What is net promoter score (NPS)?

NPS measures customer loyalty with one question: "How likely are you to recommend us to a colleague?" on a 0-10 scale. Promoters (9-10) are loyal advocates. Passives (7-8) are satisfied but not enthusiastic. Detractors (0-6) are unhappy and may churn. NPS = % Promoters - % Detractors. Scores range from -100 to +100. Above 0 is acceptable. Above 30 is good. Above 50 is excellent. Above 70 is world-class. B2B SaaS average: 30-40. How to implement: send the NPS survey 30-90 days after onboarding, then quarterly. Keep it to 2 questions: the score and an open-ended "why?" The qualitative feedback is more actionable than the number. Follow up: contact every detractor within 24 hours to understand and resolve their issue. Share promoter feedback with the team. Group qualitative responses by theme to identify systemic issues. NPS is a lagging indicator — it tells you about past experience, not future behavior. Pair it with leading indicators: product usage frequency, support ticket volume, feature adoption rate, and login frequency. A customer who stops using your product will become a detractor regardless of past NPS scores.