“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” – Vince Lombardi

Last week, we discussed how implementing a Net Promoter system, which was developed by Bain & Company, can help your organization measure and manage the leading indicators that will drive your company to excellence.

This week, we will tell you how.

Thankfully (and this is what I love about the Net Promoter system), getting started is simple. Here are the six steps to accelerating your customer engagement, growth and profit.

1 Ask the Question: Sure, you still have to figure out how, when and where – but this step is simple.

Ask the question (how likely are you to recommend our product or service) and gather the data. The asking can be done via phone surveys, web surveys, in-person surveys, kiosks, cards at checkout or even QR codes. I’ve seen a neat implementation of this in public parks where visitors scan the code on a sign in the park and give feedback from their smart phones.

2 Categorize Your Customers: Based on their responses, who are your promoters, passives and detractors?

3 Calculate Your Net Promoter Score: Using the data from the previous two steps, do the following calculation:

Step 1 – NPS = Percent of Promoters – Percent of Detractors (calculated as the percentage of total respondents)

Step 2 – NPS = 55 percent – 35 percent

Step 3 – NPS = 20 percent

4 Benchmark: The real benefits of the Net Promoter Score come when you outperform your competitors who are viable options for your customers. Find benchmarks through your industry association, your survey provider or do your own survey of your competitors.

5 Respond: If you are asking the question after each transaction, you must respond quickly to the feedback you get. This is called “service recovery” but it is simply making sure your customers feel heard and responded to. A quick recovery can turn a detractor into a promoter on the spot and build trust with your organization.

6 Improve: Now is the time to go get some quick wins based on the data you have gathered. Dig deeper and determine why customers are in each bucket. This will probably require segmentation by age, sex and customer type. Different customers want different things. Your new “text to order” model may enthrall your younger customers and completely annoy your older ones.

Now: What quick changes can you make to your processes to move customers from detractors and passives to promoters? Make the changes, document the wins and celebrate those wins throughout your organization.

People love to make a difference when they come into work every day. By gathering quick wins, you will build enthusiasm for the Net Promoter initiative and the political capital you need to continue the investment.

The Net Promoter System is simple and effective. If you are not using it yet, why not?

One word of caution. Be careful if you decide to do the survey work inside your organization. You need to make sure the data is gathered and analyzed by someone who does not have a vested interest in the results. Those people are difficult to find inside the organization.

Curt Fowler is an organizational growth expert and president of Fowler & Company, a business advisory firm dedicated to helping leaders create and achieve a compelling vision for their organization. He has an MBA in strategy and entrepreneurship from the Kellogg School, is a CPA, and a pretty good guy as defined by his wife and four children.

Have a business growth topic you’d like me to cover? Send suggestions to cfowler@valuesdrivenresults.com.