Don’t turn NPS into a pay-to-win game.
#NoBullshitCX
One thing we insist on when implementing any Voice of the Customer (VoC) programme: never – and I mean never – turn the score into a KPI tied to bonuses. The moment you do that people stop thinking about customers and start thinking about how to manipulate the number.
We have worked with several automotive brands on their VoC rollouts. In one country, we saw an excellent programme with strong insights, clear actions, and meaningful improvements. But when we returned a few years later, something had changed: suddenly, every dealership had a perfect 100% NPS. And no – that is not a sign of success. It is a sign of system failure.
Margins in car dealerships are razor-thin, and once NPS becomes part of the financial package, it warps the behaviour. You have probably heard it yourself: “Please give us a 9 if you are unhappy, a 10 if you’re happy.” Every now and then I even see it printed on a sign at reception (muffled screams).
If you want your VoC programme to actually improve customer experience, you have to incentivise action, NOT numbers. You have to reward teams for closing the loop, solving real problems, and learning from feedback. That is where the ROI is – and where customer trust is built.
