Switching to NPS was easy: Training for Planet Tan's staff consisted of a half-hour PowerPoint presentation, developed in-house. Planet Tan e-mailed a single question - "How likely is it that you would recommend this company to a friend or colleague?" - to 11,695 of its customers. The response rate was 11%. The various rankings, from 0 to 10, were tallied, and the company arrived at its NPS score: 66.
"Everyone just got it. Here's a single number that can go up or down, depending on interactions with customers," says Dawn Byers, 32, a Planet Tan executive who worked closely with Hartl to introduce the metric.
During the first months of 2008 same-store sales have risen more than 15% year-over-year, according to Hartl. He attributes the results partly to various moves made in response to the NPS data. Planet Tan will be doing another NPS survey this summer: Hartl hopes to hit 70.
Read the full story on the feedback Planet Tan got - and the changes it made in response.
NEXT: Tying bonuses to customer satisfaction
President Obama meets often with small business owners, peppering his speeches with their stories. We checked in with 6 entrepreneurs touted by the President to find out how they handle health care. More
These 6 insurgent automakers are outmaneuvering the Big Three to shape the future of the automobile. More
