one thing that would have made your score higher? | Asked of everyone, it turns a middling score into a specific request. |
| How often do you use the product: daily, weekly, or now and then? | A low score from a daily user and one from an occasional user mean different things. |
| For a low score: is there something we can fix for you now? | It turns a detractor into a support conversation. |
| May we contact you about your answer? | Asking first keeps the follow-up welcome. |
If an answer would not change what you do next, leave the question out. Each extra question is one more reason for someone to stop before they finish.
Which answers come back too vague to use, and what do you ask next?
The answers that cause a phone call are rarely missing. They are present and too loose to act on. A narrower follow-up, asked straight away while the person is still there, usually settles them. Offering likely answers shows the person the level of detail you need.
| What comes back | The follow-up that settles it |
|---|---|
| “It’s fine.” | Fine compared with what you expected, or compared with what you used before? |
| “Too expensive.” | Too expensive for how much you use it, or more than you can spend right now? |
| “Support is slow.” | Was that one request, or does it happen most times you ask for help? |
Follow up once per gap, then move on. If an answer is still unclear after one follow-up, flag it for whoever picks the request up rather than pressing.
When is a call or a visit still the right move?
A detractor at a large account is a call from their account manager, this week. The survey does not replace that call. It finds out who needs one, and why, before the renewal conversation instead of during it.
How do you set this up from the Net Promoter Score check-in template?
Acquainto has a Net Promoter Score check-in template to start from. After you sign up, open Browse templates, pick Net Promoter Score check-in, and it lands in the editor as a draft you can change before anything is published.
The template asks the 0 to 10 recommendation question, the main reason for the score, how often the person uses the product (daily, a few times a week, or occasionally) and what could be better. It does not branch. Add the “what would have made it higher” question for everyone and the permission to contact them, and run it every quarter or after a milestone such as onboarding or a renewal.
Acquainto runs it as a short written conversation instead of a form. It:
- asks a follow-up when an answer is incomplete, and asks for clarification when one is vague;
- uses a structured choice where precision matters and open conversation where detail matters;
- shows the person every answer before it is sent, so they correct their own mistakes;
- hands back one clean value per question, delivered to your own systems by webhook.
The person answering needs no account, and nothing has to be scheduled. Start free trial, see how it works, or compare plans.