Net Promoter News: Voxeo’s Customer Obsession, Sprint Nextel, MetroPCS awkward on NPS, Dutch Travel Counsellors get gongs, NetDimensions adds NPS Dimension, RSC Boss +67
Yes. We are Customer Obsessed as well.
Voxeo outlines three major NPS-inspired initiatives
Interactive-voice house Voxeo has been driving other interesting initiatives in an effort to make the company even more customer-centric – a few weeks ago we noted with interest that it has embedded Net Promoter deeply into the company’s service mindset by tying results to employee bonuses and asking customers to rate their support calls.
In a very readable post on its corporate blog this week, Voxeo has taken the informative step of outlining three major initiatives that have been inspired by Net Promoter customer feedback. In brief, they are:
- Become a trusted adviser for clients’ businesses: Voxeo has entered into a number of partnerships that allow it to expand its offerings and areas of expertise, in addition to its employees being available to share their industry knowledge.
- Rather than simply letting its customers know about new Voxeo products first, the company wants to put in extra effort to educate them about product changes and enhancements long before they occur.
- Voxeo has introduced local web hosting servers in all US datacenters and augmented the business continuity information stored offline in its network operations.
We were amused by the slightly scary team name “Customer Obession Team”, but no denying the focus is there. For more details, pop over to Voxeo Talks.
Sprint Nextel and MetroPCS Communications Execs on Net Promoter Scores
Earlier this year at its Q4 earnings call, Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse discussed the company’s strong Net Promoter momentum and noted that Sprint was the only one of the four major US carriers to show sequential improvement. Sounds promising, right?
This week Hesse once again brought up the company’s Net Promoter Score at its Q1 earnings call (slide 10 if you want to join in at home), mentioning that “Sprint is the only one of the four major wireless carriers to show improvement year-over-year.” We’re not sure if this is exactly the same thing, but analysts have noted that its earnings were something of a mixed bag. We look forward to the next call and seeing if a similar Net Promoter quote is offered once again! Seeking Alpha Sprint Nextel
American mobile phone service provider MetroPCS also brought up the metric, with a somewhat awkwardly-worded comment that in Q1 “the transition of our customer base is important as mature users now benefit from our new handset selection and remained loyal to our brand. We believe this loyalty continues to show itself in positive Net Promoter Scores that demonstrate the true viral nature and impact of our service in the communities that we operate in.” We’ve tried to sift the jargon but still not sure – does it simply mean the company has positive Net Promoter Scores? Or positive momentum? We’ll keep an eye out for more info. Seeking Alpha MetroPCS
Travel Counsellors Netherlands picks up three gongs
Family-owned travel operators Travel Counsellors have been awarded with ‘Best Travel Agency Group,’ ‘Most Popular Travel Agency’, and the overall award for the highest customer service score in their first appearance at the Zoover Awards (also known as the Netherlands National Travel Awards).
This very impressive result is not without precedent – in fact, Travel Counsellors regularly attains stratospheric Net Promoter Scores of over +90.
The company proudly talks about using Net Promoter® Score. From their site: “Two weeks after booking all customers are sent a simple question ‘How likely is it that you would recommend your Travel Counsellor to your friends and colleagues?’ “. If you’re curious to discover a little more about how the business has been so effective a creating arguably one of the most customer-centric operations globally, check out the link to see group chairman David Speakman discuss why he is a big advocate of creating a relationship-based approach to a transactional industry (video). Source: Travel Blackboard
NetDimensions adds Net Promoter Dimension
Learning technology supplier NetDimensions has unveiled a North American professional services portfolio aimed at maximizing clients’ value of their NetDimensions Talent Suite investment.
Commenting on the launch, Art Faccone, VP of professional services noted: “We are implementing the Net Promoter Score client satisfaction methodology across all client engagements in North America. Our goal is clearly to keep growing our differentiator, especially in an industry that is renowned for low satisfaction levels.” San Francisco Chronicle
RSC’s NPS stands at +67
Rental equipment provider RSC has announced its 2011 Corporate Social Responsibility report with a commendably detailed self-puffer. The release discusses its key initiatives and how these link back to stakeholder value, and notes that based on more than 23,000 customer survey responses in 2011, RSC’s Net Promoter Score was an excellent +67. Market Watch
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Net Promoter News: TC score sky-high 94; NES Rentals lift to 72; LG picture "Life’s Good" at 64
Franchised tripperco TravelCounsellors climbed to a Net Promoter Score of 94 in early 2008 using a seven country metric. Each Travel Counsellor franchisee can see his/her score on company intranet. More from eTravelBlackboard (note that the reporter seems to have made an error in documenting NPS methodology)
Cherry-picksters NES Rentals do some heavy lifting to get to Net Promoter Score of 72, and trending higher says company spokesman according to Rental Equipment Register. With 15,000 surveys completed since March 2007, NES look set to reach 76 later this year. Recently rival RSC Rental announced NPS of 64 (enGaugement).
Brown-goodsters LG‘s Veep of Comms presents the LG Consumer Electronics Overview 2008, including some Net Promoter Scores of TVs. John Taylor quotes their mean Net Promoter Scores of 64 in LCD range, with a high of NPS 72 for a 42″ LCD, although no mention of methodology or numbers. Grab the presentation from the web before it disappears. In another snippet, agency bravely aims to track online conversations with LG offline Net Promoter Score (New Media Age)
New Zealand Post-owned finco Kiwibank notches up Net Promoter Score of 60, according to twitterer BankingReview. If so, this puts it close to top of the list of Australian Banks (see article enGaugement: Oz Banks Ranks)
Finally, blogger shmula writes about the power of negative word-of-mouth, and how publicising a twitter-powered whinge about HomeDepot experience reached 3,000 people. HomeDepot amazingly picked up the twitter-moan, but since dropped ball. Net Promoter Score: Fail. Follow story here.
Net Promoter Score News, Feb ’09
Some news snippets on Net Promoter Score®:
RSC equip themselves with 64 NPS
According to their press release, Arizona based RSC Equipment Rental’s Net Promoter Score of 64 is World Class Compared to Other Industrial Services Companies.
RSC gained the Net Promoter Score of 64 based on feedback from more than 20,000 customer interviews. Results have improved every year, current 12-month average score is 64, which is a high performance among industrial services companies.
Erik Olsson, President and CEO says: “Being able to improve our score in this difficult economic environment is a strong testament to our focus on servicing the customer”
Sage adds 15-point increase to Net Promoter Score
The Sage Group has improved customer loyalty and product support benefits by engaging with customers using its ACT! contact and customer management software online community.
In the 12 months since its launch, the ACT! community has also served as a catalyst for product beta testing, increasing participation by over 300 percent in some cases, and has aided a 15-point increase in the ACT! brand’s customer loyalty score as measured by the Net Promoter score.
MWH Soft thank customers for big climb in NPS
In a message of thanks to customers, Paul F. Boulos, President of MWH Soft calls out record revenues and also growth in Net Promoter Score. “We measure customer feedback rigorously via a benchmark methodology called Net Promoter Score (NPS)… This metric reliably links to the economics of growth, and it’s one we always seek to maximize… In 2008, our NPS increased 12 percentage points year over year to a record 83%, one of the highest levels in any industry. This score reflects tangible customer value and a durable advantage that translate into sustained future growth. The hundreds of thank-you notes we received last year add unequivocal proof that we deliver the highest levels of customer satisfaction.”
Polaris calls out NPS on Earnings Call
Although not giving away numbers, Polaris Industries named Net Promoter Score as one of their key metrics in their earnings call: “Our quality continues to improve significantly. Our net promoter score as reported by our end customers improved in three of our businesses for 2008,” says Scott Wine. CEO
SurePayroll sure about value of NPS metrics
In a nomination race that’s the customer service equivalent of the Oscars(R), SurePayroll has been named Finalist in Third Annual Stevie Awards for Customer Service.
SurePayroll is committed to excellent customer care, achieving well above what is considered world-class Net Promoter Scores for customer satisfaction. As a result of such a high customer approval rating, SurePayroll has seen an increase in the number of new customers referred by existing customers. During the first three quarters of 2008, SurePayroll acquired nearly 50 percent more customers from client referrals than the same timeframe in 2007. “My main passion is driving SurePayroll’s unwavering commitment to unbeatable customer service,” says Sean Harkleroad, Head of SurePayroll’s Customer Care Department. Press release here.
Blue Dart Express Commits to NPS
Announcing a profit increase of nearly 11%, the South Asia Blue Dart Express logistics company also noted their commitment to best in class service quality, measured by Net Promoter Score. Press release here.
