I like answering surveys, and I like to think it`s due to more than a fondness for radio buttons. I imagine I`m paying it forward for the many times I will need to go out and do research in the future. So it should not surprise you, dear friends, if I was a little stunned when this good deed went quite profoundly punished.
My supplier, with whom I am (was) quite pleased, sent me a little survey. I said nice things and, when I got to the “how likely are you to recommend us to a colleague” question, I thought, oh, they`re using Net Promoter Score (NPS) and then I scored it a truthful nine out of ten, clicked submit and went on with my day.
Now, if you don`t know about NPS, it`s a customer scoring system where, basically, the only question that matters is that one about recommendation or promotion. Score a 9 or 10 out of 10 and you`re a Promoter. Seven and eight make you a Passive and the rest makes you a Detractor. It gets more fun when the company you’re rating has to deduct extra points from the overall totals for each Detractor. It’s like Snakes and Ladders that way.
While NPS has its considerable limitations, it`s a pretty good way to see who`s happy, who isn`t and who could be. The problem starts when we go charging off trying to do something about it, especially when the marketers show up. Never give a happy customer to marketing; we`ll just screw it up.
So here`s what happened: within a day of clicking my way to Promoter status, I had a call from some service dude who breathlessly thanked me and asked if I would participate in a customer focus panel. “Okay”, I said. “This afternoon”, he said. “No thank you,” I said.
The next day, the head of sales called me. Could they use me as a reference? Could they send over some prospects? Could I write a letter of reference? Keep in mind I’ve used this product for about a month. I asked them to call another time.
Two days after that, I had bloody marketing on the phone. “Can we do a case study?” No. “Can we get a quote for the website?” No. “When is a good time for a photo shoot?” About two weeks after never.
I thought I had made my point. Clearly not. The next week it was the head of sales training wondering if I could speak at a product launch meeting and maybe join a customer advisory panel.
I thought this product was supposed to save me time?
If all of this sudden love and affection is any indication, I may be the first person in history to actually like this company. Or maybe I’m just the first to admit it. Either way, I haven’t felt this violated since my last pap test, and I think there are a lot of other people out there who are paying for being nice.
So what do we do? It’s very exciting when someone pays us a compliment. Marketing lives for reference accounts, people who will speak on the record about products, and, well, anyone who isn’t mailing body parts to them.
Let’s break it down: a Promoter is someone who liked you once, at a single point in time, probably following a single transaction or activity. It doesn’t mean they want to have your babies; it just means you didn’t piss them off. It certainly doesn’t give you the right to shout at them.
Promoters are your crown jewels (and I don’t, for a change, mean that euphemistically). Like crown jewels everywhere, they should be kept in a safe place and brought out only for state occasions and the odd dusting. They are not baubles to be waved around just any place; they are something you reserve for closing big deals, squishing competitors and putting in feature articles that people actually read.
I understand the instinct to go after folks like us; after all, there’s gold in those Net Promoters. Let’s remember, however, that just because you know there’s gold, doesn’t mean you get to strip mine it.
If you work in the Customer Abuse Department, it is your solemn duty to protect your Net Promoters (and other kind folks) from people like me. Lock them up, and for God’s sake don’t tell anyone. If you think you have something to learn from them, do it gently, respectfully and over time. If you rush at them, I promise, they will run away.
In fact, I think we need a Net Stalker Score index to answer honestly this question: “How likely are we to frighten, abuse or harass this client?” Be honest.
Next week, we’ll deal with those pesky Detractors.
Related Posts:
Fight Them in The Cafes
Retention Disorders — Churning is for Butter
Toxic Auto-Spamming at Happy Hour
BizMarketer is Elizabeth Williams
You can reach me at escwilliams@gmail.com
or follow me on Twitter @bizmkter
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