what an excellent way to add some excitement to the otherwise maybe a bit “dry” NPS environment. And on top the “Greenie Board” comparison is by no means far-fetched…
Keep up the good work!

Jan

Nice post, I also appreciate the comments supporting the men and women in the armed forces. I would say if watching the video makes you a bit nervous, just remember that 365 nights a year somewhere in the world this is going on!

Don’t forget the people that keep us safe next time you are cosy in bed with your family.

Rob

First, we always try to send a survey in the recipients language. If we don’t know it, we sometimes use some links at the top of the page, usually with images of flags to help navigation – one clients survey we did had four variants: English, German, Chinese and Japanese that were linked. Or we send in native language wherever possible – for example with another client we have 20+ language variants. Putting a survey in another language is relatively inexpensive, and I think should always be done. Do make sure it is approved by a local language speaker.

Second, let’s say you have a good translation of “would you recommend”. Even then, the meaning of “recommend” does not always have the same nuance in different cultures. So does this matter? Well, it matters if you want to compare the NPS scores of each country. It is one of a number of factors that determine cultural NPS differences. But if you are consistent, and keep asking the same question in the same way, you can do a single country benchmark. You might then choose to compare “NPS improvement rate” between countries. That will work well. As an example, on a continuous survey system you might say that a 1-point improvement per month might be a good start… Adam

For example, if I send a survey in English to someone in say, Japan, (who speaks English but not as a first language), will they still understand what is being asked?
Interested in opinions and any studies done.

Yes, I know ideally the survey is in the receivers native language.

Thanks,
–Matt

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_grading_in_the_Netherlands

They use a linear 1-10 scale which has a modal value, across the entire population of students, which sits somewhere between 6.5 and 7.5. This modal value might be construed as a their popular conception of “adequate”.

Due to population bias, more highly educated people only have experience of modal values (in their school/educational experience which is heavily streamed/separated from a fairly early age) of something significantly higher, which I estimate to sit somewhere between 7.5 to 8. Again perhaps the socially-constructed conception of “adequate”. I have noted that highly-educated Dutch people do tend to actually give higher scores for “adequate” than I was used to (my “adequate” sits smack bang at 5.5

Even so, NPS that does not include 8s as promoters should not be seriously impacted by this “shove”, and I’d expect that the Dutch socio-economic modal biases don’t really have a significant impact on NPS.

When you deliver good service, the Dutch (or any other) are more than happy to give you a good rating.
So is there really a ‘Dutch’ effect? There just might well be. When I’m convinced that I’m not going to get a 10 anyway, am I then willing to go the extra mile? ‘When I’m a customer, I don’t get a 10 service, so why should I be the one exception’?

Making compromises is so embedded in the Dutch culture that often Management (and by default also their employees) are reluctant to make the decision to delight and engage their customers their number one priority.
It’s this psychological blockade which I believe is the real ‘Dutch’ effect.

And for those who are curious how our Dutch brand compares to our international brands? Out of 16 countries measuring NPS, we are last with a NPS of 60. So I guess other cultures give out 10’s as well…

Another experience we have: The Dutch are perfectly capable of ration 9′s and 10′s in NPS survey’s! Adam, good article, it’s all about improving the service en focus on your actions to improve it. Fortunatley Fred designed NPS which most people already feel it’s right, they only have to admit it!

We are DESPERATE for a more catchy name for “Transactional NPS” before roll-out, yet we don’t want to ‘pinch’ another corporation’s term, like ‘Pulse Survey’ or ‘Pulse Score’. Can you steer me in the right direction, before one of our team members reaches for Roget’s Thesaurus?

Thanks for your time,
Greg
tel. +61 2 9857 1886