If you’re searching for a reliable voice of the customer template or the most great questions for NPS follow up, you’re not alone. While the Net Promoter Score (NPS) reveals how likely customers are to recommend your brand, the real insights come from those follow-up questions—their whys, their hows, their vivid stories. Instead of a simple static survey, conversational AI surveys can instantly tailor what they ask next, based on whether someone’s a promoter, passive, or detractor. With an AI-powered survey builder, those conversations are easy to launch and adapt as you learn.
Follow-up questions that turn promoters into advocates
Promoters—those giving a 9 or 10—are your champions, but we can’t stop at congratulations. To boost engagement and ROI, we need to know what drives their glowing enthusiasm. In fact, promoters on NPS surveys spend up to 67% more than other customers—engaging them meaningfully matters a lot. [1]
What was the main reason you gave such a high score?
This helps you zero in on the product features, service aspects, or moments that matter most.Is there a specific story or experience that stands out?
Personal stories are fuel for testimonials and social proof when you ask the right way.If you could improve one thing—even as a fan—what would you wish for?
Even the happiest customers see gaps you might miss; let them guide your roadmap.How do you describe us when you recommend our product or service?
These words can shape your next campaign or onboarding flow.
Why do these work? They target the “why” and let you tie emotion to specifics. The best part: conversational AI surveys can go deeper automatically, without being pushy. Here’s how an AI probe might follow up on a vague answer to the first question:
That’s awesome! Can you tell me a bit more about which features made using our product memorable?
This lets you move from generic praise to granular, actionable insights. Conversational surveys make it seamless to keep the flow natural—even surprising promoters into sharing ideas you can use to grow.
Questions that reveal what passives really need
Passives (scores 7–8) are the satisfied-but-not-thrilled segment—their praise is lukewarm, and they’re at risk of walking away quietly. The key is uncovering what would tip them into promoter territory. Targeted follow-ups can surface what’s missing:
What’s one thing keeping you from rating us higher?
This hits at the friction points or features you’re overlooking.Is there a competitor or alternative you’d consider over us?
Comparisons expose gaps, especially if someone’s torn between choices.Was there anything confusing or hard to use in your experience?
Usability feedback from passives is often gold—fix it and see scores climb.What would make our product or service feel more valuable to you?
Future-looking, this invites honest wish-list answers.
When a response sounds hesitant, conversational AI can probe automatically—leading to richer answers and clarity. Here’s an example:
You mentioned you’re mostly satisfied. Could you share a recent moment where our product didn’t fully meet your expectations?
AI follow-ups like this are now effortless to set up, which is one reason that personalized follow-up questions based on NPS scores dramatically increase actionable insights and response rates. [2]
If you want to see how conversational AI follow-ups adjust in real time, you can learn more about this dynamic feature in our automatic AI follow-up questions guide.
Detractor follow-ups that uncover fixable problems
Detractors (scores 0–6) often have the clearest—and sometimes most actionable—feedback. The key? Ask with genuine curiosity, not defensiveness. That’s how you transform negative feedback into recovery plans:
What disappointed you most about your experience?
Leads directly into the root cause.Was there a specific event or issue that made you feel this way?
Pinpoints moments you might fix right now.If you’ve ever recommended against us, what did you say?
Sometimes, detractors share recurring themes worth addressing for all users.What could we do to earn back your trust?
Signals a willingness to improve—a question that often re-ignites dialogue.
It’s important to be mindful of tone and structure. Here’s a comparison for how to handle detractor follow-ups:
Good practice | Bad practice |
|---|---|
Curious, neutral, and specific: “Could you tell us what went wrong and how it impacted your use of the product?” | Defensive or dismissive: “Why didn’t you like us? That’s not been a problem for others.” |
Open-ended empathy: “Is there something we can change to make this right for you?” | Closed question: “Did you try our support chat? Yes/No” |
The AI can acknowledge frustration while gently guiding the user to describe details:
I’m sorry things didn’t go as you hoped. If you don’t mind sharing, was there a key issue that made your experience difficult?
This blend of empathy and specificity paves the way for genuine recovery. And, as research shows, open-ended follow-ups provide far deeper, more actionable feedback—especially when powered by smart probing. [5]
Turning NPS conversations into action plans
Collecting thoughtful responses is only half the job—analysis is where the breakthroughs happen. AI analysis tools can spot themes, patterns, and priorities in seconds, even in huge datasets. Curious how? Here are actionable prompt examples for post-survey analysis (learn more about this on our AI survey response analysis feature page):
To spot frequent themes by segment:
Summarize the main reasons promoters, passives, and detractors gave for their scores. Group feedback by segment.
To decide what to fix first:
List the top three improvements that would influence passives to become promoters, based on their feedback.
For sentiment shifts over time:
Compare the most common pain points among detractors this month versus last month. Did any new concerns appear?
To understand value drivers:
Identify phrases used by promoters to describe what they like most. What unique selling points can we highlight in marketing?
With Specific, you can chat with AI about responses, drilling into why promoters rave about you, what makes passives teeter, and what detractors wish you’d fix. Modern platforms go far beyond static dashboards—they let you turn every NPS comment into concrete next steps.
Making voice of the customer surveys work for your team
Real voice of the customer programs need sharp questions and the right delivery: in-product conversational surveys naturally catch customers at pivotal moments and boost response rates. [4]
AI survey editors allow you to quickly refine follow-ups as you spot trends or gaps, using tools like our AI survey editor—so your surveys get sharper with each round. Ready to engage your audience? Start and create your own survey—your next insight is one question away.