NPS Survey Questions: The Main Question and 25+ Follow-Ups

Net Promoter Score is built on one question asked the same way every time. Standardization is the whole point: it is what makes your score comparable across periods, segments and even industries.

How likely are you to recommend [company/product] to a friend or colleague? (0 = Not at all likely, 10 = Extremely likely)

Respondents who answer 9–10 are promoters, 7–8 are passives, and 0–6 are detractors. Your NPS is the percentage of promoters minus the percentage of detractors. Compute it from raw counts with the free NPS calculator.

• Keep the 0–10 scale — changing to 1–5 or 1–7 breaks comparability with every published benchmark and with your own history.
• Label the endpoints clearly: 0 = Not at all likely, 10 = Extremely likely. Unlabeled scales get interpreted inconsistently.
• Name a real audience — 'a friend or colleague' — so respondents picture recommending to someone whose opinion of them matters.
• Ask about one thing: the company, the product, or a specific service. Mixing them ("our product and support") makes the answer ambiguous.
• Keep it neutral. Do not add persuasive framing like 'we hope you loved it' before the scale.
• Ask it first, before any other rating, so earlier questions do not anchor the number.

The single most important question after the score is an open-ended 'why'. Without it, the number tells you where you stand but nothing about what to do next.

What is the main reason for your score?

Always make this open text, and keep it optional so you do not depress completion. It is where the themes, the product ideas and the churn warnings live — read every answer, or let AI theme them for you.

Promoters are your growth engine. Follow-ups here should uncover what to protect and how to turn goodwill into referrals and reviews.

• What do you enjoy most about [product/company]?
• What is the primary benefit you get from using us?
• Would you be willing to leave a public review or testimonial?
• Who else in your team or network would find this useful?
• Is there a feature or improvement that would make you even more likely to recommend us?
• May we share your comment as a quote (with your permission)?

Passives are satisfied but unenthusiastic — the group with the most upside. Follow-ups should find the one thing standing between them and becoming promoters.

• What would it take to earn a higher score from you?
• What is one thing we could improve?
• Is there anything that almost stopped you from recommending us?
• Which feature or part of the experience do you rely on most?
• What were you hoping for that we did not quite deliver?

Detractors are at risk of leaving and of telling others. Follow-ups should surface the specific problem and open a door to make it right. For the full workflow, see detractor analysis.

• What went wrong, or what disappointed you most?
• What is the single most important thing we should fix?
• Was there a specific moment when your experience fell short?
• What did you expect that did not happen?
• Is there anything we can do to resolve this for you?
• May we contact you to follow up on your feedback?

A few carefully chosen extra questions add context without turning a two-question survey into a chore. Add them sparingly:

• How long have you been a customer? (segments new vs established loyalty)
• How often do you use [product]? (usage frequently correlates with the score)
• Which plan or product do you use? (reveals score differences by tier)
• How easy is it to get what you need done? (a light-touch effort check — see the CES calculator)
• Is there anything else you would like us to know? (a catch-all open text)

Keep it short. The classic NPS survey is two questions: the 0–10 rating and the open-ended 'why'. That combination gives you the score plus the reasons, which is enough for most programs.

If you add more, cap it at four or five and use logic so respondents only see follow-ups relevant to their score. Every extra question lowers completion, and a lower response rate is a bigger threat to a reliable NPS than a missing context field. Build a branching version in seconds by describing your goal in AI Studio, or start from the ready-made NPS survey template.