Best NPS follow-up questions to ask your customers in 2024

There's more to an NPS survey than just the number of customers given. While keeping track of your score is important, it's the detailed feedback that explains why customers rate you as they do.

Asking the right NPS question lets you regularly check in on the customer journey, giving you a clear picture of how people see your company, product, or service. Start by picking the right Net Promoter Score survey format, and it'll make a big difference.

Just like in real conversations, how you ask a survey question really matters. The words you use can influence how customers respond, just as tone does in a face-to-face chat.

In this article, we've gathered 20 top NPS survey templates to help you understand your customer base better.

Let's begin by understanding what an NPS survey is, how it's structured, and what makes its questions effective.

What is an NPS (Net Promoter Score) survey?

In 2003, Fred Reichheld, a Bain & Company, Inc. partner, introduced NPS—a method to measure customer success through a numerical score. 

An NPS (Net Promoter Score) survey is a customer satisfaction metric. It asks a standard question, "How likely are you to recommend our product or service to a friend or colleague", using a scale from 0 to 10.

NPS survey respondents fall into three groups: promoters (9-10), passives (7-8), and detractors (6 or lower).

The follow-up NPS questions come after the initial score and ask customers to explain why they gave that rating.

What are the categories of NPS respondents?

NPS survey respondents are split into three categories based on their scores:

Promoters: Those who score 9 or 10 are promoters, satisfied customers who are likely to recommend your product or service.

Passives: Scoring 7 or 8, passives are generally satisfied but may be less inclined to recommend your offering.

Detractors: Respondents scoring 6 or lower are detractors, dissatisfied customers who might share negative feedback and discourage others from using your product.

The NPS is calculated by subtracting the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters.

What is the NPS follow-up question?

The NPS post-survey follow-up question comes after customers rate a product or service in the NPS survey. It's a qualitative open-ended question asking customers to explain why they'd recommend or not recommend what you offer.

Why are NPS follow-up survey questions important?

After spotting promoters, passives, and detractors, it's time to reach out. If you've worked for a marketing campaign, you get the value of follow-up. If not, let me tell you, it's a golden chance to build lasting relationships and showcase your product's value. Most importantly, it's a shot at fixing any issues and getting back on track!

Shockingly, 97% of businesses skip follow-ups. But checking in helps you improve customer interactions, catch problems early, and show you care about solving issues.

To ensure happy customers and gain meaningful insights, asking effective NPS follow-up questions tailored to your target audience is key.

Understanding the user journey of different categories of customers helps formulate these questions effectively.

By tapping into customer motivations, you dig deeper into their experiences and sentiments. 

• Understanding the logic behind the score is key. It helps spot what customers love and what needs work, guiding smarter decisions.

• The follow-up surveys reveal why customers gave certain scores, letting you grasp what pleases them and what doesn't. This helps pinpoint weak spots for improvement and boosts loyalty.

• Acting on real feedback from customers matters. With these actionable insights, you prioritize changes, focus on meaningful improvements, and elevate the overall customer experience.

Remember, NPS alone doesn't tell the full story. It's just a score. Pairing it with follow-up survey questions gives the full picture of customer satisfaction and loyalty.

When do you ask for the NPS follow-up?

It's vital to time NPS surveys during key moments in the customer journey. But when's the best moment to ask the follow-up question for the best results?

Don't waste time asking customers manually. Automation tools are the way to go for quick and efficient follow-ups. Send the NPS follow-up right after customers give their scores.

Getting the follow-up to detractors and promoters right away is crucial. Their answers give insight into how they use your product, helping you make appropriate changes.

NPS follow-up questions: best practices.

1. Segment customers and select survey recipients for the NPS surveys:

Divide up your customers into groups before sending out the NPS survey. If you blast it to everyone, it might annoy them or keep bothering the same people. Instead, make groups of customers and send the survey to each group separately.

A good plan is to send surveys at different times while customers use your service. Like, you could ask new users for feedback a few weeks after they start. But, it's better not to ask potential customers right away because they might not have the complete experience yet to give valuable feedback.

2. Timing and Frequency of Surveys:

Decide when and how often to send surveys. Choose specific points in the customer journey, like a few weeks into using your service, for feedback.

Find the right balance between gathering useful feedback and not bothering customers with too many surveys. Try sending longer surveys less often and shorter ones more regularly.

3. Label NPS responses to detect trends:

Sort NPS scores for different parts of your product to see trends. Tagging responses helps see how customers feel about things like using the product, its features, or support. It's a good way to figure out what's going well and what needs fixing.

4. Check feedback statistics and study NPS data:

Use the analytics dashboard to see live stats about average NPS scores, notice shifts, and find patterns. Look at how NPS scores change over time for various customer groups using customer feedback.

5. Use NPS scores to show specific follow-up questions:

Using 1flow's NPS tools, you can display different questions based on scores. For Promoters, Passives, and Detractors, there'll be unique follow-up questions.

By tailoring questions to the NPS score, your follow-ups become more personal and relevant. This encourages customers to engage more, boosting survey response rates and gathering valuable insights.

6. Connect with more customers using brand colors:

In your NPS follow-up questions, use your brand's colors to connect better with customers. Match these colors with your brand's look and feel.

Customize the follow-up question's design, like themes and styles, to build a unique brand image and enhance customer experience. By linking these elements to more customers, you can establish a strong emotional bond through your follow-up questions.

7. Show appreciation with a "Thank You" page for feedback:

In your follow-up question, include a "Thank You" part to acknowledge your customer feedback. It's a simple but meaningful way to show you appreciate their time. This helps create a positive experience and strengthens relationships.

Include a fitting call-to-action (CTA) to prompt customers to take specific actions you want. It could be visiting your website, sharing honest feedback, or other steps. A strong CTA encourages more interaction with your products, aiding in business growth.

8. Make follow-up questions understandable for multilingual users:

For a multilingual audience, translate follow-up questions for their ease. Use tools for automatic translation to do this seamlessly.

By offering NPS questions in various languages, you collect more accurate and valuable feedback. As part of this strategy, let customers pick their preferred language.

This way, they can easily engage with follow-up NPS survey questions and share actionable feedback.

1Flow can translate your content into 30+ languages and will show the right one based on what language a user's device is set to, making it easier for everyone to use.

9. Check your questions before sending and edit as you go:

When writing a response, it's easy to overlook important details that could affect what you're saying. You don't want to realize later that your message doesn't make sense.

Practice makes perfect when it comes to giving qualitative feedback, so try previewing your questions and making changes as you write them.

10. Make questions clear and specific:

The best follow-up questions for NPS are direct and to the point. They don't ask for long explanations or multiple answers. The aim is to:

• Get customers to recommend your product or explain why they like it.

• Gather feedback on specific parts of what you offer.

• Ask for suggestions to make things better.

Great follow-up questions are easy to understand and don't need extra explanation from the customer. After someone finishes a survey and gives feedback, they probably don't want to discuss it further—especially if they've been waiting on hold for a while.

11. Ask open-ended follow-up questions:

Using open-ended NPS follow-up questions encourages customers to be detailed about their user experiences. This helps you figure out how to make your product or service better.

For instance, if you ask customers to rate their experience from one to ten, they might say they liked it without saying why. But if you ask what they liked most and what could be better next time, you'll get more useful feedback.

This method can uncover issues that many customers face and chances to make things better.

12.  Drop technical jargon, keep it conversational:

When replying to emails or responding to negative reviews, avoid using too many fancy words. This matters a lot, especially when replying to unhappy customers.

Trying to sound super professional with perfect grammar might make you seem distant and unsympathetic. Instead, keep things friendly and chatty by using contractions like “you” instead of “the customer.”

This helps show that you're on their side, caring about their experience, rather than talking down to them like someone who doesn't care.

To make your feedback more relatable, use language that's easy to understand. This is crucial when replying to negative reviews because it demonstrates you're listening and ready to make changes.

For example, you can ask straightforward questions like “What did you find most helpful about our service?” or “What would you like us to change in our policies?”

Write in a way that feels natural, like a regular person talking, not like a business trying to protect itself.

Effective Follow-up NPS Survey Questions!

Now, let's look at some examples of follow-up questions for NPS. These typical question examples can guide you on what to ask different groups of respondents. 

Customer personalization based on product feedback: Post-survey follow-up

Personalized follow-up questions make a big difference in getting helpful feedback. When you make the questions fit each customer's needs and worries, it shows you care about what they think.

It's smart to have separate questions for detractors, passives, and promoters for a detailed follow-up. That way, you can understand each group better and know where to focus your efforts.

1. NPS follow-up questions for Promoters:

Here are some ways to ask loyal customers more about why they like us:

• "We're happy you're happy! What specifically makes you excited about our service?"

• "Is there anything we could do to make your experience even better?"

These questions show appreciation to customers while helping us understand what they enjoyed most. Positive feedback can also encourage more people to talk about us.

2. NPS follow-up question examples for passives:

In the post-survey follow-up, you can ask passives more about their score by saying,

• "Thanks for your feedback. Can you explain why you gave us that score?" or

• "We value your feedback. Please tell us why you scored us that way."

These questions help us know the exact reasons behind the score and find out what we're doing well and where we can improve. It's a way to learn more about the customer's experience and make better choices about our products.

3. NPS follow-up question examples for detractors

In a post-survey follow-up, you can ask detractors after an NPS survey,

• "We're sorry things didn't meet your expectations. What do you think we could do better?" 

This question helps find out what needs improving from the customer's view. It shows we care about their score and want to make things better.

Another way is to say,

• "Thanks for sharing your thoughts. How can we make your experience better?"

This helps us understand why they're not happy and what we can fix from their viewpoint.

4. Personalized follow-up questions:

If a customer says they'd like to see more of your product, ask them why. If they mention the price being too high, inquire about what could make it more affordable. This helps pinpoint issues and chances to enhance the customer experience.

Similarly, if someone praises your company for a great customer service team, ask them what specifically makes it great. This way, you'll understand why they rated it highly instead of assuming everything is okay.

Ask simple questions like 'What do you like about our product/service?' or 'How could we improve it?' Also, check how likely they are to recommend you to others. This reveals satisfaction levels and areas for improvement.

Understanding what customers like or dislike about your offering helps with a detailed follow-up and to tailor future services. For instance, if someone rates you poorly, ask why to know precisely where to improve. This prevents future negative reviews.

Timing matters too! Asking questions at different stages of the customer's journey helps get ongoing feedback. This way, you can spot what they like or what's bothering them more easily.

Refine Your NPS Follow-ups with 1Flow

1Flow specializes in NPS surveys with follow-up NPS survey questions, allowing you to measure customer loyalty effectively. You have the flexibility to customize the timing and frequency of surveys and automated follow-up messages based on the scores received. 

1Flow is a user-friendly survey tool that helps websites, apps, and SaaS companies measure customer happiness through in-app feedback surveys, boosting loyalty and retention.

With customizable designs matching brand styles, it engages users at the right moments, achieving high response rates. 

Turn your detractors into promoters today with 1Flow.