Low Net Promoter Score? Here's why your customers don't recommend you

Index

1. What is a low Net Promoter Score and why it matters

2. Common reasons why customers don't recommend you

3. Strategic mistakes that lower your NPS

What is a low Net Promoter Score and why it matters

The net promoter score (NPS) is a crucial indicator of the health of your business. Developed in 2003 by Bain and Company, this management tool measures not only customer satisfaction, but their actual propensity to recommend your company.

The net promoter score formula is surprisingly simple. It all starts with a basic question: ‘On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely would you be to recommend our product/service to a friend or colleague?’. After collecting the answers, this formula is applied:

NPS = % Promoters - % Detractors

For example, with 30% promoters and 12% detractors, one's NPS will be +18. The result is always a whole number (never a percentage) ranging from -100 (all detractors) to +100 (all promoters).

A negative NPS clearly indicates that you have more dissatisfied customers than satisfied ones, a situation that requires urgent action. If you are in this condition, you absolutely must focus all your energies on improving your product rather than on advertising.

Indeed, with a negative NPS, investing in advertising could make the situation worse: more people would try a problematic product, amplifying the negative word of mouth. It is like throwing petrol on a fire that is already burning your company.

According to experts, a score below zero indicates that the company has more detractors than promoters, a condition that seriously hinders organic business growth. Bain & Company found that the Net Promoter Score accounts for 20% to 60% of a company's organic growth rate.

Customers fall into three distinct categories that directly affect your business:

Detractors (0-6): Dissatisfied customers who can damage the brand through negative word of mouth. They file complaints, clog up customer service lines and require more time and resources.

Passives (7-8): Satisfied but not enthusiastic customers, easily influenced by competitors. Their position is neutral and therefore negligible in the NPS calculation.

Promoters (9-10): Loyal and enthusiastic customers who continue to buy and grow your business, recommending you to others. They buy more, remain customers for longer and require less support.

The balance between these categories determines the success potential of your business.

Common reasons why customers don't recommend you

Understanding what drives customers away is key to improving your net promoter score. In fact, detractors (customers scoring between 0 and 6) may not only stop buying, but may also damage your reputation with negative reviews.

Untransparent and aggressive billing

Unclear bills and invoices are one of the main reasons for dissatisfaction. The Antitrust Authority has pointed out that the complexity and articulation of offers undermines the transparency and comprehensibility of bills. This problem extends to the improper billing of undue charges, so-called “hidden costs”, which negatively attract the attention of customers. Moreover, bills lacking basic verification elements can generate lasting mistrust, even when the product is good.

Slow or ineffective customer support

A customer support team that does not respond in a timely manner is one of the most frequent causes of a low nps score. For detractors to feel that their concerns have been addressed, you should respond to negative feedback within 24 hours if possible. If tickets remain open longer than average, this is a good indication that your customer experience is not satisfactory.

Low-quality products or services

A high-quality product might get a negative net promoter score if it has not been properly presented to the customer. However, much more often, it is the quality of the product or service that directly determines satisfaction. The NPS is not a direct indicator of quality, but clearly reflects the overall customer experience.

Broken promises or unfulfilled expectations

Unfulfilled expectations drive customers to sharp decisions for their future purchasing choices. Disappointment, frustration, impatience and bitterness all stem from expectations and their non-fulfilment. The intensity of disappointment depends on two factors: the importance of what is expected and the time spent waiting. When we are told about negative experiences, we tend to relive them using our imagination, strongly influencing our future purchasing choices.

Strategic mistakes that lower your NPS

Strategic mistakes can frustrate any net promoter score programme, turning a valuable tool into a mere numerical exercise with no practical value. Some companies invest significantly in NPS programmes without achieving improvements in loyalty or revenue growth.

A crucial mistake is to underestimate passive customers (scores 7-8), considering them less important than detractors or promoters. Passives represent a key strategic opportunity and deserve attention. When the percentage of passives increases, it is crucial to carefully analyse the situation: if it happens at the expense of detractors, it is positive; it is improving. However, if it increases while promoters decrease, it means that one's loyal customers are becoming less satisfied, a warning sign not to be ignored.

The “close the loop” is the most important element in getting real results from any feedback-gathering programme. Despite this, many companies collect opinions but do not act concretely on what they have learned. This incomplete approach defeats the whole process. In fact, negative feedback should be responded to within 24 hours to demonstrate that concerns have been received.

The closed-loop feedback process helps to

Resolve problems at source
Make customers feel heard
Provide vital information to improve the customer experience

Companies often create strategic plans designed to meet internal needs rather than customer needs. A typical example are call centres organised in watertight compartments that force customers to be transferred between different departments to solve a single problem. Similarly, many organisations focus exclusively on the final NPS number, turning it into an end in itself instead of using it as a starting point to understand the customer experience. This fundamental error leads to incentivising employees on the score alone, losing sight of the real purpose: to improve the customer experience in an authentic way.

Real cases of companies with low NPS

Let us now look at some real cases of companies with particularly low net promoter scores, examining the specific causes that led to their poor performance.

McAfee is a case in point of how billing practices can negatively influence the nps score. The company automatically activates automatic renewal without clear notifications to customers. Numerous users have reported sudden price increases, such as one subscriber who saw the annual cost go from €64.95 to €109.95 without warning. Moreover, when customers try to cancel their subscription, they face waits of more than an hour on the phone. Particularly worrying is the practice reported by some users: even after cancelling the credit card, McAfee manages to get the new data from the bank and charge unauthorised amounts.

Telecommunications giant Comcast, the largest cable operator in the US, recorded a negative net promoter score mainly due to its approach to customer service. The company was accused of manipulating its net promoter score by making customers believe they were evaluating individual technicians, when in fact they were answering questions about the company in general. In addition, several customers complained of deceptive business practices, as in the documented case of a user who was promised services at specific rates that were never applied, despite the presence of evidence such as chats and signed contracts.

The e-commerce platform Wish has seen a drastic drop in financial performance and user engagement due to poor product quality. Although the company claims to ‘care about the safety and well-being of its community’, consumers frequently complain about counterfeit and misrepresented products. This has led to an erosion of trust, amplified by social media and online reviews. Customers report biblical shipping times, misleading images and inconsistent quality. As a result, Wish's net promoter score calculation revealed a growing number of detractors.

Peloton, the brand that markets hyper-connected home fitness equipment, is a classic example of a “hype trap”: creating overly high expectations that the product then fails to meet. The company, after an initial success with an impressive nps score of 76, saw the score plummet to 32 in 2023 as a result of product recalls and disappointed expectations. This shows how even companies with a solid reputation can see their net promoter score quickly turn from positive to problematic when they fail to deliver on their promises to customers.

Conclusion

A negative Net Promoter Score clearly signals that your business needs urgent action. Therefore, paying attention to the main reasons that drive customers away becomes essential to reverse this trend.

As demonstrated by the cases of McAfee, Comcast and Wish, opaque billing practices, ineffective customer support and poor product quality can devastate consumer confidence. Basically, a good NPS is not achieved by focusing on the score itself, but by actually improving the customer experience. Active listening is the first step towards change: closing the feedback loop, responding promptly to detractors and turning their criticism into opportunities for improvement.

Peloton's history also teaches us that maintaining a high NPS requires consistency over time. The expectations generated must be reflected in the reality of the product or service offered. Remember that passive customers deserve special attention - they represent untapped potential that can easily turn into loyal promoters or, conversely, vocal detractors.

The ultimate goal is not simply to improve a number, but to build genuine and lasting relationships with one's customers.