So, you sent out a Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey, and you got a zero. First, all is not lost. It’s only hopeless if you choose to do nothing about it.

Getting a number that’s at or below zero is a unique situation. It tells you that your customers care enough to complete your survey. At the same time, they’re sending you a very clear message. This message says they want to shop with you, but they’re sending a fair warning that you aren’t doing something right.

Ultimately, they have no reason to shop with you or recommend you to anyone, so it’s time to make some changes.

In this article, we look at what to do if your NPS is below zero and look at how you can recover from it.

The Point of the Score

First, the NPS is not a score to hang on your wall. When it’s low, it tells you that something is amiss, and you have a great opportunity for improvement.

Since the Net Promoter Score is the measurement of your customers’ loyalty to your company, a low score tells you they’re unhappy, and they are not going to recommend you to others.

Once you send out your first NPS survey, you can use this initial score as your baseline. If you get a zero, great, you aren’t in the negative numbers, but you do know you have a long way to go to get to 100. If you get below a zero, that’s negative territory, and the climb is longer.

On the positive side, your zero or negative zero may even be well above the competition. But that doesn’t mean you rest there. It’s time for some strategizing to improve your score over time.

Now let’s look at how to improve your Net Promoter Score if it’s below zero.

Get Your Employees on Board

If your score is low, it’s time for a team meeting. It’s important that everyone at your company understands your NPS score is too low, and you must improve.

Your staff should understand that improving your score means making your currently unhappy customers happy. Anyone who has direct contact with your customers needs to understand this. (tweet this)

Converting unhappy customers into your loyal promoters is going to take everyone, not just your marketing team.

Give Your Customers a Hand

Your social media pages come into play here.

Find your happy customers and ask them to share their good experiences on your social media pages. You might ask for good reviews. Or, you can ask them if they’ll do a video testimonial as this really helps legitimize the review.

Don’t get into paid reviews as this can end up causing you problems in the long run.

To encourage customers, make sure they feel appreciated and do what you can to make leaving a good review easy for them.

Be Responsive

Have you gotten complaints in the past and ignored them? Do you have un-responded-to negative (or positive) Google reviews?

One of the most important things you can do with customers is to respond quickly. Communication is key to a great relationship. When customers are angry, respond with empathy and find them a solution.

Always respond to all feedback in a timely manner. By actively engaging with your customers and cultivating relationships, you’ll make great inroads improving your NPS.

Listening to your customers and making effective changes is key to improving your score.

Offer Training

Oftentimes your NPS score is low because of how your customers were treated when working with your staff.

Be sure to offer comprehensive and ongoing training to your team. You also want to ensure they understand their responsibilities when it comes to providing excellent customer service every time.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to your net promoter score, you want to stay on top of it. Make a plan for improving your score and stick to it.

When six months have passed, send another NPS survey, and see if your score improves. If it does, super. Keep up the good work to keep improving.

If it doesn’t, revisit your plan and implement new strategies to increase your score.

The NPS isn’t a once and done. You want to keep making improvements in your customer experience, so you can increase customer loyalty, your NPS score, and ultimately your profits.

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