What is the NPS question?
NPS question explains 0 to 10 likelihood to recommend item, scoring, recommended wording, and when to use transactional or relational surveys.
The NPS question asks: "How likely are you to recommend [company/product] to a friend or colleague?" on a 0-10 scale.
It is the single likelihood-to-recommend item used to compute Net Promoter Score and is usually followed by an open-ended "why" question. (prod.netpromotersystem.com)
What is the NPS question?
The NPS question is a single “likelihood to recommend” item that asks respondents to rate recommendation on a 0-10 scale. (netpromotersystem.com)
Fred Reichheld and Bain introduced this “ultimate” question as a simple predictor of customer loyalty; the approach is now used for customers, employees, and product experiences. (netpromotersystem.com)
What would change this answer: if you need to measure task-specific satisfaction (for example task completion in an app) a short CSAT or task-success question may suit better; NPS is about overall willingness to recommend, not immediate usability or those narrow transactable moments. (sprig.com)
How is NPS scored?
NPS = (% of Promoters) − (% of Detractors), producing a score from −100 to +100. Promoters are 9-10, Passives 7-8, Detractors 0-6 on the 11-point scale. (prod.netpromotersystem.com)
You calculate each group’s share of responses, subtract detractor percent from promoter percent, and track the result over time (trend matters more than a single absolute number). (sprig.com)
What would change this answer: if you intentionally alter the scale or categorization you cannot compare to NPS benchmarks; for internal experiments you might use a different scale, but then it is not standard NPS and cannot be benchmarked reliably. (sprig.com)
What is the recommended NPS wording?
Use Bain’s classic phrasing or a close equivalent: “How likely are you to recommend [company/product] to a friend or colleague?” on a 0-10 scale, followed by a single open-ended prompt such as “What is the main reason for your score?” (prod.netpromotersystem.com)
| How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague? | Exact Bain wording; best for benchmarking and cross-company comparisons. (prod.netpromotersystem.com) | | On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend [product] to someone like you? | Shorter/product-focused; useful when you must orient the question to a specific item (product/class) while keeping comparability. (contentsquare.com) | | “Would you recommend us?” (yes/no) with follow-up | Simpler, higher response rate but breaks NPS calculation and removes benchmark compatibility; use only when benchmarking is not required. (sprig.com) |
What would change this answer: if your aim is strict benchmarking against industry numbers you must keep the 0-10 scale and the recommend phrasing; if you care only about simple sentiment or conversion, binary or 5-star formats can be faster but lose standard NPS meaning. (sprig.com)
When should I send an NPS survey?
Decide between transactional and relational NPS. Transactional NPS is sent immediately after a specific event (purchase, support ticket, onboarding milestone) to measure that touchpoint; relational NPS is sent on a regular cadence (quarterly, biannually, or annually) to measure overall relationship and brand health. (help.delighted.com)
| Transactional NPS | Relational NPS | | Send timing | Right after a defined interaction (order delivered, support closed, onboarding complete). (help.delighted.com) | On a regular cadence (quarterly, twice a year, or yearly) to track overall loyalty trends. (help.delighted.com) | | Use when | You need feedback tied to a specific experience and want to act quickly. (help.delighted.com) | You want a baseline of long-term loyalty and to measure strategic changes. (help.delighted.com) |
Timing trade-offs: ask too early and customers may not have enough experience to answer; ask too late and memory bias reduces accuracy. Transactional NPS gives tight operational signals; relational NPS gives strategic trend data. Use both where possible, but avoid over-surveying the same customers. (help.delighted.com)
If you plan to run NPS surveys with a tool, some platforms (including Zigpoll) support post-purchase, on-site and email NPS workflows; Zigpoll advertises post-purchase, exit-intent and on-site NPS surveys and a free Lite plan with 50 responses/month and paid tiers beginning at $39/month ($29/month billed annually) as of November 2026. (zigpoll.com)
What would change this answer: industry, product type and purchase frequency matter. High-frequency transactions may need more frequent transactional NPS; long-consideration products (B2B purchases, long onboarding) need longer waits before surveying. If response-rate or bandwidth is limited, prioritize transactional NPS for operational fixes. (constantcontact.com)
