The Ultimate Question Fred Reicheld - Summary Dirk De Boe - Creashock

1. Summary made by
Dirk De Boe - Creashock
www.creashock.be
+32 474 949448 (mobile)
http://be.linkedin.com/in/dirkdeboe
http://twitter.com/dirkdeboe

2. Customers used to stay loyal to you out of
• Loyalty
• Ignorance
• Inertia
But
• Times are changing
• Other companies are interested in your customers
• People are better informed
• They want to be treated like you want to be treated (=
Golden Rule)

3. Net Promoter Score
• Answer to only 1 question : How likely is it that
you would recommend this company to your
friend or colleague?
• Promoters : 10 (extremely likely) / 9 (very likely)
• Passive : 8 / 7
• Detractors : 6 to 0 (not at all likely)

4. Customer behaviour
• Little correlation between customer satisfaction
and actual customer behavior (purchasing
intention). Big emotional component !!!
• Customers refer if
– Your product / service has value
– They feel good about the relationship
• Each negative comment neutralizes 10 positive
points
• It’s the behavior (not the scores) that define
promoters, detractors and passives => it’s the
behavior which fuels the drive for growth

5. Simplify your surveys
• Make the language for customers more simple
and clear. Avoid jargon.
• Avoid question creep. People hate long lists of
questions
• Short surveys, high response
• The Ultimate Question + a few additional
questions should do

6. Get NPS in your organisation
• Set up an NPS measurement system if you believe
delighting customers is the path for growth.
• Link NPS scores to corporate recognition
• NPS scores should be part of monthly operational reports
• Communicate NPS at every level
• Move NPS out of the marketing department
• Track NPS at each intervention with the customer
• Design Value Propositions that focus on the right
customers. Deliver to these Value Propositions. Bust the
silo’s. Develop your company’s ability to do this over and
over again

7. Get NPS in your genes
• Hire and fire to inspire. Building a consumer
centric culture begins with the right people
and the right values
• Train people in consumer centricity
• Reward employees for outstanding customer
service

8. Interact with the consumer
• Close the loop : when a problem is solved, call the customer
• Create fora / dialogues to exchange best practices. Organize round
tables with customers.
• Customers gets a phonecall from a Harley Davidson retiree who
knows the product very well
• Aim for high response rate from the right customers
• Use 3th parties to ask the questions. People tend to be more open to
them
• Negative feedback is more likely to be given by e-mail
• Listen to your promoters to focus your innovation investment
• Spend time on your existing customers. Some companies are
spending more resources on marketing and acquisition of new
customers
• Sometimes new customers get rewards which does not count for
your loyal customers

9. Your customer distribution
C(ore)BA
E DF
PROFIT
NPS

10. Work on your customer distribution
1. Invest in your core segment (C)
2. Reduce bad profits (A)
3. Get bad profits, bad NPS (F) up or out
4. Find additonial promoters
– D => C
– B => C

11. The New Yorker
• Organize home coming events
• Long weekends with lectures, artists,
poetry, readings, …
• Writers and editors interact with core
readers, both to get feedback and
learn more about their profiles,
concerns and interests
• Political roundtables, panel
discussions, author breakfasts
• More than 20.000 attendees!
• Forum for reader submissions

12. • Encouraging book reviewers to comment on
offerings and community voting
• Nurturing a creative community encouraging
book reviewers to comment and grade the
publications that the company offers for sale
• Invite customers to post critiques on books they
had read. Then it enabled customers to rate the
quality of the book reviews as well as the books
themselves. Community voting was the next step

13. • Launched a web-based community for graphic designers and developers.
Goal was a destination site that would help customers be more
productive and creative and would also help them in managing their
careers
• Adobe Studio Exchange serves more than 1,5 million regular visitors
• Forum allows designers to meet online and discuss current challenges
and potential solutions
• In 2002 Studio Exchange contained more than 5000 files with
contributions from 180.000 members
• Vital element is the rating process to recognize the best contributions.
Members rate contributions which is a powerfull magnet to attract and
retain the best contributors

14. ’s values
• People are basically good
• Everyone can contribute
• Open en honnest environment brings out the best in
people
• Respect everyone as unique
• Treat others as you want to be treated
=> eBay Live program : creating customer communities,
attracting thousands of eBay users and employees to
compare notes, promote their wares and learn form each
other

15. • Senior executives make annual outings to Harley
Owners Group gatherings
• They stay current with their customer community as
well as with the dealers who sponsor the gatherings
• The rallies not only enhance the customer experience,
but also provide the company with a window in the
priorities and creativity of their most enthusiastic
buyers
• Some of the insights for new Harley models and
accessories started out as customized additions to
bikes proudly shown at one of these events

16. • Lego offers various kinds of support to local clubs and
exhibitions where members can show off their creative
designs
• As Lego distributes its products through retailers, it is
difficult to get face to face with the customer. So they
developed information packets that review best practices
for putting on a successful event including peer voting
• Several model kits have been based on winning designs at
these exhibitions
• LegoFactory.com offers tutorials on how to download and
use Lego’s digital design software package which lets
customers invent new kits just like professional designers

17. • Creaboost lectures
• Trainings creative thinking
• Coaching brainstorms
• New products, services, strategies and business models
• Innovation trajects and innovation culture
dirk.deboe@creashock.be
www.creashock.be
@dirkdeboe
+32474949448