While we all hope that the feedback gathered from our Customer Experience Program will yield glowing reviews, enthusiastic shoutouts, and rich insights into what your organization is doing right — the flip side is inevitable: there will be customers who are less than satisfied.
This article explores how to handle different types of low-score scenarios and how to frame those findings for your CX leader and executive team.
🎯 What Do I Do If Our Overall Score Is Lower Than Expected?
Setting a target NPS score is essential when measuring the gap between your organization's expectations and actual outcomes. If your results come in considerably lower than anticipated, don’t panic — this is an opportunity to spark meaningful, high-impact conversations from the start.
Here's how to respond:
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Use Filters, Leaderboards, and Theme Buckets to surface patterns in the responses you're receiving.
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Focus on tangible, solvable issues. Quick wins matter!
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Use Reply Templates to schedule follow-up calls with Detractors to gain a deeper understanding of their frustrations.
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If you've imported teammate names into Custom Data (e.g.,
Account_executive,Customer_Success_Manager), use Leaderboards to spotlight high performers and celebrate those with the most positive feedback.
🧠 Pro Tip: Use Frontline Coaching to create a culture of recognition and action.
Remember: your NPS is a directional metric of improvement over time. A low starting point simply means there's room for visible, measurable growth as you begin addressing customer concerns.
📬 My Response Rate Is Low — What Do I Do?
Your Response Rate is calculated by dividing the number of responses received by the number of surveys successfully delivered (bounced emails are excluded). A low response rate may reflect a lack of engagement — but it’s fixable!
🛠️ Ask Yourself:
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How many emails are we sending to customers overall?
Are newsletters, updates, or promotional content causing fatigue? -
How often are we surveying our customers?
What is your Global Contact Rule set to? -
Are you personalizing surveys using Custom Fields?
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Is your subject line clear, human, and inviting?
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Are surveys coming from a real person rather than a generic team?
✅ AskNicely believes surveys should feel simple, personal, and responsive.
Even if your response rate is low now, present it as a baseline for improvement. With the right adjustments to content, cadence, and delivery, engagement will rise — and so will your team’s confidence in the program.
🙋 Need Help?
Our Support Team is here for you! Click the chat bubble at the bottom-right corner of your screen or email us at support@asknice.ly for help diagnosing low scores, improving response rates, or configuring templates and workflows.