I’ve been looking at our NPS feedback, and I’m really curious if anyone has had success turning a detractor into a promoter.
What strategies did you use? How much time did it take? I’d love to hear about actual experiences since many of our detractors seem pretty firm in their views.
We turned one around by fixing their actual bug report and following up months later.
Turning a detractor into a promoter is possible if you address specific issues. We’ve had a case where a user struggled with onboarding. Instead of a generic response, we called and guided him personally. We incorporated his feedback into our updates. Six months later, he rated us a 9. The lesson is to view complaints as opportunities to improve the product, not just customer issues. Not all detractors will flip, but those with solvable concerns often will.
Listen to concerns and show change afterwards.
Reaching out quickly helps. I usually send a direct message within a day to ask what went wrong. Many just want to be heard. I resolve issues fast and check back a month later. Last year, I turned three detractors into promoters by acting on their suggestions. It takes time, but it pays off if their feedback is genuine.
Had a detractor on a food delivery app who was furious about late orders in his area. Instead of defending our process, I dug into the data and found we really did have driver issues in his zip code.
Fixed the routing algorithm and added two more drivers to that zone. Sent him a personal update three weeks later with free delivery credits. He went from a 2 to a 9 and even mentioned us in a local Facebook group.
The key was admitting we screwed up and showing actual changes, not just promising to do better. Found this approach in a video that breaks down how to handle complaints properly:
Took about a month total, but now he orders twice a week. Sometimes your biggest critics become your best customers if you actually listen.