---
title: "Do You Understand Net Promoter Score?"
section: "Customers"
sectionId: "customers"
date: "2026-05"
---

## What Is NPS?

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a way to measure customer experience at scale. Winning founders are obsessed with metrics — measuring, tracking, and making decisions based on data.

Rather than open-ended questions, NPS asks customers to rate their experience on a scale from 0–10, typically: *"How likely are you to recommend our product to a friend or colleague?"* This makes it easy to compare answers and group results across your entire customer base.

## The Three Groups

| Group | Score | Description |
|---|---|---|
| **Promoters** | 9–10 | Loyal enthusiasts who keep buying and refer others, fuelling growth |
| **Passives** | 7–8 | Satisfied but unenthusiastic — vulnerable to competitive offerings |
| **Detractors** | 0–6 | Unhappy customers who can damage your brand through negative word-of-mouth |

**NPS = % Promoters − % Detractors**

Your score can range from −100 to +100.

## NPS Benchmarks

Via customer.guru:

| Brand | NPS |
|---|---|
| Starbucks | 77 |
| Apple | 47 |
| Facebook | −21 |

## What NPS Helps You Discover

Use NPS to find answers to questions like:

- What problem are you solving for customers, and do they feel you are solving it adequately?
- What sets your product apart?
- Which features do they love? Which do they want removed?
- Do you make their job or life easier, faster, or better?
- Why do they use your product? What do they wish was better?
- Would they recommend you? Why or why not?

You can also use NPS results to **anticipate churn** (track detractors closely) or to **drive targeted outreach** to passives before they leave.

## Referral Programs as an NPS Growth Hack

One powerful way to increase NPS is through a referral program — but **only target promoters**, never detractors.

Robinhood's "Free Stock" programme is one of the best examples: every time a user referred a new sign-up, both parties received a free stock. This created a huge surge in early sign-ups that no other brokerage had attempted before.

Delighting customers is a vital part of the startup flywheel. Collecting and acting on NPS feedback is one of the most direct ways to gauge how well you are doing it.