Chasing high Net Promoter Scores (NPS) is pointless if nobody answers your surveys. This guide is for folks using AskNicely who want real, actionable feedback—not just vanity numbers. We'll walk through building NPS surveys in AskNicely, making them actually worth opening, and dodging the usual pitfalls that tank response rates.
If you want more than a checkbox exercise, keep reading.
Step 1: Get Clear on Your Goal (Yes, Before You Touch the Tool)
Before you even log in, decide what you want to learn. Are you measuring general satisfaction? Zeroing in on a recent experience? If you can't answer "What will I do with this data?" then you're just annoying your customers.
Pro tip:
Stick to one focus per survey. NPS is already a blunt instrument—don't muddy it with six other questions.
Step 2: Set Up Your First NPS Survey in AskNicely
Once you’re ready, log into AskNicely and start a new survey project. Here’s how to do it without getting lost in the weeds:
- Create a New Survey:
- Go to your AskNicely dashboard.
- Click to start a new survey (it’s usually right on the main screen).
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Pick “NPS” as your survey type.
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Pick Your Audience:
- Decide who should get this survey. All customers? Just those who bought recently?
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Use filters or tags in AskNicely to target the right group. Don’t blast everyone—irrelevant surveys drag down response rates and annoy people.
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Choose Delivery Method:
- Email is most common, but AskNicely also supports SMS, web embeds, or in-app.
- Think about where your customers actually see your messages. SMS can work for B2C, but feels spammy if you haven't used it before.
What to ignore:
Don’t stress over every possible segment or delivery method right away. Start simple—email to your main customer list—and expand from there.
Step 3: Write a Survey Invitation That Doesn’t Sound Like Spam
The invitation email (or SMS) is the make-or-break moment. Most people decide to delete or open within two seconds. Here’s how to keep them from hitting the trash:
- Subject line: Make it clear and honest. "Quick feedback on your recent order" beats "We value your opinion!" every time.
- Sender name: Use a real person if possible (e.g., "Megan at [Your Company]"), not a generic company or “noreply.”
- Opening line: Skip the fluff. “Can you spare 30 seconds to rate your experience?” is enough.
What works: - Keeping it short. One or two sentences max. - Being specific about what you’re asking. - If appropriate, a gentle promise: “We really read every response.”
What doesn’t: - Guilt trips (“We need your feedback to survive!”). - Bribes that feel cheap (e.g., “Win an iPad!” unless you’re OK with junk responses).
Step 4: Customize Your NPS Question and Follow-Ups
AskNicely gives you some flexibility, but don’t overcomplicate it. The classic NPS question is:
"How likely are you to recommend [Your Company] to a friend or colleague?"
You can (and sometimes should) tweak the wording to fit your situation. For example: - “How likely are you to recommend our support team after your recent ticket?” - “How likely are you to recommend us based on your last purchase?”
Follow-up questions:
This is where the gold lives. After the 0-10 score, AskNicely lets you ask, “What’s the main reason for your score?” You can add a follow-up, but keep it open-ended and optional.
Pro tip:
Don’t pile on extra questions. Every added field drops your completion rate. Resist the urge to ask for demographic data, product feedback, and shoe size all at once.
Step 5: Brand and Personalize (But Don’t Overdo It)
A little branding helps, but nobody cares about your logo’s hex code. Focus on making the survey feel familiar and safe.
- Use your logo and brand colors, but keep things simple. Too much design slows loading and looks like marketing.
- Set up AskNicely’s personalization tokens (e.g., “Hi {{first_name}}”)—but only if your data is clean. “Hi ,” looks worse than “Hi there.”
- If you’re sending by email, make sure your reply-to address goes to a real inbox.
What works: - Consistent branding, so people know it’s from you. - A clean, mobile-friendly layout (AskNicely’s templates are fine out of the box).
What doesn’t: - Over-styled emails that look like ads. - Heavy images or animations—these trigger spam filters.
Step 6: Timing and Frequency—Don’t Annoy Your Audience
Sending your NPS survey at the wrong time is a fast track to low response rates or, worse, angry replies.
- Right after an interaction: For transactional NPS (post-purchase, post-support), send within 24 hours.
- Regular check-ins: For relationship NPS, pick a frequency (quarterly, biannually). Don't “set and forget”—review how people are responding.
- Avoid survey fatigue: Don’t ask the same person more than once every few months, unless something major changed.
What works: - Testing send times. Sometimes, mid-morning on a Tuesday is perfect; for others, evenings work better. Try a few and check AskNicely’s open/click stats.
What doesn’t: - Blasting surveys at end-of-quarter “just to hit our numbers.” - Sending at odd hours (3am). Unless your audience is global, this is just rude.
Step 7: Test, Preview, and Send (Then Actually Monitor Results)
Don’t trust that it all looks great until you’ve sent a test to yourself and a colleague. Check for: - Typos, weird formatting, missing personalization. - Mobile rendering—most people read emails on their phones. - The survey link works and takes you to the right page.
Once you’re live, watch your response rates in AskNicely: - If you see under 10% response, something’s wrong—usually your invite or timing. - Read the open text comments. If they’re blank, your follow-up question may not be inviting enough.
Ignore:
Vanity “completion” stats if your actual written feedback is empty. High NPS scores with no comments aren’t useful.
Step 8: Iterate, Don’t Overthink
Your first survey won’t be perfect. That’s fine. AskNicely gives you solid analytics, so use them: - Tweak your subject line and see if responses go up. - Try a different follow-up question. - Narrow your audience if you’re getting low-quality responses.
What works: - Making small changes and running A/B tests. - Cutting anything that doesn’t add value.
What doesn’t: - Chasing perfection before you’ve even sent your first survey. - Adding more questions just because someone in the company wants it.
Summary: Keep It Simple, Keep It Honest
NPS surveys are only as good as the answers you get. In AskNicely, focus on clear invites, simple design, and timing your asks. Don’t bury people in follow-up questions or vanity branding. Start basic, watch your results, and tweak as needed. Remember: better a 20% response rate and real feedback than 2% and a pretty dashboard.
Send your survey, listen to what people say, and keep it moving.