Understanding NPS

What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Drives Better Experiences

When it comes to understanding how people truly feel about an experience, few measures are as simple or as widely recognised as Net Promoter Score (NPS). You’ve probably seen it on a dashboard, but NPS is far more than a number. Used well, it’s a powerful signal of trust, loyalty and whether the experience genuinely made a difference.

At Expression for Growth, measuring impact is part of our DNA. Our client NPS of 97 and participant NPS of 75 reflect the relationships we build and the experiences our Precision Learning solutions consistently deliver. But the score is only the headline—the insight behind it is where the real value lies.

What Is NPS?

Net Promoter Score measures how likely someone is to recommend your organisation, product or service to others. It’s based on one question:

“How likely are you to recommend us to a colleague or friend?”

Responses fall into three groups:

• Promoters (9–10): Loyal advocates who had an excellent experience.
• Passives (7–8): Satisfied but not enthusiastic.
• Detractors (0–6): Unhappy or disappointed and at risk of negative feedback.

The calculation is simple: % Promoters – % Detractors = NPS, giving a score from –100 to +100.

Why NPS Matters

Despite the simplicity, NPS offers deep insight:

• Emotional impact - It shows whether people felt engaged, supported and valued—not just whether they completed a session.
• A quality benchmark - Because it’s used globally, NPS allows you to compare your experience to world-class standards.
• Early warning signs - A drop highlights where expectations are shifting or where improvements are needed.
• Actionable insight - The follow-up “Why?” provides rich themes and opportunities to evolve the experience.
• A true measure of loyalty- Satisfaction is transactional. Loyalty is emotional. NPS tells you which one you’ve earned.

For organisations committed to long-term behavioural change, strong relationships and exceptional participant experience, this distinction matters.

Why NPS Matters for Capability Building

In learning and development, NPS shows whether an experience landed at both an emotional and behavioural level. For clients, it’s a north star for quality. For participants, it reflects impact. For us, it reinforces our purpose: helping people enjoy performing at their best.

NPS isn’t just a number—it’s a measure of belief, experience and momentum. When someone says they’d recommend something, it means it mattered. And when that happens consistently, it’s a sign that capability is being built in a way that truly endures.