How to Create and Conduct an Effective NPS Survey: Step-By-Step Guide

A brand’s long-term success is largely dependent on how loyal its customers are. In times of economic pessimism, when buyers feel tempted to base purchases on price, garnering their trust and devotion is crucial.

Conducting NPS surveys is one of the most effective ways to gauge this metric, but if you are not familiar with the concept of NPS yet, here’s a quick tutorial to get you started:

Watch: What Is Net Promoter Score (NPS) and Why Businesses Use It?

In this blog, you’ll get a detailed breakdown of how to create an NPS survey, how to calculate the score, why it’s important, how to keep track of your responses, and some best practices.

Let’s get started! 

What Is a Net Promoter Score (NPS)?

Just as a quick catchup, the Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures customer loyalty and understands how customers truly feel about your brand by asking one pivotal question:

“On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our product or service to a friend or colleague?”

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Here’s how the responses break down:

• Promoters (9-10): These are your enthusiastic advocates who not only stick around but also bring in others by sharing their positive experiences.
• Passives (7-8): These customers are content but not fully loyal. They’re unlikely to actively promote you and could be wooed by competitors.
• Detractors (0-6): These are dissatisfied customers who might share negative feedback and harm your reputation.

How to Create an NPS Survey

For this, let’s take ProProfs Survey Maker as the choice of tool as it offers the option of both creating from scratch or using ready-made templates:

1. Using an NPS Survey Template

ProProfs offers pre-designed NPS survey templates, which are perfect if you want a quick and professional setup. These templates come with the essential question:
“How likely are you to recommend this company to a friend or colleague?”

• Simply select the template, customize the branding, and tweak the survey flow to match your needs.
• Add follow-up questions like, “What’s the primary reason for your score?” to collect detailed feedback.

2. Building an NPS Survey from Scratch

If you want full control over the design, you can create your survey step-by-step:

• Start a New Survey: Log in to ProProfs Survey Maker and click Create Survey.

• Create With AI: Fill in details about your survey topic to get relevant questions and a basic structure in seconds.

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• Add a Question: If you decide to create it entirely on your own, navigate to the question menu. There, you can choose the readymade NPS question and use it as is or edit it to fit your requirements.

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• Customize the Design: Adjust the colors, fonts, and branding to align with your business identity.

• Set Up Distribution: Share the survey via email, embed it on your website, or use a link on social media.

How to Calculate Your NPS Score

How to Calculate Net Promoter Score: 3 Easy Steps

Net promoter score calculation is a multi-step process that starts with creating an NPS survey to analyze the responses. Since we have covered the creation part, let’s understand how to analyze the scores. 

Step 1: Categorize the Responses

Organize your respondents into three groups based on their ratings:

(a) Promoters (9-10):
These are your most loyal and satisfied customers who are highly likely to recommend your products or services. They are your advocates and can drive positive word-of-mouth.

(b) Passives (7-8):
While these customers are content, they aren’t fully loyal yet. They may not actively promote your brand and are more likely to consider switching to competitors if given a better option.

(c) Detractors (0-6):
This group includes dissatisfied customers who are at risk of churning. They often share negative feedback, which can hurt your brand’s reputation. Addressing their concerns should be a top priority.

Step 2: Calculate the Net Promoter Score

Use the standard NPS formula to determine your score. The formula relies on the percentages of Promoters and Detractors:

NPS Formula:
(% Promoters) – (% Detractors) = NPS

Here’s an example to make it clear:

• Imagine 100 customers responding to your survey.
• 60 of them give a score of 9-10 (Promoters), and 20 give a score of 0-6 (Detractors).

Step-by-step Calculation:

• Percentage of Promoters = (60 ÷ 100) × 100 = 60%
• Percentage of Detractors = (20 ÷ 100) × 100 = 20%
• NPS = 60% – 20% = 40

Step 3: Take Action on the Feedback

Once you’ve calculated your NPS, use the insights to address concerns, improve customer experiences, and strengthen loyalty.

Why Is Net Promoter Score Important?

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is important because it gives you something every business craves: a clear understanding of how your customers feel about you – it’s a reflection of your customer relationships and a guide for building stronger connections.

Here’s why NPS matters so much:

1. It’s a Loyalty Litmus Test

NPS boils customer sentiment down to one simple question: Would you recommend us? That one answer tells you how likely your customers are to stick around, spread the word, or, on the flip side, drift away.

2. It Predicts Growth, Not Just Satisfaction

Happy customers are great, but loyal customers are game-changers. Promoters—the ones who score you a 9 or 10—don’t just stay; they spend more and bring others with them. NPS helps you see how well you nurture these relationships, directly impacting your bottom line.

3. It Highlights What Needs Fixing

Your brand’s NPS score reveals a lot, but when you pair it with follow-up questions like, Why did you give us this score?, you can tap into golden insights. It might reveal a frustrating feature, a bad support experience, or something you didn’t even know was a problem.

4. It Keeps You Competitive

NPS is an industry standard. Measuring your score over time and comparing it to competitors helps you see where you stand and where you can improve to stay ahead.

5. It Tracks Progress Over Time

Improving customer loyalty doesn’t happen overnight. But with NPS, you can track the impact of changes—whether it’s a new product feature or a service tweak—and see how it resonates with your audience.

How to Track Your Survey Responses

Tracking survey responses is crucial for understanding your audience and making data-driven decisions. For convenience’s sake, let’s see how you can do it on ProProfs Survey Maker:

1. Use Built-in Analytics

ProProfs Survey Maker comes with detailed reporting and analytics features that make response tracking effortless.

• Access real-time data to see how many respondents have completed your survey.
• View individual responses or aggregate results to understand trends and patterns.
• Use visual reports like charts and graphs for easy interpretation.

2. Set Up Notifications

Stay updated without constantly checking the dashboard. Enable email notifications to get alerts every time someone completes your survey. This is particularly useful for tracking responses in real-time.

3. Segment Responses

Segment your data to obtain more in-depth insights:

• Filter responses by demographics, location, or other criteria you’ve included in the survey.
• Identify patterns, such as which age group is most satisfied or which region has the highest engagement.

4. Track Survey Completion Rates

Monitor how many people start versus how many finish your survey. This helps you identify if certain questions or sections might be causing drop-offs and adjust accordingly.

5. Export Data for Further Analysis

Need more advanced insights? Export your survey data in formats like Excel, CSV, or PDF. This allows you to analyze responses using other tools or share them with your team for collaboration.

6. Use Integration Features

Integrate your survey with CRM or email marketing tools. This lets you automatically track and act on survey responses within your workflow.

What Best Practices Should be Followed While Conducting an NPS Survey?

Here are some best practices that will take your NPS surveys to the next level:

1. Keep It Simple, But Not Too Simple

Sure, the NPS question is straightforward, but don’t stop there. Add one or two follow-up questions like:

• “What’s the main reason for your score?”
• “What could we do to improve your experience?”
  This keeps the survey short but gives you context behind the numbers—pure gold for actionable insights.

2. Time It Right

Timing is everything. Ask for feedback after a meaningful interaction—whether it’s after a purchase, a customer service call, or a trial period. Sending the survey too early or too late might skew results or annoy customers.

3. Personalize the Experience

Nobody likes feeling like just another number. Personalize your survey with the recipient’s name or reference their recent interaction. For example:

• “Hi [Name], we noticed you recently purchased [Product]. Could you share your feedback?”

It feels more genuine and increases response rates.

4. Segment Your Audience

Not all customers are the same, and their feedback won’t be either. Segment respondents by factors like product type, location, or purchase history. This allows you to identify trends within specific groups and tailor your improvements effectively.

5. Make It Easy to Respond

• Use multiple channels: email, SMS, in-app, or even a website pop-up.
• Optimize for mobile devices. A clunky survey on a small screen? That’s a no-go.

The easier you make it, the more responses you’ll get.

6. Follow Up with Respondents

Here’s where most businesses drop the ball: They collect feedback but fail to act on it. Respond to Detractors promptly to address concerns, thank Passives for their input, and engage Promoters by asking them to leave reviews or refer friends.

7. Monitor Trends Over Time

One NPS survey is a snapshot. Regular surveys give you a movie. Keep track of how your score changes over months or after launching new initiatives. This helps you measure the impact of your efforts and ensures you’re moving in the right direction.

8. Close the Loop

When customers take the time to share feedback, let them know it matters. Send an email saying:

• “Thanks for your feedback! Here’s what we’re doing to improve based on what you told us.”
  It shows you’re listening, and it strengthens trust.

9. Don’t Obsess Over the Score

NPS is important, but it’s not the end-all metric. Focus on the feedback behind the numbers and how you can turn insights into action. A high score is great, but a customer-centric approach is better.

NPS Surveys: Get the Best Insights by Using NPS Software

Net Promoter Score surveys are a window into your customers’ experiences and loyalty. By creating well-designed surveys, analyzing responses thoughtfully, and acting on feedback, you can strengthen relationships, improve retention, and drive business growth.

To maximize the impact of your NPS surveys, act quickly on feedback, especially from Detractors, and use trends to measure the effectiveness of changes over time.

If you are looking for a net promoter score software to start with your first NPS survey, you could try out the custom survey templates from ProProfs Survey Maker.

Now, on a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to share this article? Do let us know!