Tying NetPromoter Scores To Demand:
Reconsidering The Numbers That Matter

By John Gaffney

There’s been a lot of high-level debate recently about the usefulness of customer satisfaction scores. On one side are the NetPromoter fans who believe the extent to which a customer will recommend a product is the highest priority metric. On the other side are a group of authors and analysts that see a hot topic and are looking to cool it.

NetPromoter and the whole concept of customer satisfaction measurement is best viewed through the lens of demand generation. After all, if a company is not creating demand for its products or services, the rest of the debate and the rest of the measurements are just blog fodder. Customer satisfaction is a critical measurement not in predicting demand gen, but in defining it. Customer satisfaction measures the key elements of the customer experience. So measuring customer satisfaction, as NetPromoter does, is important.

Here’s why. Customer satisfaction scores are based on customer experience. A poor customer satisfaction rating, regardless of how a company measures it, means customers have had sub-par experiences. Experiences in the digital world are based on price, service, multichannel interactions, communications, and intangibles. The cold number on a spreadsheet is the result of warm bodies having emotional experiences with a call center, sales rep, retail sales person, or email that carries a brand. The question is not really about the relevance of customer satisfaction. Of course it’s relevant. The question is: What elements of the customer experience are generating demand? Which elements are flat or driving demand down?

On the consumer packaged goods side, customer satisfaction is tied very well to demand gen. Look no further than Coke and Pepsi. Price levers are consistently used to generate demand but they also leave the customer feeling good about getting “a deal.” Communications (media, advertising, promotions) are aimed at generating demand among different key customer groups. Pepsi, for example, is consistently trying to max out demand from the 18-24 age group. It will use celebrities, music promotions and sponsorships to make that customer group feel satisfied with the experience and desire that experience again. In some ways I think demand generation has become demand not for products, but for the products and associated experiences. My Coke Rewards and PepsiStuff are good examples of extending the brand experience to generate more demand for the product and the experience.

Let’s look at one of the other key debate points involved in the NetPromoter debate. Does willingness to recommend a product mean a company is generating demand? The answer to me is obvious. Word of mouth just might be the most effective way to generate demand from new customers that the digital age has produced. But savvy executives will understand that the thing being recommended is not the thing itself. The thing being recommended is most likely the information, experience and community that goes along for the ride. Customers are recommending products and experiences. In turn, the best marketing will create demand for both. Customer satisfaction, regardless of how it’s measured, in both areas, is critical.