Thinking about neutral

I have mixed feelings about the NetPromoter metric. It is a 11-point survey question that we ask to our customers to assess their stated likelihood of recommending the product or service they use. The NetPromoter value is highly correlated with revenue growth in most markets, and so it is currently our best metric to predict revenue growth of a product or service. That's great. It is a self-report measure, of course, so it doesn't really correspond completely with behavior... some people give us a 10, but haven't actually recommended us... and some people have given us a 6 and have.

What is interesting, though, is how we use this measure to try to identify areas for improvement. We focus on why people are detractors.

We have a tendency to ignore the people who give ratings of 7 or 8 on the Net Promoter scale, because they don't drag our overall numbers down like detractors do.But this tendency means that we are ignoring the goldmine of rich ideas for building even more promoters. We should be building more promoters by focusing on people who are neutral.

Here are 5 reasons to focus on neutral:
They already like your product/service. Rating something well above the mid-point indicates an overall positive feeling. It is likely something fairly minor holding them back from enthusiasm.
More bang for the buck. Their issues may represent those of some of the detractors. Addressing these issues may lead to higher promoters than expected, given the population of neutrals.
It’s easier to nudge than shove.Sometimes a small thing will make the difference for this group of individuals.
They are likely to want to help.Since they like your stuff already, they are probably open to helping you devise ways to improve it.
Just interacting with them may make the difference.Positive personal interaction engenders some degree of trust and loyalty. If you make it clear that you care about them, they will care more about you.