Guide
NPS survey questions: what to ask, and what to ask next
An NPS survey is one standard question plus one or two follow-ups. The follow-ups are where the useful answers are, and they work best when they change with the score.
The core NPS question
Keep the wording and scale the same every time, so scores stay comparable. You can name a product instead of the company (“How likely are you to recommend [product]…”) for a product-level NPS.
The one follow-up every survey needs
“What is the main reason for your score?” is open, neutral and works for everyone. If you ask only one follow-up, ask this.
Follow-ups that change with the score
With skip logic, each group sees a question that suits them:
Detractors (0–6)
- “What disappointed you most?”
- “What is one thing we could do to improve?”
- “Would you like someone from our team to get in touch?”
Passives (7–8)
- “What would it take for you to give us a 9 or 10?”
- “Is there anything you expected that we don’t do yet?”
Promoters (9–10)
- “What do you value most about us?”
- “Would you be happy for us to share what you said?” (then ask for a testimonial)
- “Would you leave us a review?” with a link to your review page
Relationship or transactional NPS?
| Relationship NPS | Transactional NPS | |
|---|---|---|
| Measures | How customers feel about you overall | How a specific moment went |
| When | On a schedule, like every 6 or 12 months | After onboarding, a purchase or a support ticket |
| Use it to | Track loyalty over time | Fix a specific part of the journey |
Tips for better response rates
- Put the scale in the email. Clickable 0–10 buttons let people answer in one tap, before they decide it is too much effort.
- Keep it to two or three questions. Every extra question loses respondents.
- Send it from a person. A short note from a real name gets more replies than “noreply”.
- Don’t over-survey. Leave at least a few months between NPS surveys to the same person.
How Rirofeed helps
Rirofeed’s ready-made NPS form includes the core question, “What is the main reason for your score?”, and an improvement question shown only to detractors. Skip logic lets you add a different follow-up for passives and promoters. You can put clickable NPS buttons in any email and send surveys automatically after a deal or ticket closes, skipping anyone asked in the last 30 days. See NPS surveys.
Can I change the NPS question wording?
You can name a product or service instead of the company, but keep the “how likely are you to recommend” structure and the 0–10 scale. Otherwise the result is no longer a standard NPS and cannot be compared over time.
How many questions should an NPS survey have?
Two or three: the NPS question, “What is the main reason for your score?”, and optionally one follow-up based on the score.
Should NPS questions be required?
Make the 0–10 question required and the follow-ups optional. You will get more complete responses that way.
Find out how customers really feel.
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