Over the years, companies have developed many different methods for gauging the attitudes and behaviors of their customers. None of these methods are perfect; all simply attempt to gather data that a company can use to improve its products and processes. We believe that Net Promoter®, as both a specific metric and a full Net Promoter System, is the most useful and practical method.

• Linkage to financial outcomes. In Bain's research, we have found no better metric when correlated with financial outcomes like customer lifetime value or revenue growth.
• Simplicity. Net Promoter surveys typically require only two or three questions, keeping the burden on the customer low. Moreover, the key "likelihood to recommend" question is scored on a simple zero-to-ten scale. There are no complex indices or correlation coefficients. The Net Promoter Score is a single number that can be tracked from week to week and month to month, just like net profit. As with net profit, a company's Net Promoter Scores can be broken down however you wish—by business line, by store, by product, even by individual customer service rep.
• Ease of use. A company can conduct its Net Promoter surveys easily with hundreds of vendors who provide NPS surveys in the broad Net Promoter ecosystem. It can compile and post scores quickly, providing up-to-the-minute scores and verbatim comments to employees and managers, so that they can see the results of their performance in a timely fashion.
• Quick follow-up. Thanks to the ease of use and high velocity of feedback, NPS practitioners can quickly follow up with customers after feedback is received to ensure they "close the loop" by identifying the customer's concerns and fixing the problem whenever possible. Frontline managers and senior leaders use NPS data and customer comments to inform decisions about process changes, new products, and other innovations.
• A growing body of experience. Thousands of companies in different industries have begun to measure their Net Promoter Scores over the past decade. More importantly, a growing number of companies have adopted the full Net Promoter System. Among the early adopters are corporate trailblazers such as Apple, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and Vanguard. These companies have developed successful systems based on Net Promoter principles but adapted to their own businesses. Many practitioners share their experiences and lessons learned through mechanisms such as The NPS Loyalty Forum.
• Adaptability. As an open-source method—no high-priced vendors or "black box" statisticians required—NPS can easily be put to work in a wide variety of business settings. Apple, for example, uses it in its retail stores.