A good NPS score typically ranges from 0 to 30 for most sectors, but what actually counts as “good” depends heavily on the industry you’re in. In sectors such as telecommunications or government, lower scores are normal, while consumer technology and retail consistently have higher benchmarks. In this article, we answer the most frequently asked questions about NPS—from calculation to improvement—so you can put your score in the right context. Want to know how customer engagement technology contributes to higher customer satisfaction? Check out our CX solutions overview for more context.
What is considered a good NPS score?
An NPS score above 0 is positive; a score above 20 is considered good; and a score above 50 is considered excellent. Scores above 70 are rare and are associated with exceptional customer loyalty. Negative scores mean there are more detractors than promoters, which is a clear signal that action is needed.
The Net Promoter Score ranges from -100 to +100. That scale may seem broad, but in practice, most organizations achieve scores somewhere between -10 and +60. It’s not just about whether your score is “high” in absolute terms, but whether your score improves over time and how you compare to similar organizations in your industry.
A handy rule of thumb:
- Below 0: Cause for concern. More customers are dissatisfied than satisfied.
- 0 to 20: Acceptable, but there is clearly room for improvement.
- 20 to 50: Good. You’re performing better than average in most sectors.
- 50 to 70: Excellent. Customers are true ambassadors for your brand.
- Above 70: World-class. Rare, but achievable with the right focus.
Just remember: a score of 30 in the healthcare sector can be impressive, while that same score in the entertainment industry is mediocre. Context is everything.
What are the NPS benchmarks by sector in the Netherlands?
NPS benchmarks vary significantly by sector in the Netherlands. Financial services and utilities score lower on average (around 10 to 25), while consumer technology and e-commerce have higher averages. The public sector and telecommunications are known for consistently lower NPS scores, often due to complex customer expectations and limited customer choice.
Although exact figures vary by year and sector, the following guidelines provide a good indication of what you can expect in 2026 as a representative range for each industry:
- Retail and e-commerce: An average of 30 to 50. Customers easily compare options and reward fast, frictionless service.
- Financial services (banks, insurance companies): An average of 15 to 35. Trust plays a major role, but complex products and regulations prevent higher scores.
- Telecom: An average of 5 to 20. An industry that traditionally has low loyalty scores due to a high willingness to switch providers and fragmented customer experiences.
- Government and the public sector: Average 0 to 20. Citizens have no choice of provider, which sometimes limits the motivation to provide top-notch service.
- Healthcare and Well-being: An average of 20 to 40. Personal contact and empathy are the main factors driving the score higher here.
- Housing associations: On average, 15 to 30. Accessibility and speed of processing are key factors.
- Education: An average of 20 to 40. Student experience and service orientation are becoming increasingly important.
Use these bandwidths as a starting point, but always look for industry-specific benchmark studies to find the most up-to-date comparative data.
Why does a good NPS score vary so much by industry?
NPS scores vary by industry because customer expectations, freedom of choice, and emotional engagement with a product or service are fundamentally different. In sectors where customers have few alternatives—such as government or utility companies—the threshold for giving a 9 or 10 is much higher than in sectors where customers make conscious choices and feel connected to a brand.
There are three main factors that explain the differences in the benchmarks:
Customer Choice
When customers can freely choose between providers—such as in retail or technology—satisfied customers are more likely to give a high rating because they have consciously chosen you. With mandatory services, such as municipal service counters, emotional engagement is lower, and customers are more critical in their evaluations.
Complexity of the product or service
Complex products, such as mortgages, insurance policies, or healthcare plans, are more likely to cause frustration due to a lack of clarity, long processing times, or multiple points of contact. This consistently lowers the NPS, regardless of how well customer service performs. Simple, straightforward products tend to score higher.
How do you calculate your organization’s NPS score?
You calculate the NPS by subtracting the percentage of detractors (scores 0 through 6) from the percentage of promoters (scores 9 or 10). Passive customers (scores of 7 or 8) are not included in the calculation. The result is a number between -100 and +100.
The formula, step by step:
- Ask customers the question: “How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?” on a scale of 0 to 10.
- Divide the responses into three groups: promoters (9–10), passives (7–8), and critics (0–6).
- Calculate the percentage of promoters out of the total number of respondents.
- Calculate the percentage of critics out of the total number of respondents.
- Subtract the percentage of critics from the percentage of promoters.
Example: If 60% of your customers give a score of 9 or 10 and 15% give a score of 0 to 6, then your NPS is: 60 minus 15 equals 45.
A few practical tips for reliable measurements:
- Measure regularly and consistently, not just after a positive interaction.
- Use multiple channels (email, phone, chat) to get a representative picture.
- Always follow up the rating with an open-ended question: “Why did you give this rating?” This will help you gain useful insights.
- Make sure you have a sufficiently large sample size before drawing any conclusions.
What are some common mistakes made when interpreting NPS?
The most common mistake with NPS is evaluating the score in isolation, without considering the industry context, trends, or qualitative insights. An NPS of 25 can be excellent in one industry and subpar in another. Anyone who looks only at the number without understanding the underlying reasons misses the essence of what NPS has to offer.
Other common mistakes include:
- Sample sizes that are too small: An NPS based on twenty respondents is not very meaningful. Wait until you have enough data to draw statistically reliable conclusions.
- Selective measurement: Measuring only after positive contact moments gives a distorted picture. Also measure after symptoms appear or following complex care pathways.
- NPS as the sole KPI: NPS indicates whether customers would recommend you, but it doesn’t show why they call, how long they wait, or how easy it was to get in touch. Always combine NPS with CSAT, CES, and operational metrics.
- Failure to Follow Up with Critics: Critics are a goldmine of information for improvement. Those who fail to follow up with them miss out on valuable insights and increase the risk of churn.
- Choosing the wrong benchmark: Comparing yourself to a global average when you operate in a specific Dutch niche leads to incorrect conclusions.
How can you systematically improve a low NPS score?
You can systematically improve a low NPS by addressing the root causes of dissatisfaction, not by optimizing the measurement. This means listening to critics, identifying patterns in complaints, and improving the customer contact processes that cause the most frustration. A higher score is the result of better experiences, not the other way around.
Practical steps that work:
- Analyze the open-ended responses: Why are customers giving low ratings? Is it due to wait times, unclear information, or having to repeat their story over and over again?
- Improve first-contact resolution: Customers who receive the right assistance the first time consistently give higher ratings. Invest in effective routing and knowledge management for employees.
- Reduce channel switching and repeat contact: Customers who have to contact you multiple times about the same issue become critics. An integrated contact center platform prevents this.
- Respond quickly to critics: Following up personally after a low rating shows that you take the feedback seriously. This can turn a critic into a neutral or even loyal customer.
- Enable self-service: Customers who can answer simple questions on their own, even outside of business hours, are more satisfied and put less pressure on your team.
Improving NPS is an ongoing process, not a one-time project. Organizations that consistently achieve higher scores measure their performance regularly, act on feedback, and optimize their customer interactions as a whole.
How Pegamento Helps You Improve Your NPS on an Ongoing Basis
We understand that a low NPS score rarely has a single cause. Fragmented systems, slow routing, employees who have to switch between multiple screens, and customers who have to repeat their story over and over again—these are all factors that negatively impact the customer experience. Pegamento doesn’t offer expensive custom solutions, but rather a smart combination of proven modules that together form a cohesive customer engagement platform.
What we can do for you:
- Omnichannel customer contact: Phone, chat, WhatsApp, and email all in one view, so employees always have the full context without having to switch screens.
- Intelligent call routing and self-service: Customers are connected directly to the right agent or department, without unnecessary transfers that lower the NPS.
- AI-driven support: Our Agentic AI assistants don’t just take instructions—they act independently based on context. This marks the evolution from traditional RPA to self-thinking assistants that relieve employees of repetitive tasks.
- Reporting and Management Information: Gain insight into why customers reach out, which questions are asked most frequently, and where the customer experience falls short, so you can make targeted improvements.
- Everything under one roof: From implementation to management and support, a single point of contact, and no complex supplier structure.
Would you like to know how your organization can improve the customer experience and systematically increase its NPS? Check out our CX solutions or contact us for a no-obligation consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hoe vaak moet ik de NPS meten om betrouwbare trends te zien?
Voor de meeste organisaties is een meting per kwartaal een goede basis, maar de ideale frequentie hangt af van het volume klantcontacten. Bij hoge contactvolumes kun je continu meten (transactionele NPS) en maandelijks rapporteren. Bij lagere volumes is een halfjaarlijkse relationele meting realistischer. Het belangrijkste is consistentie: meet altijd op dezelfde manier en op vergelijkbare momenten in de klantreis, zodat je trends over tijd eerlijk kunt vergelijken.
Wat is het verschil tussen transactionele NPS en relationele NPS, en welke moet ik gebruiken?
Transactionele NPS meet de tevredenheid direct na een specifiek contactmoment, zoals een telefoongesprek of een aankoop, terwijl relationele NPS de algemene loyaliteit van een klant meet op periodieke basis. Gebruik transactionele NPS als je wilt weten welke specifieke processen of kanalen verbeterd moeten worden. Gebruik relationele NPS als je een overkoepelend beeld wilt van hoe klanten over jouw organisatie denken. Ideaal gezien combineer je beide: de transactionele meting voor operationele sturing, de relationele meting voor strategische benchmarking.
Hoeveel respondenten heb ik minimaal nodig voor een statistisch betrouwbare NPS?
Als vuistregel geldt dat je minimaal 100 tot 200 respondenten nodig hebt voor een redelijk betrouwbare NPS-score, afhankelijk van de gewenste nauwkeurigheid. Met minder dan 50 respondenten zijn de marges zo groot dat een verschil van 10 punten statistisch gezien niets hoeft te betekenen. Hoe groter de variatie in je klantenbestand, hoe meer responses je nodig hebt. Gebruik bij twijfel een betrouwbaarheidsintervalcalculator om te bepalen hoeveel data je écht nodig hebt voordat je conclusies trekt.
Kan een hoge NPS score ook misleidend zijn?
Ja, een hoge NPS kan misleidend zijn als de meting niet representatief is. Dit gebeurt bijvoorbeeld wanneer je alleen tevreden klanten uitnodigt voor de enquête, of wanneer de vraag op een moment wordt gesteld waarop klanten extra positief gestemd zijn, zoals direct na een succesvolle levering. Daarnaast zegt een hoge NPS niets over omzetgroei of klantretentie als de promotors in de praktijk nauwelijks actief aanbevelen. Combineer NPS daarom altijd met andere KPI’s zoals churn rate, herhaalaankopen en daadwerkelijke referrals.
Hoe ga ik om met culturele verschillen bij het interpreteren van NPS scores?
Culturele verschillen hebben een aantoonbaar effect op NPS-scores: klanten in Noord-Europa, waaronder Nederland, geven gemiddeld lagere scores dan klanten in de VS of Latijns-Amerika, zelfs bij een vergelijkbare tevredenheid. Dit betekent dat internationale benchmarks niet altijd direct toepasbaar zijn op een Nederlandse context. Vergelijk je scores bij voorkeur met Nederlandse of West-Europese sectorgenoten, en wees voorzichtig met het gebruik van wereldwijde gemiddelden als meetlat voor jouw eigen prestaties.
Wat moet ik concreet zeggen of doen als ik een criticaster opvolg?
Neem binnen 24 tot 48 uur persoonlijk contact op, bij voorkeur telefonisch, en begin met oprecht luisteren zonder direct in de verdediging te schieten. Erken de frustratie, stel open vragen om de kern van het probleem te begrijpen, en communiceer concreet welke stap je neemt om het op te lossen. Sluit het gesprek af met een duidelijke verwachting: wat doet jouw organisatie, en wanneer hoort de klant hier iets over? Deze aanpak vergroot de kans om een criticaster te converteren naar een passieve of zelfs loyale klant aanzienlijk.
Welke andere klanttevredenheidsmetrics combineer ik het beste met NPS?
De meest waardevolle combinatie is NPS samen met CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score) en CES (Customer Effort Score). NPS meet loyaliteit en aanbevelingsbereidheid op langere termijn, CSAT meet de tevredenheid over een specifieke interactie, en CES meet hoe makkelijk het voor een klant was om zijn doel te bereiken. Samen geven deze drie metrics een volledig beeld: hoe loyaal is de klant, hoe tevreden was hij over dit contact, en hoeveel moeite heeft het hem gekost? Aangevuld met operationele data zoals First Contact Resolution (FCR) en gemiddelde wachttijd heb je een krachtig dashboard voor klantcontactsturing.
