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c h a p t e r7:FIVE ESSENTIAL TIPS■would be a very good choice). Instead, the Net Promoter Score is a great place to start
if you don’t have a central dashboard or other in-place methodology for measuring suc-
cess, as it provides an understandable basis for linking the experiences you create in the
marketplace with your organization as a whole, where these experiences are (largely)
created. Obviously, there are other metrics that may be specifi cally applicable to your
business or simply a better cultural fi t within your organization. One way or another,
however, a metric or set of metrics that link your business—as a cause—with the con-
versations and customer behaviors you observe on the Social Web is fundamental to
your success when implementing social business technology.Alternatives to the Net Promoter Score
As the Net Promoter Score (NPS) has gained in popularity, so have the discussions of its potential
limitations and the rise of alternatives. As you are reviewing specific metrics and in particular the
use of the NPS methodology, consider searching the Web for “alternatives to Net Promoter Score”
as well.
The Net Promoter Score—or your preferred equivalent—provides a quantitative
assessment through which you can capture and track the degree to which your custom-
ers will sing your praises. In a marketing environment that is increasingly driven by
trust in “others like me” and more so the recommendations of people who are known,
the Net Promoter Score stands as a central social metric.
Again, is the Net Promoter Score perfect for all situations? Of course not. What
single metric is? That said, adopting the Net Promoter Score and supporting methodol-
ogy pays big benefi ts:
• It creates a consistent, trackable metric that can be presented and placed into
context across an organization.
• It is naturally aligned with the conversational dynamics on the Social Web. If
most people would highly recommend your brand, product, or service, then the
conversations about your brand, product, or service will reflect that.
• It is quantitative. The Net Promoter Score “translates” unstructured data like
the characterization of the recommendations that people might give on your
behalf into a number. You can work with numbers.
Having a consistent metric that can be shared across an organization, is vital.
With a metric like this, everyone can “speak the same language” when it comes to
assessing performance. Recall the Formaspace case: the context of a single metric like
NPS is as important as the metric itself, and the verbatim responses (that is, individu-
ally detailed conversations with clients) that are often gathered as part of an NPS
implementation are extremely valuable as well.Alternatives to the Net Promoter Score