Net Promoter Score® Survey

Did you know that there is a way to measure the strength of your word of mouth of the parents in your school?

This measurement is known as the Net Promoter Score (NPS®).

In 2006, Fred Reichheld, authored his groundbreaking book, The Ultimate Question. Since then, he has written an expanded edition in The Ultimate Question 2.0. For more information, you can check out the Net Promoter Website. In both of these books he discusses the ultimate question.

What is the ultimate question? On a scale from zero to ten, with ten being the highest, how likely are you to recommend your school to a friend or a colleague?

This question is very important to ask since it will reveal whether or not a customer—in your case a parent—is willing to recommend your school to a friend. If they aren’t willing, then the parent is likely dissatisfied and may end up as part of your attrition statistics. However, if they will recommend your school, then they are loyal to your school and satisfied with their experiences.

This ultimate question is a very simple question that gives us a snapshot of the strength of our word of mouth.

How does this question work?

Based on the response, the respondent is placed in one of three categories:

• Promoters: A score of 9 or 10 is identified as a promoter.
• Passives: A score of 7 or 8 is identified as a passive.
• Detractors: A score from 0 to 6 is a detractor.

The goal is to have a much larger number of your parents as promoters. Promoters are the key to your school’s word of mouth in the community.

Based on the responses and the above categories, you can determine your Net Promoter Score (NPS®). Your score is computed by taking the percentage of promoters minus the percentage of detractors. This will give you a score that will range between +100 and -100.

Net Promoter Score (NPS®) = %Promoters – %Detractors

The higher your score, the stronger your school’s word of mouth is in your community. Obviously, the lower the score, the more concerned you should be about your school’s word of mouth.

For example, in all of the schools that I work with I measure their NPS®. I have seen scores as high as 86, which is a great score and indicative of a strong school with strong word of mouth. I always look for a NPS above 50 as this is a level that indicates that word of mouth is strong.

In addition, it is important to ask a follow-up, open-ended question to give the parent an opportunity to provide a reason for their score: What is the reason for your score?

By asking these two questions, you will be able to measure the strength of your word of mouth in the community.

As you consider your word of mouth marketing strategy and plan this year, it is important to measure your school’s Net Promoter Score. If you are interested in a partner in this effort, please reach out to me to find out more about my Word of Mouth Marketing Survey for Schools.

Are you measuring your Net Promoter Score (NPS®) at your school?

Enrollment Catalyst can conduct this Net Promoter Score Survey for your school for $750.  By moving forward with this key survey, you will know your school’s Net Promoter Score as well as the reasons parents gave you as promoters, passives and detractors.

Complete the following form to request a proposal for your school’s Net Promoter Score Survey.