Press Ganey Holdings Inc.

10/09/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 10/09/2024 06:31

Unlocking the power of NPS in healthcare

Net promoter score(NPS) is a widely behavioral metric in the business world,measuringcustomer loyalty,satisfaction, and how likely someone isto recommend a company or brand.In healthcare, NPS can unlock powerful insights the health of the relationship between patients and the brandof an organization.

What isnet promoter score (NPS)?

Net promoter score is a simple yet effectivemetric thatmeasures how likely a person is to recommend a company or product to others. It'sbased on a 0-10 scaleofstatedintent to recommend, where those who leave a 0-6 score areconsidered detractors, 7-8 passives, and 9-10 promoters. The end NPS score is calculatedby subtracting the percentage of detractors from promoters, resulting in a score from -100 to 100.At its core, NPS is ameasure oflikelihood to recommend, but with a particularmethod for representingthe scoresas the balance of promoters vs. detractors.

A brief history of NPS: Business strategistand consultant Fred Reichheld introducedthe concept back in 2003in a Harvard Business Reviewarticle called "The Only Number You Need to Grow." It'ssince gained widespread popularity across several consumer-focused industries for its simplicity and singular focus on customer loyalty and satisfaction. But NPS has evolved, as has the understanding that it'snot the only metric needed for a comprehensive, well-rounded understanding of customers.

Still, this revolutionary concept quickly gained widespread C-suite attention and adoption-and arguably sparkeda new era in consumer experience (CX) and voice of customer (VoC) research.

  • Shortening surveys
  • Prioritizing qualitative feedback
  • Adopting an open-source approach
  • Encouraging a more action-oriented focus

What does NPSmean for healthcare organizations?

the healthcare context, net promoter scores can be a valuable tool formeasuring overall patient experienceand loyalty. But how can-and should-healthcare organizations use the NPSmeasure?

transactional NPS (t-NPS) is sometimes used, NPS is most effective inmeasuring long-term relationships. Othermetrics-like customer ease, satisfaction, and service quality-are better suited for individual transactions.

Transactionalmeasurements of NPS focus on a particularexperienceat a point in time and the intent to recommend because ofthat experience. But this can provide a -term viewof customer loyalty. In contrast, true NPSmeasurement gauges the health of a relationship with a brand, independent of one particular transaction. Relationshipmetrics open the aperture to the experience, a holistic picture of the patient journey.Relationships are built over time, and reinforced by concepts around trust, brand image, and the customer or patient experience.

For example, think about a This important relationship is often developed and strengthened through multiple interactions over the years.There's trust, there'srespect, there'sa connection and rapport-all the things that keep patients loyal and coming back.

To assess the health of these relationships, you can conduct an NPS survey that focuses on the overall clinical experience, rather than a singlevisit. One bad experience(like a long wait time or an adverse reaction to amedication) generally won'ttarnish the relationship immediately; there'stoo much history, and the relationship is resilient. But if, over time, that patient has a series of negative experiences, the patient-physicianrelationship will no doubt decay.

Askingintent to recommend questions as part of evaluating aparticular visit is importantto understandinghow processes and events impact loyalty, but they'llyield different results than measuring true relationship NPSfor the brand. Relationship NPS might be considered analogous tomeasuring the health of a marriage, whereas transactional NPSasks how much you'drecommend your partner based on how they're acting on anygiven day.

I'dbe remiss not to note that a single incident canstill fundamentally affect an ongoingrelationship. Twoclassicexamples from the non-healthcare world arethe Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989and Johnson & Johnson's response to the Chicago Tylenol murdersin 82. Exxon's handling ofthe environmental catastrophe was largely criticized as slow, opaque, and insufficient. As a result, publicopinionof the company suffered.Compare that to Johnson & Johnson. When Tylenolcapsuleswere found to be tampered with, the company swiftly pulled every bottle from the shelvesto prevent more deaths. Although theirmarket shareinitially took a hit, the decline was temporary, and their actions in the face of crisis ultimately bolstered consumer confidence.

This is, in fact, one of the foundational concepts of brand equity and corporate reputation: Organizations that have developed reputational capital are better prepared to withstand inevitable bumps in the road. The same is true in healthcare.

Should your hospital or healthcare organization measure NPS?

So, is net promoter score the rightmetric for your healthcare organization? Before executing and deploying an NPS survey, ask yourself two important questions.

1. Will NPS show us what we'relooking to learn?

Analyze your existing loyalty dataalongside financial and operational data to determinewhichmetric will best shed light into futurepatient behavior. Key performance indicators(KPIs) can offer a comprehensive overview into , predict trends, and provide insight into the most effective areas for improvement-i.e., those that will make the greatest impact on driving the desiredhealthcareconsumer and patient behavior.

Most organizations use an intent-to-recommend questionas apart of theirongoingtransactional surveys tomeasure loyaltybased on particular experiences. Though calculating a t-NPS score from these surveys is possible, it will yield similar insightsto existing "Likelihood to Recommend" measures,and will require context-specific benchmarking to interpret. A true relationship NPSmeasurement should be used when your goal is to understand the full relationship with your brand and how that relationship may be changing over time withinyour community.

2. Do we have an established relationship with the patient?

Some interactions are just that: interactionsransactions or individual events that mayrequire trust but don't, by themselves,imply an existingrelationship.

Of course, that isn'tto say organizations shouldn't measure patient perceptions and intent to recommendspecific transactions or events. But converting a recommendation question into a transactional NPS score won't provide a complete picture of the relationship overall. To understand the overall healthof your brand within your community,measurerelationshipNPS, independent of transactions.

Press Ganey, we offer customized, flexible, relationship-oriented surveys that make your data more valuable and actionable. Our database provides unmatched, reliable benchmarking on LTR, which can complementNPSwhile giving you direct insight into your organization's performance.We also offer comprehensive options tomeasure NPS across your brand and various touchpoints, andprovide as well as non-healthcare benchmarks to help you interpret your results and make data-driven decisions. By understanding NPS and its nuancesmore holistically, your organization can then tailor itsmeasurement strategy to your specific needs.

To learn more about our comprehensive patient experience capabilities, reach out to amember of our team, and we'llbe in touch.