Diagnosing Root Causes Behind a Declining NPS

Don’t just track your score. Understand what’s pulling it down.

The Challenge

Your Net Promoter Score (NPS) dropped — now what?
While NPS is a powerful pulse metric, it’s only the starting point. A dip in NPS can signal many different issues: unmet expectations, poor support experiences, product quality concerns, or misaligned communication. Without a deeper analysis, you’re left treating symptoms — not causes.

Our Philosophy

Look beyond the score. Connect feedback to action.
We approach NPS not as a standalone metric, but as part of a broader loyalty and experience framework. The key is connecting promoter/detractor behaviors to real feedback, operational metrics, and moments that matter.

The Diagnostic Framework

A layered approach to uncovering why NPS is falling:

  1. Score Pattern Decomposition

    • Break down NPS by segment: customer type, geography, lifecycle stage, product line.

    • Identify which cohorts are becoming detractors — and when.

  2. Comment & Sentiment Mining

    • Use NLP to analyze open-text NPS comments.

    • Detect themes in promoter vs. detractor feedback (e.g., product stability, onboarding experience, pricing transparency).

  3. Experience Touchpoint Analysis

    • Map NPS responses against key journey stages and recent interactions.

    • Identify moments of friction that precede detractor sentiment.

  4. Operational Data Integration

    • Combine NPS with support ticket data, product usage patterns, and churn signals.

    • Validate root causes using behavioral and transactional indicators.

What This Enables

  • Root-Cause Clarity — Know exactly why NPS is falling, not just where.

  • Tailored CX Improvements — Act on specific issues (e.g., onboarding delays, pricing confusion) instead of launching generic loyalty campaigns.

  • Closed-Loop Readiness — Empower teams to follow up with detractors in a personalized and informed way.

  • Score Recovery & Growth — Reverse NPS decline through focused, data-driven interventions.

The Takeaway

NPS is not the answer — it’s the question.
To act meaningfully on NPS, organizations must go deeper into what drives loyalty and dissatisfaction. With the right insight engine, a declining score becomes a roadmap for improvement.