My gym just announced its annual member survey. As members, we each received a link in our inboxes, and there are various signs around the fitness center encouraging us to complete it. I believe in surveys. Feedback is always a good thing, and people love having a chance to express their opinions.
One of my main frustrations with most surveys is that they’re just way too long. In my opinion, a survey should consist of just one question and an open-text box.
The only question that really matters is: “How likely are you to recommend our product or service to a friend or colleague?”
That question ultimately gets to the heart of how a human feels about your product or service. Why? Well, if they love it, they will recommend it. If they loathe it, they won’t. If they’re somewhere in between, they could go either way.
I also recommend that the rating scale be a simple 0-10, with 10, of course, being the highest. Fred Reichheld, in his book “The Ultimate Question,” categorizes those who score your product or service with a 9 or 10 as “Promoters.” Why? Because these are the people who are most likely to recommend you to others. They act almost like an unpaid, external sales force — or your “raving fans,” as Ken Blanchard (author of “The One Minute Manager”) called them.
Reichheld categorizes those who score you a 7 or 8 as “Passives.” These people are neither for you nor against you. They won’t proactively champion you to others; to them, you are easily forgettable, and they can easily be wooed by a competitor.
The final category he calls the “Detractors.” This is a tough one, as we’re talking about everyone from 0 to 6. Clearly, someone who scores you a 0 is much unhappier than someone who gives you a 6, but we get the point. Detractors are highly likely to bad-mouth you to others and actively encourage them to choose a different supplier.
Reichheld, who coined the phrase “Net Promoter Score,” simply deducts the percentage of Detractors from the Promoters and completely ignores the Passives. Why ignore the Passives? Well, remember, they’re on the fence. They are a collective “meh” when it comes to your brand. They aren’t pulling for you, but they aren’t actively or aggressively against you, either.
For example, if your business surveyed 100 customers and you received 70 Promoters (9–10s), 10 Passives (7–8s), and 20 Detractors, you’d subtract the 20% from the 70%. Your Net Promoter Score (NPS) would be 50. Get it?
The open text box essentially asks just one question using one core word: “WHY?” Why did you give the score you gave?
Interestingly, but not surprisingly, organizations that utilize the NPS framework yield much higher response rates. Why? Because of its simplicity, and therefore, its ease of completion. Very few people have the time or inclination to fill out a 20- to 30-question survey with complicated, subjective and varied rating mechanisms.
My final recommendation for anyone asking for feedback is to ensure that it is fed forward. In other words: Make sure you take action on the feedback you receive. There is nothing more frustrating than filling out a multi-page survey only to see zero change in the experience.
Personally, I’d give my gym a 9. I am a Promoter. Why am I not a 10? Well, it’s because of one variable that is hard to alter since we’re dealing with the human heart. It’s whether someone genuinely cares about the work they do and whether they see themselves as being of service to others.
At my gym, it’s when the younger receptionists rarely look up from their phones when saying “Good morning” when I arrive, or “Have a nice day” when I leave. Their words feel hollow and insincere.
That’s the tricky thing about the one aspect we can’t measure on a survey — a human’s freedom to choose how much of themselves they want to give to the work they are blessed to have. That’s a heart condition.
Paul Butler is a Santa Clarita resident and a client partner with Newleaf Training and Development of Valencia (newleaftd.com). For questions or comments, email Butler at [email protected].
