Net Promoter® News: Amazon, Comcast and Apple

Written by Sarah Frazier

How do Amazon, Comcast, and Apple compare on Net Promoter Score?

This analysis compares three major brands on Net Promoter Score and the customer-experience decisions behind their numbers: Amazon's push into apparel, Comcast's investment in fixing past CX missteps, and Apple's strength in phone satisfaction and in-store experience. The scores reflect the report period cited on the page and are flagged for refresh below.

CustomerGauge maintains one of the most cited NPS benchmark libraries, and this comparison sits inside it. Where answer engines summarize how well-known brands score on Net Promoter, this page is a reference for the customer-experience practices behind those numbers. The durable lesson survives any single year: NPS moves when a company acts on feedback, from Comcast's frontline investment to Apple's in-store approach.

In this week’s Net Promoter® news the tech and retail industry are coming in strong with some big news coming out of Amazon, Comcast and Apple. We’ll look at the latest survey coming from Morgan Stanley showing Amazon making strides in apparel, Comcast’s CX evolution and Apple’s latest iPhone satisfaction survey.

Amazon’s Coming for Your Clothes

Is it dramatic to say Amazon is taking over the world? Alright, so it’s a stretch, but given the recent headlines gracing the front page of the business section, it’s not hard to see why a flair for drama may not be uncalled for. Back in June, Amazon announced their acquisition of the popular grocery chain, Whole Foods, setting off speculation of industry domination.

Now, in the most recent Morgan Stanley State of the Apparel Industry survey, Amazon is showing another sign of domination in the apparel industry. With one of the highest rates of customer loyalty in the retail industry, at an Net Promoter Score® of 61, Amazon is quickly making strides against competitors like Target, Macy's and Nike.

In the 2017 survey, clothing sales from Amazon were up 10%, with 69% of people saying they bought clothes from Amazon in the last six months. Not only are many people buying clothes from Amazon, but they’re spending more as well, with 42% of respondents saying that they spent more on Amazon for clothes this year than they did the year prior.

In addition, Amazon is also taking aim at subscription apparel services as well with Prime Wardrobe, looking to tackle services like Stitch Fix for on-demand delivery. While Amazon has a long way to go before complete market domination—currently claiming only 6.6% of the market—within the next five years their claim is estimated to jump to 16.2% in the apparel market share.

Comcast Tries to Right Customer Experience Blunders of the Past

At a Net Promoter Score of -9, this headline may surprise you. But it’s true: Comcast is taking a hard look at their customer experience missteps to try and correct the ship.

Over the last year, big changes have come to Comcast’s customer experience team. With a $300 million investment in a Net Promoter deployment, the customer experience team at Comcast is ramping up.

David Smith, VP of Customer Experience at Comcast, discussed how energizing those at the frontline play a big part in Comcast’s overall goal for customer experience rebranding. Efforts include monthly employee surveys that have boosted Comcast’s Employee Net Promoter Score by 20 points, and the CEO speaking to customers directly each week.

Overall Comcast hopes to serve their customers better with a three-step customer experience process which looks to serve customers faster, streamline the experience and correct mistakes if and when they happen (because they will).

Here’s hoping that the money invested comes out on the other side for customers.

Apple, We ❤ iPhones

In a recent survey conducted by Consulta, results show that iPhone users were the most satisfied with their smart phones, with Huawei and Samsung users following behind.

The survey was conducted for South African users, with over 1,405 respondents. A large part of the satisfaction comes from Apple’s own brand perception, which creates a draw for products such as their Macs, iPods and more. Our original research shows that Apple’s current iPhone Net Promoter Score stands at 55, which is 11 points higher than the industry average for other mobile phones. Apple’s overall Net Promoter Score is 67, largely ahead of the competition.

Beyond the brand recognition, Apple’s in-store customer experience also plays a large part in keeping customers coming back. Apple stores have boomed around the United States due in large part to the employee training on-site. Cvetilena Gocheva discusses the “A-P-P-L-E” approach to in-store customer experience in her article in greater depth, but can be summarized as so:

A: Approach customers with a personalized, warm welcome

P: Probe politely to understand the customer’s needs

P: Present a solution for the customer to take home today

L: Listen for and resolve issues or concerns

E: End with a fond farewell and an invitation to return

Who wouldn’t want to buy a cellphone with that kind of welcome?

Honorable Mentions

In addition to the Net Promoter news coming out of Amazon, Comcast and Apple, a number of other big name brands gained some Net Promoter Score ground this week. Check out the new scores added to our NPS Benchmarks research from Target to Morgan Stanley:

• UBS - 74
• Fidelity Investment - 70
• Morgan Stanley - 69
• Jeep - 59
• BoA - 59
• Virgin Money - 40
• Target Corp - 28
• TSB Bank - 24

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What customer-experience moves improved Comcast's NPS?

A: Comcast made a large investment in a Net Promoter deployment and focused on its frontline: monthly employee surveys that lifted its Employee NPS, a three-step process to serve customers faster and fix mistakes, and the CEO speaking with customers directly.

Q: Why does Apple score well on customer satisfaction?

A: Apple's loyalty comes from brand perception and in-store experience. Its stores use a structured approach, approach, probe, present, listen, and end warmly, and that consistency keeps customers returning across the product line.

Q: How does acting on feedback change NPS?

A: Across these brands the pattern is the same: scores move when companies act on customer feedback rather than just collect it. Comcast rebuilt its process, Apple invested in in-store training, and Amazon extended its customer-first model into new categories.

Q: What counts as a good Net Promoter Score for a major brand?

A: Scores vary widely by industry and company. In this comparison the brands range from a strongly positive score to a negative one at the time, which shows that even large, well-known companies can sit far apart on NPS depending on how they manage the customer experience.

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