We have been repeatedly told that Steve Jobs was a dictator; he didn’t listen to employees; he trusted his gut; he never test-marketed anything; he subcontracted work to a Chinese company that treats its workers so badly, nets are needed to stop the suicides, etc. Well, most of that is true. Except…
Apple has been diligent in listening to its customers. (I am presuming this will continue under his successor, Tim Cook.) It used the Net Promotor Score (NPS) routinely, a method that allocates one’s customers into three distinct categories- Promoters, Passives, and Detractors. The scoring relies on only ONE question: Would you recommend (Brand X) to a friend or colleague, using a 10 point score grid.
Promoters are the loyal enthusiasts, who fuel the growth of the product and/or the company (scoring 9-10). Passives, who yield scores of 7 or 8, are satisfied customers, but can be attracted to competitor’s offerings. Detractors are those customers who can damage your brand or growth through negative word of mouth. The NPS score is the difference between the percentage of customers who score as promoters and detractors. (NPS=Pr-De.)
Apple understands the trick to market success is to delight its customers. This actually is in total concert with its mission- to enrich the lives of its customers and employees. (Do you see anything about making money there?) They engineered their Apple stores to insure a long, satisfied relationship between customers and their company. Which leads those customers to tell others about their fantastic experiences with Apple.
The NPS score is determined and monitored daily for each of its stores. Employees who create Promoters get the recognition they deserve in building Apple’s reputation. Each morning, employees review the NPS feedback; it’s not just a hollow read, but a process to insure work is adjusted to augment those NPS scores. (You now see this being done now by Domino’s Pizza, which is trying to rebuild its brand, after nearly falling off the grid. It’s why they are posting customer comments and delivery times on the marquee of Times Square (NY).)
Apple even went one step further with this process. They actually tried to discern the reasons for a customer’s enthusiasm or his/her lack of same. Detractors are routinely called within 24 hours of being surveyed by the store managers. As a result of those calls, Apple found they actually increased the sales to those same individuals. A tremendous return on that time investment- and a turnaround in the score, to boot.
Apple also uses the NPS score to determine its employee morale (thrice yearly). If their employees are not active promoters, how could they expect them to engender that feeling in their customers?
The proof is in the pudding. When Apple first began this process (2007), it found that it had a remarkable NPS score of 58%; by this year, that score reached 72%, with some stores scoring 90%! The main impetus behind these tremendous scores- how their employees treat the customers!
So, money was not the goal- but a by-product of the process. Where are you on the NPS score?
(If you want to learn more about the NPS scoring system, you should read Fred Reichheld’s book: The Ultimate Question 2.0: How Net Promoter Companies Thrive in a Customer-Driven World. It’s a quick read.)
I think it is great that the managers are required to call customers who give the store a low rating. This shows that they actually read the results of the surveys and care about the customer’s opinions.
I started out on an Apple computer in 1984. My husband recently bought an iPad so we are still in the Apple family.
Janette Fuller recently posted..Book Review: The Kaizen Plan For Healthy Eating
And, now you can see what the system is- Janette.
I think the iPad even has an app on customer analysis (maybe even the NPS).
Thanks for your comment.
Roy
Great reminder that if you don’t keep your customers happy and coming to you, they’ll go somewhere else.
Tor Constantino recently posted..How We Treat Money and Kids the Same….
Great comment, Tor!
And, there would be nothing worse than that- especially in a no-growth economy!
Thanks for dropping in.
Roy
There are many ways of looking at a situation depending on the commentator. I knew Apple monitored staff but did not know how. Thanks for sharing this story.
I have a colleague who worked with Steve Jobs in the 90s and one thing for sure is that Steve thought outside of the box in his hiring which for key people he did personally.
Roberta recently posted..Doing your best keeps you out of stuck
Glad you liked it and got some ideas from the post, Roberta.
That’s the goal for every blogger. You made my night (your day!).
Roy
I liked this post very much, Roy! It is very educational how Jobs set a direct path to the core of what makes the business work (and not what the business must produce), and how it acknowledges that loyalty is priceless. The path is so simple that one should question why it is not a similar path currently used in all customer oriented business (Is there something like a non-customer-oriented business?)
Gustavo:
That’s a great takeaway. Too many of us read what happens in the world and never discern what the teachable moment is.
It’s great to stop, smell the roses- and avoid any bees that we may encounter, as we relish the aroma!
Roy
I am a recent Apple convert! =) At my old job, we had four iMacs that I used and managed. Needless to say, I bought my own Mac laptop later that year and haven’t looked back since! =) And I’m ecstatic to hear further details about how dedicated Apple is to customers. That just makes me love them more and more! =)
Glad to oblige you, Samantha.
I, for one, will be sticking (until something a lot better comes along) with my PC’s. That does not change whether the daily monitoring AND analysis of NPS is a great idea or not.
Thanks for your comments.
Roy
I have never been an Apple user; this end of the world is not so big on Apple, it is just a recent craze actually! 🙂
However my sister uses Apple and she loves the customer service experience totally. And this NPS you talk about is news to my ears. Will have to dig my curiosity fangs into it 😉
Hajra:
You got the main point of the post. I am not a fan of Apple, either. But, using NPS scores seems to be a helpful trend. Of course, I wonder what we do with all those neutrals that seem to be discarded in the analysis.
Roy