Understanding the SaaS Net Promoter Score (NPS)
To be successful in the fast-paced SaaS industry, ensuring customer satisfaction and loyalty is critical. One way to measure this is through the SaaS business’s Net Promoter Score (NPS), which gives insight into how satisfied and loyal customers are to the company and the product/service. In this article, we will dive into what the NPS metric is, how to calculate it, and strategies to improve NPS scores.
What is the Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Many SaaS businesses have taken to the Net Promoter Score (NPS) as a standard metric for measuring customer satisfaction and loyalty. This score, obtained from answering one simple question in an NPS survey, can provide insight into how people engage with a SaaS product, and identify areas needing improvement or expansion.
A high NPS score suggests there is high consumer contentment and loyalty which will lead to more positive online reviews, customer referrals, etc., resulting in company growth. On the other hand, a low NPS score suggests low customers contentment and loyalty, which will lead to more poor online reviews, and limited to no customer referrals. Below is an example of what an NPS survey question may look like.
NPS Survey Example
How to Calculate a SaaS NPS
Net Promoter Score, or NPS, is derived by requesting customers rate their likelihood of recommending a product/service on a scale from 0-10. The SaaS company can then label respondents as Promoters (9-10), Passives (7-8), or Detractors (0 – 6). In order to obtain the final NPS score of a SaaS business, you need to take the percentage of promoters (people who rated their likelihood in recommending it) and subtract from that number those who were detractors (people who rated their likelihood in recommending it).
NPS Formula
For example, if 43% of respondents say they would recommend it with enthusiasm, versus 25% answering 6 or below, the NPS score is 18 (43%-25%).
SaaS NPA Score Calculation Example
Conducting NPS surveys
Organizations should customize their NPS surveys to match the branding of their company in order to make them more engaging for users. Personalizing each survey by addressing customers using their names is beneficial, as this can help improve response rates. Any such questionnaire should also include follow-up questions. These queries provide insights about why a customer has rated what they have and enable businesses to easily spot areas that need improvement.
How to Use NPS
For SaaS companies, NPS is an important gauge to predict churn rates, evaluate the potential for development and observe the advantages or disadvantages of their product. A high score indicates that customers are content with the SaaS business’s performance, which usually leads to more exploration into other services or upgraded subscriptions.
SaaS NPS Benchmarking
Gauging the success of a SaaS NPS score requires understanding where it stands in comparison to others in the industry and established standards. Moreover, measuring NPS scores over time makes it possible to measure initiatives’ impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty accurately. This allows for better decision-making, helping to ensure investments to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty go towards areas most likely to yield positive results
Strategies for Improving Your SaaS NPS
To elevate a SaaS NPS score, resolving Detractors’ complaints and connecting with Passive customers is important. By analyzing each cohort’s particular difficulties and applying appropriate solutions, a SaaS business can gradually improve customer satisfaction, specifically with those who fall within the Detractor and Passive categories.
Addressing Detractors’ Concerns
Being attentive to feedback from dissatisfied customers is vital for improving the SaaS customer experience and turning them into either Promoters or Passives. To reach this goal, it’s essential to fully understand and appreciate the issues they may be having with the product or service. With these valuable insights in hand, specific actions can be taken to improve their experience. These actions commonly include better instructions on proper usage, addressing technical problems, and creating an open dialogue so the customer feels heard and the SaaS business can glean better insight into the customer experience.
Engaging with Passives
For companies to increase their customer satisfaction, loyalty, and ultimately their NPS scores, engaging with Passive customers and moving them to the Promoter category is important. SaaS companies can do this through dialogue, addressing their apprehensions with the product, and giving them a better understanding of the available features.
Leveraging promoters
A SaaS business can increase awareness and attract more customers by leveraging Promoters. An effective way to do this is by giving them content to post, such as photographs, clips, or stories. Rewards can also be offered for referrals, including discounts or special deals.
Summary
By taking into account customer satisfaction levels, the Net Promoter Score (NPS) offers an ideal metric to measure a SaaS business’s overall customer satisfaction and loyalty. By actively working to understand and improve the NPS score, businesses can discover different paths to growth and can enhance their current product or service offerings.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the Average NPS Score for Software Companies?
Software companies, on average, have an NPS score of 58, and an NPS score greater than 50 is considered excellent. Industry-leading companies in this sector – such as Adobe and Salesforce – have higher scores, ranging from 62+ to 66+.
What is a Good NPS Score by Industry?
The best way to generate customer loyalty is to have a satisfactory Net Promoter Score (NPS), which typically falls between 39 and 65 for B2B industries, and between 9 and 74 for B2C.
How is the Final NPS Score Calculated?
The final NPS score is calculated by subtracting the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters, resulting in an NPS score between -100 and 100. A higher NPS score indicates greater customer satisfaction and loyalty.
What Strategies Can Be Employed to Address Detractors’ Concerns?
It is essential to understand the complaints of detractors and come up with modifications to the SaaS service or product to address the noted complaints. To achieve this, SaaS businesses need to pay attention to the customer suggestions they receive and apply changes for everybody’s benefit.
Here are three more SaaS articles you might find interesting:
Essential Liquidity Ratios and Metrics
The SaaS ROSE Metric
The Role of an Outsourced CFO
Talk to us about outsourced accounting and other financial services for B2B SaaS companies.
