Stop Chasing NPS, Start Changing Behaviour
NPS measures what people say, not what they do. Learn how Trakkster helps companies move beyond scores to track the behaviours that drive real growth.
Daniel Silander
Strategist
When the score becomes the goal
Every company tracks NPS. It’s simple, familiar, and easy to present in a board slide. “Would you recommend us?” sounds like a powerful question.
But here’s the problem - NPS measures what people say they’ll do, not what they actually do.
You can have promoters who never return, and critics who still buy every month. Yet companies celebrate a rising score while growth stands still.
It’s not loyalty - it’s satisfaction
NPS is often described as a loyalty metric, but in reality it’s closer to a satisfaction score. It tells you how people feel in the moment, not how they’ll behave later.
A high NPS might mean your customers had a pleasant experience - but it doesn’t mean they’ll come back, buy more, or tell a friend.
That’s the difference between opinion and action - and it’s where most tracking systems fail.
Why asking for a rating isn’t enough
On the surface, NPS feels smart - quick, easy, and comparable. But the simplicity hides real problems:
It measures memory, not behaviour.
People answer based on how they remember an experience, not what they’ll do next. Memory is emotional and selective.
It’s influenced by context.
The same customer can give a 9 one day and a 6 the next, depending on mood, timing, or how their morning went.
It captures opinion, not commitment.
Saying you’d recommend a brand costs nothing. Recommending it, buying again, or switching from a competitor - that’s commitment.
It rewards comfort over change.
High scores often reflect safe, familiar experiences. But growth often starts with new habits, and that can temporarily lower satisfaction.
It creates false confidence.
A good NPS feels safe, even when the business is losing share. It keeps leaders focused on a score instead of behaviour.
Behaviour doesn’t lie
At Trakkster, we’ve seen it across industries.
NPS goes up, but retention doesn’t.
Satisfaction rises, but frequency drops.
People say “I’d recommend you,” but their actions say otherwise.
That’s because behaviour reveals what words can’t. Real loyalty shows up in what people repeat - trial, repurchase, renewal, advocacy. When you track those, you measure growth - not just goodwill.
From opinion to outcome
NPS can still be useful, but only as part of a bigger picture. Combine it with behavioural data, and it starts to make sense. Ask not “Who would recommend us?” but “Who actually does?” Because it’s not what people promise that matters - it’s what they repeat.