Closed-loop reporting is a powerful tool for CX professionals. It enables us to prove the value of our work to senior execs and the wider organisation, by showing how it impacts of wider business metrics.
It also us to improve the future performance of our CX programmes. In this blog post, we’ll be taking a deep dive on how to start closing the loop with NPS scores.
If you start by plotting out your scores, you’ll probably see a distribution where you have a larger weighting of zeros then you perhaps realise. You'll probably have a few in the five/six range. Then you'll have a spike at the nine/ten mark. Each of these scores is important for different reasons.
Closing the loop with detractors
Most close the loop programmes focus on closing the loop with detractors. This approach is often for resource reasons - we don’t typically have infinite time and people to close the loop with everyone. So, we’ll make the decision to only close the loop with people who scored us 0-3, or alternatively we might only close them when they pick up on particular issues.
When you look at churn analysis, alongside NPS, there’s typically a sweet spot from a close loop angle. Typically, 90% of the value of closing the loop, regarding protecting future revenues (so customers are staying with you longer), comes from that 0 to 4 space.
And guess what, the funny thing there is if you only measure improvements in NPS, closing the loop with these customers might not improve your overall NPS score. You might only move them from a 0 to a 1 or a 1 to a 2. They’re still detractors. But, what you’re doing here is protecting revenue. So there’s clearly a reason for doing that in terms of improving loyalty.
Closing the loop with neutrals
Who’s closing the loop with people scoring 7+ in NPS? This can be a challenge for two reasons. First, you need the resource to follow up with these people. Second, you need the right text or sentiment analytics to uncover the nuggets of information that signal a cry for help from a customer. This could be feedback along the lines of: “The assistant was really helpful and the coffee was delicious. But the toilets were a real mess.” Overall, this feedback is positive. However, the feedback about the toilets is clearly an opportunity to improve the experience for the customer.
By starting to close the loop with customers scoring you 7, 8 or 9, you could have an amazing, long-term relationship. They might say the service is brilliant, but unfortunately I still have a problem with 'X'. That’s an opportunity for you to have a really meaningful conversation, deliver a memorable experience, and think about how you prioritise those customers within the framework as well.
Closing the loop with promoters
Everyone loves a thank you. How amazing would it be if your customers are scoring you 10 out of 10 and you get someone to call and just say thank you. Don’t do it with everyone - you’ll have far too many 10's clearly. But just ring some of your customers and say I just want to thank you for that feedback.
Imagine doing that socially. For example, retweet positive social feedback. It’ll make the customer feel good and the social impressions from this can be hugely rewarding.
And, if you’re not convinced, here’s another reason to close the loop. Typically, when you close the loop, 65% of these customers will go on to score you higher next time.
These higher scores might not make an overall improvement to your Net Promoter Score. But it proves the value of closing the loop and improves that brand experience for those customers. Then, hopefully, these customers are customers for life because of the experience you are delivering.
Want to hear whether better behaviour can really influence NPS?
John Patterson (Director of Customer Experience, Sage) left us feeling pretty inspired in our recent webinar with EngageCustomer, together we discussed the link between behaviour, NPS and customers' satisfaction. You can get your hands on the recording right here (you can thank us later).
