Net Promoter Score Turns 20: Is It Enough?
In 2003, Bain & Company partner Fred Reichheld introduced a groundbreaking method of assessing how well an organization treats individuals whose lives it affects: its capacity to foster enduring and loyal relationships. This assessment, known as the Net Promoter Score (NPS), has since been shared so anyone could apply it to their business.
NPS has since been widely used amongst businesses to measure success and while it is mainly used for gauging customer satisfaction and loyalty, it has also been employed for measuring the effectiveness of corporate events.
However, this one form of measurement is not enough when analyzing the success or impact of corporate events.
In this article, we will look at the relevance of NPS in corporate events and why it's time to change how we measure success.
NPS as a stand-alone measurement is not enough
There is a common misconception about Net Promoter Scores in corporate events.
Many believe that NPS combines factors such as customer satisfaction, advocacy value, behavior perception, and brand awareness. However, this is not entirely accurate.
The truth is that NPS solely measures advocacy and only provides a small part of the overall picture. So while it is an excellent metric to measure to an extent, it is almost worthless when used in isolation for measuring the overall success of your corporate event program.
NPS doesn't tell you how you can change the hearts and minds of your attendees to move them all to become promoters of your next event or increase their propensity to buy from your next customer-facing event. It also doesn't tell you which events worked for your business and for what reason.
For your event measurement to mean anything, it is critical to understand how those who attended your event felt and how their brand perception has changed from pre-event to post-event. Only by knowing this, can you then understand the event's role in changing brand perceptions and, ultimately, increasing business revenue.
"Our clients are already familiar with NPS as a tool to gauge brand advocacy. While it should absolutely be used to measure event success, it shouldn't be the only metric utilized. Incorporating NPS into a blended metric model: alongside other key indicators like attendee engagement, behaviour change, brand perception, and ROI: provides a far more complete picture of an event's success."
: Mark Brewster, CEO, Explori
Why use a blended metric framework?
A blended metric framework offers a comprehensive view of event success by combining various data points to capture the multifaceted nature of corporate events. NPS is a useful starting point, but a multi-dimensional approach should also include:
- Attendee engagement. Measuring how actively participants engage with the event content, sessions, and networking opportunities.
- Behaviour change. Tracking how the event influences attendees' actions, such as adopting new strategies or making purchasing decisions.
- Brand perception. Evaluating shifts in how attendees view the brand before and after the event.
- ROI. Quantifying the financial return on the event investment, including direct and indirect benefits.
By integrating these metrics, businesses can gain a deeper understanding of the true impact of their corporate events, leading to more informed decisions and strategic improvements.
What it boils down to
Measuring event performance is complex. To make data-driven, strategic decisions for the future, it's essential to know what to measure, why, and how: but with the right data, the future of your event program can transform.
NPS is a great place to start, but it shouldn't be your only metric. Instead, take a more strategic approach to your event measurement programme, blending various metrics together to truly understand event performance and prove value to senior leaders.
In this period of cuts to event budgets and senior event leaders' jobs, deep event performance data is the difference between sink or swim: so making the change is critical to the survival of corporate event programmes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is NPS not enough for corporate event measurement? NPS measures advocacy in isolation. It does not capture engagement, brand perception shift, behavioural change, or business impact: all of which matter more for a corporate event programme answerable to senior leadership.
What is a blended metric framework? A blended framework combines NPS with other indicators: engagement quality, behaviour change, brand perception shift, and ROI: to give a multi-dimensional view of event impact. The whole picture, not just the loudest signal.
How do I prove ROI on a corporate event programme to the C-suite? Move beyond satisfaction metrics. Measure pre- and post-event brand perception shifts, behavioural intent, and behaviour change. Tie those signals to the strategic objectives of the event: pipeline influence, retention, brand authority: and report against those, not against attendance figures.
Should I stop using NPS altogether? No. NPS still has value as one input among several. The mistake is using it as the only input. Pair it with the metrics that actually answer leadership's question: did the event change anything that matters?
Apply this methodology to your own event programme.
Explori operationalises measurement methodology proven across thousands of events. The questions, the framework, the benchmarks, all built in, all defensible to leadership.