The essential first step in voice of the customer analysis is measuring NPS—but the truth is, the number alone doesn’t dig deep enough. If you stop at the score, you’ll miss the real gold: understanding why customers gave that rating, and what you can learn from their stories.
I've pulled together the best questions for NPS follow-ups, focused on unlocking actionable feedback and giving you a process to truly turn every customer response into insight. Let’s get into what to ask—and why it matters.
Best follow-up questions for promoters
Promoters (those scoring 9 or 10) are your big fans—the folks who’ll tell friends and colleagues how much they love what you do. But it’s not enough to know they’re happy; I want to know what you’re nailing so you can double down.
What made you choose such a high score?
This open-ended question breaks through the usual platitudes and gets right to the heart of your customer’s experience. Often, you’ll spot unique value propositions that aren’t obvious from quantitative data. [1]What do you love most about our product/service?
This helps us discover the emotional drivers behind loyalty—sometimes it’s support, sometimes it’s a particular feature, sometimes it’s the way you handle issues. Pinpointing these helps focus your messaging and future development. [2]What would you tell someone considering our product?
Great for surfacing exact language your happiest customers use when advocating for you. This is gold for both product and marketing teams looking for authentic testimonials and positioning.What’s the one thing we could do to make your experience even better?
Even your promoters have ideas for improvement. Prompting for this feedback proactively can uncover suggestions you’d never generate internally. [1]
Key insight: Promoters highlight the “magic moments”—the particular experiences or features you’ve nailed. These insights not only reinforce what’s working but can inspire everything from onboarding tweaks to social proof campaigns. As research shows, asking about what customers value most reveals vital marketing messages and product differentiators. [2]
Best follow-up questions for detractors
Detractors (scores 0–6) are tough to hear from, but their feedback is the most actionable. This is where improvements are born, and where the conversational survey approach really shines by inviting candor in a non-defensive way.
What’s the main reason for your score?
A classic question, but truly effective. It invites an open account of what went wrong—or simply didn’t feel right—without priming for negativity. [1]What was missing or disappointing in your experience?
This directly taps into feature gaps or service breakdowns—crucial intel you won’t find in closed questions. [2]What would need to change for you to recommend us?
Focuses feedback on solutions and future improvements, not just what’s broken. It reframes the conversation to aspirational, not adversarial.What’s the one thing we could do to improve your experience?
With this, you signal openness and avoid defensiveness—a major reason why customers engage more thoughtfully. [1]
Among the best practices I've seen, follow-ups with detractors should always feel like a conversation—not a confrontation. Turning static feedback into a two-way street sets the stage for recovery and learning. Here’s a quick comparison:
Good practice | Bad practice |
|---|---|
Curious, open-ended questions | Defensive, closed or leading questions |
“What could we do to improve for you?” | “Why do you dislike our service?” |
“Tell us more about where we missed the mark.” | “Was our product too expensive?” |
You can see why focusing on understanding (not just scoring) generates richer, solution-oriented feedback. And since studies show that one targeted open-ended question can dramatically increase the quality of feedback, it pays to make every follow-up count. [1]
Best follow-up questions for passives
Passives (scores 7–8) too often fly under the radar, but I see them as your single biggest opportunity. They’re not dissatisfied, but they’re not loyal either. Nurture them, and you’ll convert them into true advocates.
What’s holding you back from giving a higher score?
Delves into friction points, hesitations, or missing features. When passives explain their rationale, you unlock easy wins for improvement. [2]What would make this a 9 or 10 for you?
Invites passives to describe their “perfect case” scenario, which often highlights simple but powerful product or experience tweaks. [2]How can we better align with your expectations?
Helps you sort out misalignment between what you deliver and what’s wanted—crucial for reducing churn. [3]What features do you think we should focus on improving?
This question unveils specific enhancement ideas, often things you’ve under-prioritized. [3]
Hidden opportunity: When you probe passives thoughtfully, they frequently surface feature requests or needs that neither promoters nor detractors mention. I’ve seen teams unlock entirely new growth or retention strategies by focusing here. Don’t let the “meh” respondents slip away—their potential to become promoters is right at your fingertips.
For an even deeper dive, see how automatic AI follow-up questions can be crafted for this audience.
How AI-powered NPS surveys work
Instead of forcing static scripts, Specific automatically branches your NPS follow-ups based on score—promoters get one set of questions, detractors another, and passives a third flow tuned for their blend of feedback. Our AI picks up on cues in the initial answer and adapts in real time for maximum clarity and relevance. Curious how it works? Explore our AI-generated follow-up logic in detail.
The GPT-powered engine doesn’t just collect answers—it also summarizes open responses, quickly surfacing trends and recurring themes. That means instead of slogging through hundreds of replies, I get digestible insights mapped to each NPS segment. You’ll find this workflow explained on our AI survey response analysis page.
Analysis made simple: The AI lets your team “chat” with the results, ask targeted questions, and instantly pull out summaries—making it easy to share, present, or act on VoC data. Teams can communicate the essence of NPS feedback to product, CX, and leadership without handwaving or guesswork. Sharing is built in, so it’s easy to keep everyone aligned.
If you want to see examples of these powerful workflows, check out actual conversational survey examples.
Build your Voice of the Customer program
NPS is just a number until you use it to start a real conversation. With the right follow-up questions—and a process that adapts to each respondent—you’ll discover actionable stories behind every score.
Designing a standout NPS survey means getting both the questions and the logic just right. Specific gives you a best-in-class user experience for crafting Conversational Survey Pages or in-product interviews—so it's effortless for both creators and customers. The magic comes from merging expert-designed questions with AI-powered follow-ups and analysis.
Create a conversational NPS survey that automatically adapts questions for promoters, passives, and detractors. Use smart follow-ups and instant AI summaries—just describe your needs in a sentence:
"I want to run an NPS survey for SaaS users and get deep feedback on product experience from all three segments."
Ready to unlock the full story behind your NPS? Create your own survey and put these best-in-class follow-up questions to work.