How to run an NPS survey (and actually read the score)

Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures how likely people are to recommend you, on a 0-10 scale, expressed as a single number from −100 to +100. It's the most common loyalty metric because it's one question. Here's how to run it properly - and how to make the number actually mean something.

The one question

NPS rests on a single prompt: *"How likely are you to recommend [product] to a friend or colleague?"* answered on a 0-10 scale. Always pair it with an open follow-up - *"What's the main reason for your score?"* - because the number tells you *what*, and the comment tells you *why*. PollsLive ships this exactly: the ready-made NPS pulse template is a 0-10 scale plus the reason question, and any Scale slide has a one-tap 0-10 score preset.

How to calculate NPS

1. Promoters = people who answered 9 or 10.
2. Passives = people who answered 7 or 8 (ignored in the maths).
3. Detractors = people who answered 0 to 6.
4. NPS = % Promoters − % Detractors. A score above 0 is good; above +30 is strong; above +50 is excellent.

Running it live vs. async

Async NPS (a link emailed after purchase or a session) gets you trend data over time. Live NPS - at the end of a workshop, webinar, or all-hands - gets you a candid read in the moment and a chance to ask the *why* out loud. PollsLive does both from the same 0-10 scale question, with no respondent login. For wording on the follow-ups, see 30 survey question examples.

Make the score useful

• Keep it anonymous so scores are honest - see anonymous voting.
• Always read the open comments; the themes matter more than the digit.
• Track the trend, not a single snapshot - one number in isolation lies.
• Close the loop: tell people what you changed because of their feedback.

Start from the survey hub or compare PollsLive with form tools like SurveyMonkey and Typeform.

Run it monthly with recurring polls. Compare PollsLive vs SurveyMonkey.