Using the Net Promoter Score to support service design: Digging for gold in customer free-text reports

Customer research is key to service design. However, current methods to obtain in-depth customer insight are resource demanding and rarely utilise available customer reports. In this study, we explore the widely used transactional Net Promoter Score (NPS) as a potential source of customer insight for service designers. Specifically, we explore the qualitative customer reports from transactional NPS. The study included the qualitative analysis of 1100 customer reports from a telecommunications service provider. We find that a proportion of customer reports clearly have potential as a source of customer insight, but that filtering is key. In particular, the detailed reports of low-scoring customers may provide the most valuable insight, as these can give a new perspective on the service process and a strengthened understanding of painpoints and potential improvements. We also discuss how the transactional NPS may be used more generally to assess the value and impact of service design.