Two forthcoming conferences in the United Kingdom are set to address the hotly debated topic of Net Promoter scoring - the quest for the ultimate measure of customer loyalty.
The first conference, chronologically speaking, is an Ipsos MORI event entitled 'Measuring And Managing Loyalty: Is Net Promoter The Answer?', at which Ipsos will publish new research on customer behaviour and growth. The event's keynote speaker will be Loyalty Myths author Tim Keiningham, whose address will be titled Net Promoter: The real story behind the ultimate question.
The argument against NPS
In summer 2007, two scientific journals are to publish papers (of which Keiningham is the lead author) that examine the Net Promoter Score's (NPS) predictive powers in terms of company growth. Keiningham will present his findings, and is expected to argue that a number of claims associated with NPS are unreliable.
At the conference on 7th June 2007, Keiningham will be joined by Alex Bollen, head of customer loyalty at Ipsos MORI, who will speak from a UK perspective on the choices faced by businesses, including what the latest research means for those involved in both measuring and managing loyalty. Because the issues involved are becoming so controversial the company promises that there will be ample opportunity for debate.
The argument for NPS
By contrast, all the arguments in favour of NPS will be heard at the European Net Promoter Conference (organised by Satmetrix), on 27th and 28th June 2007. This inaugural conference promises to examine practical approaches for improving customer loyalty using the Net Promoter discipline, and is aimed mainly at business leaders responsible for customer loyalty and revenue growth in both B2B and B2C markets. Guest speakers will include executives from European organisations that are already using NPS, including GE, IBM, HSBC, Swiss Re, T-Mobile, LEGO, Groupe Neuf Cegetel, and Aggreko.
According to the discipline's creator, Fred Reichheld, Net Promoter presents a simple way to determine the value of customer relationships and predict a company's ability to grow. NPS measures customer experience using one simple question: "Would you recommend us to a friend or colleague?". The system tracks both promoters and detractors and then (by subtracting one from the other) produces a single indicator of a company's ability to grow by measuring performance from the customers' point of view.
Post-event update: Tim Keiningham has since published his presentation from this event, and it has been made available for download - along with other relevant articles and documentation - from the Ipsos web site - click here.
For additional information:
· Visit Net Promoter at http://www.netpromoter.com
· Visit Ipsos MORI at http://www.ipsos-mori.com/loyalty
· Visit Satmetrix at http://www.satmetrix.com