A new study lists the companies consumers are most likely to recommend to their friends and family – a key measurement in Net Promoter Score ranking. Companies are also ranked on a variety of customer experience metrics.
Within telecommunications, Vonage was the breakaway winner in the local and long distance sector with a score of 45%. Vonage claimed top honors within one of the poorest performing industry segments – companies evaluated earned an average of negative 7%.
Cellular providers were the only telecommunications segment with positive NPS averages, and Verizon Wireless led with an NPS of 40%, almost double the industry average. Verizon's new FiOS fiber optic TV service direct to the home also stood out with an NPS of 28% in the cable TV category.
Among Internet service providers, only three of the nine providers received positive scores, with AT&T topping the list at just 11%. As these industries continue to provide converged services, the NPS leaders will have a strong competitive advantage in customer loyalty and positive word of mouth.
Banking institutions saw declines in NPS over the previous year, reflecting the impact of the current financial crisis on brands that compete in this industry. Banking had an average NPS of approximately 15%. Charles Schwab maintained its leadership position in the brokerage and investments sector with an NPS of 36%, while troubles at Merrill Lynch placed it dead last.
In the credit card sector, American Express and Discover maintained their strong performance year on year, while USAA stood out as a leader in this segment.
Among tech firms Apple, with an NPS of 77%, maintained its position as the top performer in the computer hardware segment and number two performer out of more than 90 brands studied. Adobe led consumer software with an NPS of 46%, while Microsoft trailed and security software leader Symantec showed significant improvements over the previous year on the back of major product and service enhancements in its Norton product line.
The online services sector achieved the highest average NPS of all industries studied, with eight out of the top 10 highest scoring companies coming from the online market. Google led the way in online search and information with a score of 71%, outpacing rival Yahoo! by 30 points.
Social networking sites also ranked high, with Facebook's higher NPS reflected in faster growth in monthly unique visitors than rival MySpace.
Amazon.com led the online shopping sector with an NPS of 74%, but was followed closely by Costco.com.
The ratings are based on survey responses from U.S. consumers who had purchased products or services from each company within the previous 12 months. A company's Net Promoter Score is based on customers' likelihood to recommend the company's product or service. NPS is calculated as the percentage of customers who are “promoters”, minus the percentage who are “detractors”.
The study was conducted by Satmetrix, a customer experience program specialization firm.
