Net Promoter News: Kérastase 80, Cohiba 59, Declaration at Lords, NPS almost called Happiness Score
Study reveals evolving UK consumer habits, most advocated brands
Recent research by leading slidedeck-ologists Bain & Company has uncovered the top 10 brands in the UK according to their NPS scores, and revealed evolving consumer habits.
L’Oréal’s haircare brand Kérastase is the most advocated brand, with a Net Promoter® Score of +80, followed by Mercedes, Apple iPhone, and Redken and British brand Hotel Chocolat at equal fourth.
British shoppers are now buying across more brands than they did previously in most categories, with a few exceptions, the most interesting of which is personal technology. One might immediately assume that this is due to the influence of Apple – a brand that has managed to combine groundbreaking innovation and a powerful emotional pull. And indeed, the iPhone’s NPS ranking appears to bear that out.
However, it isn’t only due to Apple. Lesser-known Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC ranks joint seventh (alongside the iPod). In a category where innovation is fast and competition fierce (I’m looking at you, Nokia and RIM) it seems UK consumers are gravitating towards a small number of clear market leaders in the personal tech category.
Somewhat improbably, at 6th on the list was Cohiba, which reveals that the survey demographic appears to be cigar smoking fat-cats (presumably also users of Kerastase BAIN OLÉO-RELAX smoothing Shampoo for Dry, Rebellious Hair…).
That list in full:
Top 10 “most advocated” brands in the UK - (Based on NPS of 350 brands covered in the survey)
Sources: Marketing Week WARC
Fred Reichheld on happiness and business
It’s a well-known fact that the ultimate objective of NPS is to create happy customers – people who are so happy they will positively recommend your service or product to people around them. Less well-known is that happiness was so important to Fred Reichheld, the creator of NPS, that he seriously considered calling it “Net Happiness Score.” He decided against this so as not to put off hard-headed businesspeople, but maintains a well-formulated philosophy on how happiness should fit into business practices and help drive bottom-line profit – something we can all read and feel happy about! Forbes
Generate the "Wall of Faces" Fred mentions in the Forbes articles with our free utility - click on image
Safety First, Customer Happiness Second fuels NPS
We are firm believers in a customer-centric approach, which normally means customer happiness should come first. However, a philosophy of safety first, customer happiness second, has proven to be a winning formula for franchise Maaco Collision Repair & Auto Painting in Regina, Canada. In a third consecutive independent survey over the past two years, the business has received 100% customer satisfaction, and an NPS of +92.
This high level of advocacy is evident in sales figures – the franchise has achieved over $2 million in sales for three consecutive years – and other recognition, with the business being named Maaco’s Top Performer Quality Image Award for the second year in a row, and claiming top spot in its category in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500. Leader Post
Lord’s named best sporting ground in UK
The iconic home of leather and willow (trans: cricket – Ed) continues to provide fantastic sporting events for visitors, but it has significantly increased revenues since opening its doors to corporate and private events. The key, it seems, is that each member of the Lord’s Meetings & Events Department is given a personalized training programme, with the ultimate aim being that each event should be tailored to the specific requirements of the client. It has the highest NPS of any sporting venue on an extensive UK list. ITCM
Avoiding a Night in the Barrel: What businesses can learn from the US Navy Greenie Board
It’s a dark stormy January night in the Eastern Mediterranean. You are the last of the 15 pilots of your launch still airborne. The other 14 pilots have managed to land on the pitching deck of the aircraft carrier, some taking several attempts to do so. This is the most dangerous manoeuvre for the pilot of any carrier aircraft, and after taking two failed attempts to land (they call it a “bolter”) you only have enough fuel for one more run.
As you approach the ship, which is pitching up and down so it looks at times like you are above your flight path, you hear the voice of the Landing Signals Officer (LSO) keeping you on track. The best you can do is remember your training and keep calm. You have to land on that pitching deck.
And then moments later, touchdown. The relief of having landing safely is almost overwhelming – your heartrate takes minutes to come down, and your hands are shaking even as you get your first hot drink in the ready room. Facing gentle ribbing from your fellow fliers about being the last back, it quickly turns to some empathy, and you get told that your hard time was the result of a “Night in the Barrel” and it happens to the finest fliers.
Even then, the ordeal is not finished. The LSO team visits the ready room, and in front of all the assembled squadron publicly grades you on the “pass” (landing): “High, slightly overshooting start, fly through on comeback in the middle, low at the ramp. Fair-2 wire.” Ouch. And a marker is placed on the big “Greenie Board” on the wall of the Ready Room: A yellow circle. For all to see.
Back on shore…
This is just one of the stories that my colleague Rob Kerner tells about his time in the Navy. A real-life former “Top Gun”, Rob flew F14s in the US Navy, and rarely talks about it, but over a beer can sometimes be persuaded to let a few details slip. And this tale came out after a recent webinar we gave, “Relationship v Transactional Surveys”. I immediately picked up on the Greenie Board idea.
"Greenie Board" hanging on the wall of a Ready Room on a US Aircraft Carrier. Pilots names are down left side, dots represent the grade of each pass.
Rob explained that the Greenie Board was the most public part of an entire process that helps pilot get safely on the deck every time.
At the end of each pass, the controlling LSO shouts out his initial assessment of the landing to a writer on the team, and after every plane has been recovered, the LSO team goes below deck and reviews the passes. It is a peer group meeting (the LSOs are also are experienced pilots). A mark is given for each pass, and written notes reviewed. Later the LSOs will visit the ready room and goes through the grades in public. It’s an objective assessment. A frank exchange with the pilot is allowed, but the grade never changes. And this is for every pilot – Rob remembered his LSO duty giving a debrief to an Admiral!
And then for public display, the grade is put on the Greenie Board, which shows the most recent passes. There is no hiding from a Yellow or a Red. It’s transparent and very public.
Pilots are assessed monthly at sea by the LSOs, who will look at trends in the results – for example, on getting on the right glideslope at 10 miles out. Rob said that for him, this coaching was essential to help him improve.
From the warship to relationship
In some ways it’s crass to compare this story to business. I am in awe of anyone who can risk their life like this. And how can customer relationships be anything like defying death on the ocean? But there are some points that I took away from his story that related neatly to what we do with CustomerGauge.
The method of having a simple mark and comment for each pass perfectly fits the Net Promoter® concept of Promoter, Passive or Detractor, together with an explaining comment. In the case of business, it’s a transaction, or customer contact in place of a “pass”.
Scores are publicly displayed for all to see – an excellent transparency that you see in the best organisations. This drives continuous improvement, and again, a feature that is found in CustomerGauge, showing the Net Promoter Score and comment by segment, by customer in real time.
And the point that I really liked is that the flyer’s career is in part judged by his/her success on the “Greenie Board”. In our world, that means the “Relationship” Net Promoter Score is made up of the individual “Transactions”. And our Waterfall charts help organisations drill into the reasons behind negative or positive sentiment.
Measure for success
We often come across clients starting a Net Promoter project that have the initial notion of measuring b2b NPS with an in-depth annual survey of a representative sample of customers, either by phone or long web-survey. Our belief has always been that continuous surveying of transactions builds a much better picture of the relationship, and showing them on real-time dashboards like the Navy Greenie Board has always been a core function of CustomerGauge. We strongly believe that business relationships are made up of these touch-points (or transactions), and large b2b customers have many individuals interacting daily with suppliers. Scoring every transaction is the way to daily scores, and continual improvement.
Rob reminded me that he is also a member of USAA (the finance organisation aimed at US servicemen and women), hailed by Fred Reichheld as an NPS “star”. Rob also raves about their service, and it got me wondering if there was something in this military metric focus (of which the Greenie board is an excellent example) that can infuse its way across the entire business. The result for USAA is an excellent and consistent approach for customers.
I’m really inspired by this story. Watch out for part 2, where we actually take the “Greenie Board” concept and make it work in CustomerGauge for b2c “Relationship” NPS.
And if you have a few minutes, this video will give you a deep respect for what guys like Rob have done to keep the peace…
More on the LSO and grades. Picture credits: 1 2
Webinar Wednesday: Relationship Surveys vs. Transactional Surveys, in 17 minutes
16.00 UK / 17.00 CET
Wednesday 11 January 2012 (ARCHIVED)
What works best for Net Promoter® Score: Relationship Surveys or Transactional Surveys?
UPDATE: 11 January 2012. Sadly both Rob and Adam forgot to record the webinar, which was a shame as all agreed it was the best “Webinar Wednesday” ever. However, you can see the slides on this link.
Find out how in just 17 minutes in this interactive session, the next in our Net Promoter Best Practice Series.
Led by Robert Kerner and Adam Dorrell, this short webinar will cover the differences between a relationship survey and a transactional survey and give some interesting examples of where/when to use each of them. Once you understand the differences, we will discuss the pros and cons of each and whether a “hybrid” model might be a good fit for your organisation.
Topic: Best Practice Series: Relationship vs. Transactional surveys
Date: Wednesday January 11th, 2012
Time: 16:00 UK, 17:00 CET
Price: Free, to registered subscribers
Agenda:
- Survey overview and why we recommend Net Promoter
- Definitions and examples of relationship and transactional surveys
- Uses in each type in B2B, B2C and B2E (Employee) surveys
- Hybrid models
- Pros and cons of each type of survey
- Key takeaways
This is a fast run through as an overview of the issues, plus a short Q&A session at the end. It should be useful for those considering the design and implementation of a Net Promoter program, or anyone in a customer facing or research role in your organization.
