What Is an NPS Detractor? Turn Detractors Into Promoters

BY QDegreesPUBLISHED
Apr. 10, 2025

Net Promoter Score is a metric used by businesses to measure customer loyalty. It typically involves asking customers a standard question such as, on a scale of 0 to 10, how likely they are to recommend our product/service. This question can be personalized and used by different businesses to gauge their customers' satisfaction and loyalty.

Customers are distributed into three groups based on their responses to the survey; the groups are:

● Promoters: These are the satisfied customers. They have tested your product and services, and they are primarily impressed. Promoters are loyal customers and would score you between (9 - 10).

● Passives: You can call them neutral customers. While they don’t have any bad reviews about your business, they don’t have any good words about it either. Passive customers have tried your business; it is good, but they are not enthusiastic about it. Competitors can easily hijack them. These customers would score you between (7 - 8)

● Detractors: Detractors are the unsatisfied customers. They are likely the most important to your business, as their words can harm your business growth and development. Detractors would score you (0-6).

What is an NPS Detractor?

Net promoter score (NPS) detractors are unhappy customers who score you between 0-6 on NPS surveys when asked: on a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend this product/service? Most business owners make a common mistake here. They prioritize the promoters more than the detractors. Meanwhile, the words of detractors are just as powerful as those of promoters. In a saturated market with so many competitors, the last thing you want as a business owner is to let the words of an unsatisfied customer get out.

Businesses must focus on turning NPS detractors into promoters to enhance growth and sustainable development.

How to Identify NPS Detractors?

The best way to identify detractors is by setting up an NPS survey, sharing it with your customers, and waiting for feedback. Once you have gotten the feedback, stratify them; those who gave scores between 0 and 6 are detractors. While NPS efficiently identifies detractors, it is not the only way. Other customer satisfaction surveys are just as effective. For instance, you can use customer experience metrics like CSAT or CES scores to identify detractors.

CSAT and CES scores are used to measure customers' perceptions of certain features or offers. They calculate how easily customers can navigate a feature or design on your app or software. However, it is important to know that an NPS score is the most effective way to identify detractors.

You Can Also Read: Top 5 Alternatives to Net Promoter Score

How to Respond to Detractors?

Shift your priority away from the NPS score and focus on the detractors by doing the following:

● Don’t put up a defence. Accept you have wronged them.

● Research the detractor’s experience with your product or services.

● Make plans to resolve their complaints.

● Fix the problem.

● Follow up on the detractors.

How Can Detractors Affect Your Business?

Detractors can affect your business in the following ways:

● Write Bad Reviews: It takes at least five good reviews to correct one bad review. That’s why you must ensure you turn your detractors into promoters. Bad reviews can have a negative influence on your business, as they can discourage new customers from patronizing it.

● They Churn: Detractors can quickly churn because they are unsatisfied with products and services. That’s why NPS campaigns are essential: they help businesses identify detractors and highlight areas that need improvement from unhappy customers' complaints.

● They become advocates for competitors: Detractors are vulnerable to competitors, and they become advocates when they try a competitor's Product and are satisfied. You don’t want that for your business.

How to Turn Detractors Into Promoters?

Here are five actionable ways to Turn Detractors into Promoters.

● Encourage Feedback: Detractors or not, most customers want to be heard. Open the channel for hearing back from your customers; this is the most effective way to learn their concerns about your products and services.

● Close feedback loop: Once you have identified their complaints, do your best to fix them immediately. When you fix the problem, notify NPS detractors that their complaints have been resolved. This will let customers know that they are important to your business, which can turn an unhappy customer into a loyalist.

● Respond in time: Don’t waste time before you respond. Replying fast is not only courteous but also professional. The more time you spend before responding, the closer your customers are getting to your competitors' net.

● Show Empathy: Sending out any kind of message to respond fast won’t cut it. Prove you are human by showing empathy and listening to their experience. Show them you are sorry about their experience with your business and you are working tirelessly to resolve their complaints as quickly as you can.

● Don’t over-promise or underdeliver: In the heat of the moment, it is very easy to promise what you can’t deliver. Don’t do that, or else you just make it more challenging to win their trust again. Be professional with your responses; don’t promise their complaint will be resolved in 5 minutes when you don’t know the cause of the problem yet. Be realistic with your promises.

Summing Up

NPS detractors are not dangerous to your business growth unless you ignore their complaints, adopt the actionable strategies listed in this article to turn NPS detractors into promoters, and watch your business grow exponentially.