15 Simple Tips to Send NPS Surveys Via Email & When Exactly to Send Them

Looking for some tips to send NPS Surveys via Email as a channel?

Email, based on the findings from various surveys, still remains the king of customer engagement.

So, it’s imperative to understand how organizations use email and NPS surveys to reach out, collect feedback, and increase the engagement ratio.

On top of that, many things were designed to replace it, such as Facebook, Twitter, and RSS Feeds. But email survived the cut-throat competition because of stellar ROI, privacy, and affordability. 

In the past decade, companies have pushed customer communication to a new level through email and push messages. Simultaneously, brands use these methods to collect feedback from their customers/consumers.

Unfortunately, all those efforts are ignored as the response rate hardly exceeds 5%. So, what would compel consumers to fill out that survey form and increase the NPS score?

What is NPS?

Before diving in, let us look at NPS surveys. Also known as the net promoter score, it is an indicator of how likely your product/service is to be purchased via word of mouth. Simply put, the NPS score is a way of saying whether your consumers will recommend your product/service to their peers!

Is it the design, the copy, or it’s just that most users don’t feel like doing it?

Well, I think it’s the combination of all these. However, we can reduce the impact of a person’s will by focusing on the design aspects. The survey design consists of the survey email’s operational and visual factors.

Benefits of NPS Surveys

Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys are a valuable tool for businesses, offering numerous benefits that can significantly impact customer relationships and business strategies. Here are some of the key benefits of using NPS surveys:

1. Measuring Customer Loyalty and Satisfaction: NPS surveys provide a straightforward metric for gauging customer loyalty and satisfaction. This score helps you understand how likely your customers are to recommend your services or products to others.
2. Simple and Easy to Understand: The NPS survey is concise, usually consisting of just one primary question, making it easy for customers to respond and for businesses to interpret the results.
3. Identifying Promoters and Detractors: NPS surveys classify respondents into promoters, passives, and detractors. This categorization helps businesses identify their most loyal customers and those who are not satisfied, allowing for targeted follow-up actions.
4. Facilitating Customer Feedback: NPS surveys encourage customers to provide feedback, offering valuable insights into what your business is doing well and areas that need improvement.
5. Benchmarking Performance: NPS provides a standard metric that can be used to compare your business’s performance against industry benchmarks or track improvements over time.
6. Predicting Business Growth: A high NPS is often correlated with business growth. Loyal customers are more likely to make repeat purchases and bring in new customers through positive word-of-mouth.
7. Improving Customer Retention: By identifying and addressing the concerns of detractors and nurturing the promoters, NPS surveys can help improve customer retention rates.
8. Informing Product and Service Development: Feedback from NPS surveys can inform product development and service enhancements, ensuring that the business evolves in line with customer needs and preferences.
9. Enhancing Customer Experience: Understanding customer sentiment helps in refining the overall customer experience, which is crucial in today’s competitive market.
10. Cost-Effective: NPS surveys are relatively inexpensive to administer, especially compared to more in-depth survey methods, yet they provide essential insights.

In summary, NPS surveys are a powerful, efficient, and cost-effective tool for understanding customer loyalty and satisfaction, guiding business strategies, improving customer retention, and ultimately driving growth.

15 Top Tips to Send NPS Surveys via Email

The below-mentioned tips have been shown to improve not only the response rate of NPS surveys but also But also improved engagement, brand loyalty, and recognition. So, they make sure to internalize these tips before implementing them. Now, you don’t have to follow all the steps as it is; you can add your own flavor, experiment, and see what works best.

1. Stick to the NPS Formula

Go with the straightforwardly simple form that asks to rate on a scale of 10.

And then the reason behind that score in a textbox. Such simplicity leads to accuracy and is often actionable.

2. Send Branded Surveys

Minimalistic design has been a widespread practice.

You can keep things clean and brand your assets (in this case, survey email) simultaneously. White label your online surveys with the right balance of colors, logos, fonts, and images; you can adjust the communication style to reflect your brand in the NPS surveys. This would ensure authenticity and increase the chance of receiving inputs.

3. Personalize the email

People prefer informal communication as it lets them know other people better.

You say, which of the following questions would you respond to?

Mary, how likely would you recommend us to a friend or colleague?

OR

How likely would you recommend us to a friend or colleague?

See the difference! Just by adding a name, the whole intention of the statement changed. In fact, by doing so in your NPS surveys, you are giving your consumers a sense of belonging, which increases the trust factor. As a result, 74% of marketers say that targeted personalization boosted their customer engagement numbers massively. 

4. Ask Why?

As I mentioned in the first point, ask why your consumer gave you that particular feedback. What did they like about the product? What would have been better? It’s the most obvious one, but surprisingly, brands miss out on this.

NPS scores are vanity metrics that are not actionable, which is why it’s imperative to ask the reason behind their score.

If you ask why, you get reasons that will help you understand customer experience even better. Doing this in NPS surveys is vital for sustainable customer experience management.

5. Don’t over ask

Now that I advised asking questions, don’t overdo it and add 20 new questions. The customer won’t spend much time with your form. Instead, try to stick to one question only or, as per the NPS surveys standard, stick to 2 items.

Trust me, just two questions will give you a detailed picture of the whole customer experience without losing the response rate.

Still, if there have to be more than 2 or 3 questions, you can go with MCQ-type ones, which are likely to take less time and won’t require much typing.

For example: How did you like the behavior of the sales executive?

i. Polite ii. Neutral iii. Friendly iv. Rude

6. Go Mobile

Nearly 75% of the people attended the survey using mobile.

Ensure that your survey email is mobile-responsive and well-optimized. Test it yourself because nothing could be more frustrating than a slow-loading email. In order to avoid any road bumps, consider testing your email using an HTML Email Check.

For better validation, send the NPS surveys to the marketing team as a pilot test

to see whether there’s any room for improvement.

This will let you determine whether your email is rendered correctly across all email clients, devices, and browsers.

7. Send as a human

Let’s take personalization a step ahead. In order to make your customers feel at ease, you need to sound less like a brand and more like a human. Ensure your NPS email survey is sent from an actual employee instead of email addresses feedback@yourbrandname.com or no-support@yourbrand.com.

This will lower their guard and will make them respond to your NPS surveys more honestly. This is because people think that you actually care for them, and your feedback form is not just a formal procedure.

8. Schedule According to Customer Journey

Understanding the timing to send NPS emails is critical. To better understand, let’s say a customer buys your phone on day 1. Now to get acquainted with the features and functionality, they will need at least a week.

If you send them the NPS survey within that, it might be too soon for them, and the survey won’t be attended. Instead, give them some space and time, say a month or two, and then send the feedback email.

However, the time interval varies with each industry and product/service category. For a restaurant and food delivery brand, you want instant feedback to take proper action for the next delivery. Whereas a mobile or smartphone brand can wait for a month or two before sending out their NPS Survey or a structured series of NPS Surveys. 

9. When and How often to send NPS surveys

As mentioned in the previous point, figuring out the survey timing is crucial for a good response rate. So, here are some of the basics of survey timing as per the SaaS industry:

For SaaS or a subscription-based model:

• Initial NPS survey – 15-20 days from the day the sale took place. This is required to know whether the sales process took place smoothly or not. Along with that, it also helps you determine what to improve in the service delivery part of your business.
• Second round – After a quarter from the initial survey, if your customer doesn’t engage frequently, then you can take one more quarter. This is helpful if your customer is facing issues while using your service. In the second round, try to understand their roadblock and clear that. By now, you’ve built trust and comfort with them, and that’s the best way to go!
• Ongoing round – The survey’s final round should continue even after a year and continue until they’re no longer your customer.

As per the Pareto Principle, 20% of your customers bring 80% of your revenues.

For this very reason, put your old customers in that 20% basket and continue the surveys in an informal way. This will also help you pitch new offers or services to them, which have a higher chance of getting close in their case. 

Now, a thing to keep in mind here is that the interval varies according to the industry and customer journey. So, draft a strategy before deciding on the time frame for the net promoter score surveys. With that, refrain from sending emails too frequently – customers will get annoyed, impacting your response rate.

10. Get the clock right

After figuring out the right time interval, it’s crucial to know the exact time of the day your consumers are available to read and respond.

The best way to figure that out is to test different times and weekdays with various sets of people, also known as the A/B test. This would give you an idea of when your customers are active. We’ll learn more about the A/B test in a while.

Moreover, as per the study by schedule, the week’s best time to send emails is Tuesday at 10 am. Other than that, Wednesday and Thursday are the second most popular days, with 8 pm, 2 pm, and 6 am time slots. However, take note of time zones before deploying the strategy.

11. Follow-up

Every day, your consumer receives many emails, which makes your email lifespan utterly short.

This is where follow-up comes in. To ensure that your emails are worth the effort, make a follow-up plan. If you do that, there’s a 21% chance of getting a response to the net promoter score email.

Following up is quite essential if you’re serious about the customer experience. As Damian Thompsom of Leadfuze puts it: “You can’t follow up too much in the earlier part of an engagement.” Also, remember that follow-up email templates vary from the first net promoter score email, so design that accordingly.

Example Template for NPS Surveys:

Hey {{Name}},

We hope our {service name} is proving helpful to you and your organization.

In our last email, we asked for quick feedback regarding the {service name}, but we didn’t receive any response.

Would you consider sharing a little about your experience with our service so far and whether it could help someone else?

{{Net Promoter Survey form}}

If you have any complaints regarding the service, please get in touch with the support expert at maria@example.com.

Cheers,

{{Your Name}}

12. Run A/B test

A/B tests are more than what marketers or designers use it for. If used wisely, it can give you insights into your audience’s behavior or reaction towards your email or message. This is crucial because what works for one company may not necessarily work for you.

What is the A/B test, and how can you apply it to the emails of your NPS surveys?

A/B testing (or split testing) is an experiment where you divide your audience into different sets and test variations of assets (in this case, email) to see which performs better.

In the case of an email, you could test:

• Email Subject line
• Email sender
• Copy and Content (Description and message)
• The timing of the survey sent
• Style of the news (casual or semi-casual)
• Incentive or no incentive

However, it’s imperative to jot down the campaign goals before conducting an A/B test.

13. Know your processing limits

Make sure you can process all the feedback you receive. Otherwise, the customer would feel ignored or neglected if their message was not addressed.

To tackle this, limit the number of NPS questions in your NPS surveys. The less it is, the better for the marketing team to process the message and draw conclusions. And you don’t have to do it manually. There are amazing tools available that analyze a massive amount of customer feedback in an instant. This will further ease the process of calculating the NPS score.

14. Show that you’re grateful

If your customers have taken the time to fill out your net promoter score survey, it’s time to thank them for their little effort.

Some popular survey tools allow you to customize the thank you message tailored to each user. With that, make sure to prioritize critical feedback and reach out to the unsatisfied customers first. This shows concern and eagerness to improve.

15. Run an incentive program

Even after all the efforts, if you don’t see a rise in your NPS email response rate, offer an incentive.

Humans look for what’s in it for them. To address that, run an incentive program with your NPS campaign, as such campaigns have a high probability of fetching you a good NPS score.

However, you need to be careful with the people who are just there to get incentives instead of leaving honest feedback.

What type of incentives can you run?

1. Monetary incentives – The phrase ‘Cash is King’ holds true to date. If you give some amount in the form of cashback, it tends to boost the response rate and increase the net promoter score. Such incentives work better than Amazon Gift Cards or similar schemes.

1. Non-monetary incentives – Let’s say you’re selling tablet computers. Your target market is teachers, and due to the ongoing pandemic, education has mostly shifted online. You can offer free data to the instructors in exchange for honest feedback. This option is best if you are tight on budget and can’t afford to offer monetary incentives.

Win-win in both cases! 

How Often Should You Send NPS Surveys?

Determining the ideal frequency for sending Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys is crucial for gathering valuable customer feedback without overwhelming them. The NPS survey, a popular tool for measuring customer loyalty and satisfaction, asks respondents to rate how likely they are to recommend your company to others. Here’s a guide on how often you should send NPS surveys:

1. Consider the Customer Lifecycle: Tailor the frequency to different stages of the customer lifecycle. For new customers, it might be beneficial to send a survey after their first purchase or interaction. For long-term customers, less frequent surveys may be more appropriate.
2. After Key Interactions: Sending an NPS survey after significant customer interactions, such as a purchase, support call, or product release, can provide insights into specific aspects of your service or product.
3. Regular Interval Surveys: Conducting regular surveys, such as quarterly or bi-annually, can help track customer sentiment over time. This regularity helps in observing trends and changes in customer loyalty.
4. Avoiding Survey Fatigue: It’s important to balance the need for feedback with the risk of survey fatigue. Over-surveying can lead to lower response rates and potentially skew the data.
5. Industry and Business Model Considerations: The ideal frequency can also depend on your industry and business model. For example, subscription-based services might benefit from more frequent surveys compared to a business with infrequent customer interactions.
6. Response Rate and Quality: Monitor the response rate and quality of feedback. If you notice a decline in either, it might be a sign to adjust the frequency of your surveys.
7. Use Trigger-based Surveys: In addition to regular intervals, consider trigger-based surveys that are sent in response to specific customer actions or events. This ensures that the feedback is relevant and timely.
8. Customer Preferences: If possible, give customers the option to choose how often they would like to receive surveys. This respects their preferences and can improve response rates.

In summary, the frequency of NPS surveys should be a strategic decision based on customer lifecycle, industry standards, and your specific business needs. It’s about balancing gathering enough feedback for meaningful insights and respecting the customer’s time and experience with your brand.

NPS Surveys Best Practices

Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys are a popular and effective way to gauge customer loyalty and satisfaction. To maximize their effectiveness, it’s important to follow best practices in their design, distribution, and analysis. Here are some key best practices for NPS surveys:

1. Keep It Brief: Only include the essential question about recommending your business, with an optional comment space.
2. Time It Right: Send surveys soon after a customer interaction for more relevant responses.
3. Personalize Invitations: Use the customer’s name and reference their recent interactions with your business.
4. Clarify the Purpose: Explain why you’re asking for feedback and how it will be used.
5. Ensure Accessibility: Ensure the survey is easy to complete on all devices, including smartphones.
6. Respond to Feedback: Take action on the feedback, especially from dissatisfied customers.
7. Analyze by Segment: Look at responses based on customer groups for more detailed insights.
8. Respect Privacy: Adhere to privacy laws and ensure data security.
9. Benchmark and Monitor: Compare your scores with industry standards and track changes over time.
10. Implement Changes: Use the survey insights to improve your services or products.

Bonus Tip to Boost NPS Survey Response Rate: 

Now that you’re here for this long, there’s a bonus, an incentive for you, too!

Follow Up Strategically – This is more important than individual follow-up. It is even more crucial to catch the customer churn and encourage customer advocacy to increase brand value. Measuring your follow-up against a scale might be an issue if you’re getting a plethora of feedback. This will make things complicated while calculating the NPS score.

Using modern tools to analyze and follow up would greatly improve the quality of follow-up.

 It’s Time For us to Wrap up…

Now that you know the value of NPS email, here are tips to improve your response rate and increase the net promoter score. Let me tell you that not all the points are to be implement-worthy.

Which strategy you deploy depends on your industry, customer segment, and budget. In that case, you can compromise on some pointers and find the most affordable method that works.

But remember that in the end, all you need is quality and honest, actionable feedback.

I hope this works for you!