NPS.
aka Net Promoter Score, likelihood to recommend, recommend score
Would you recommend us to a friend? On a scale of 0 to 10.
What it actually means
NPS, or Net Promoter Score, is a customer loyalty metric based on one question: how likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague, from 0 to 10? People who answer 9 or 10 are promoters, 7 or 8 are passives, and 0 to 6 are detractors. NPS equals the percentage of promoters minus the percentage of detractors.
The math is simple. Say 100 customers answer. Fifty give a 9 or 10, thirty give a 7 or 8, and twenty give 6 or below. That is 50% promoters minus 20% detractors, so your NPS is 30. Passives count toward the total but do not move the score either way. The result can range from minus 100 (everyone is a detractor) to plus 100 (everyone is a promoter). It is written as a plain number, not a percentage, and companies usually follow up by asking why people chose their score.
The nuance people get wrong: NPS is a signal, not the whole story. A good score depends heavily on industry, country and how you ask, so comparing your number with a random company online means little. Tracking your own trend over time is more useful. Small samples swing wildly, and people who bother to answer may not represent everyone. Most importantly, the number does not tell you what to fix. The comments, plus data like churn and repeat purchases, do that.
Where you'll hear it
NPS dropped from 42 to 31 this quarter, and most of the new detractors mention slow support replies. That is where we start.
Translation: fewer customers would recommend the product, and the written feedback points to one clear cause.
Also in product launches, where teams check whether a new feature changed sentiment, in support team goals, where NPS is sometimes tracked per agent or per channel, and in investor updates, where it can show customer loyalty next to churn and retention. The survey is usually sent by email or shown inside an app, often right after a purchase or a support chat.
The pop-culture version
You finish a new series and your group chat asks if it is worth watching. Some friends who saw it are hyping it nonstop and telling everyone to start tonight. Some shrug and say it was fine. A couple are actively warning people off.
The hype crew are promoters. The shruggers are passives: not unhappy, but not doing any marketing for the show either. The ones warning everyone off are detractors, and their messages can cancel out the hype.
NPS is basically that group chat turned into a number. You take the share of people hyping it and subtract the share warning people away. The shruggers sit in the middle and do not change the score. And just like the chat, the score tells you the mood, while the actual messages tell you why.
The practical rule: track your NPS over time rather than chasing one perfect number, read every comment, and pair the score with harder data like churn and repeat sales before you decide what to change.
Say it like you mean it
“Our NPS is up to 45, but it's based on only 60 replies, so let's see if the trend holds next quarter.”
It reports the score with honest context about sample size and looks at the trend.“Our NPS is 45%, so almost half our customers love us.”
NPS is not a percentage of happy customers; it is promoters minus detractors, shown as a plain number.You may hear closing the loop, which means contacting people after the survey, especially detractors, to understand and fix their problem. Some teams also measure CSAT, a satisfaction score for a single interaction.
A 2026 comparison of leading NPS software tools, covering pricing, survey features and reporting to help teams pick the right fit.
Decoded next
Decoded by the Kurums editorial team. Kurums Decoded translates the language of business for people who are new to it. Definitions are kept short on purpose; the serious version above goes deep. Nothing here is financial, legal or career advice.
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