In his 2006 book The Ultimate Question: Driving Good Profits and True Growth, author and business strategist Fred Reichheld said that companies that are hooked on "bad profits" are headed for disaster.
What's bad profit? It's what happens when the money comes in, but at the expense of the company's reputation.
"Whenever a customer feels misled, mistreated, ignored, or coerced, then profits from that customer are bad," said Reichheld. "Bad profits come from unfair or misleading pricing. Bad profits arise when companies save money by delivering a lousy customer experience. Bad profits are about extracting value from customers, not creating value."
You know what he's talking about, right? At one time or another, all of us have purchased something that's turned out to be less than stellar. Consequently, we feel so screwed over that we vow never to say another nice thing about the company that made the product.
Reichheld understands this frustration. While at consulting firm Bain & Company, he helped create the Net Promoter Score (NPS). The NPS is their attempt to quantify exactly how people feel about the companies they do business with. They do so by asking one simple question: "How likely is it that you would recommend this company to a friend or colleague?"
We've been asking that question of PCMag readers all year long. Here, just in time for the holidays, is a list of the PCMag Consumer Recommended Companies of 2012—those with the best NPS in a given category, as determined by you.
Net Promoter, Net Promoter Score, and NPS are trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company, Inc., and Fred Reichheld.
How To Calculate a Net Promoter Score
The way the NPS is calculated is pretty simple. When asked "How likely is it that you would recommend this company to a friend or colleague?" respondents click anywhere on a scale of 0 ("Not at All Likely") to 10 ("Extremely Likely"). They are then categorized as Promoter, Passive, or Detractor:
• Promoters (score 9 or 10): loyal enthusiasts who will keep buying and refer others. They are extremely likely to recommend getting more products from the vendor.
• Passives (score 7 or 8): satisfied but unenthusiastic customers who are vulnerable to competitive offerings. They probably don't care about the company one way or the other.
• Detractors (score 0 to 6): unhappy customers who can damage the brand and impede growth through negative word-of-mouth. These people are unlikely to recommend the company.
Passives get ignored. The Net Promoter Score comes from subtracting the percentage of Detractors from the percentage of Promoters. So:
% Promoters – % Detractors = NPS And sometimes, if there are a lot of detractors, the number can even be negative (below zero).
We fully acknowledge that there are plenty of critics of NPS. Many say the info gleaned from an NPS is not actionable. It's not like a company can actually "use" the number to make things better for itself.
But it goes back to the "bad profits" conversation. A company that sees an increase in its NPS over time can infer that it's doing something right. Those with numbers like what we present in the following pages are already doing plenty right.
CONSUMER RECOMMENDED COMPANIES: PCS
Desktops:
Apple Inc. - 82 percent
In our 2012 survey, Apple Inc. comes out on top, well ahead of any other desktop vendor, with an 82 percent Net Promoter Score. That's 26 percent higher than the next best vendor (CyberPower has a 56 percent NPS). This continues a trend we've seen since we started keeping track of NPS scores back in 2010: Apple can't be beat. This year, though, smaller vendors like CyberPower and Asus (51 percent NPS) came the closest anyone has to date.
Laptops:
Apple Inc. - 83 percent
As it did with the desktop category, Apple mops the floor with the competition. Apple's 83 percent NPS is 22 percent higher than the next best vendor, Alienware. Apple's NPS has remained very steady since 2010, indicating the level of quality people perceive in the product and the service Apple provides has not wavered.
Monitors:
Apple Inc. – 81 percent
This year we asked you about display screens—those that hook up to your PC. There was one clear winner: Apple. The company only has one monitor for sale, the 27-inch Thunderbolt Display, but the legacy of high-quality Cinema Displays obviously lives on with customers.
CONSUMER RECOMMENDED COMPANIES: MOBILE
Smartphone Carriers:
Contract: U.S. Cellular – 63 percent
Perhaps you were expecting Verizon Wireless to carry the top spot here. Nope. U.S. Cellular's small size helps the carrier provide some excellent customer service because it's 63 percent NPS clearly outshines Verizon's 42 percent NPS. In fact, U.S. Cellular has led the Net Promoter Score for contract-based phone carriers for three years now, although it's NPS is down two percentage points from last year.
Prepaid: Virgin Mobile – 34 percent
Talk about fluctuation. Virgin Mobile saw a major spike in its NPS over the last couple of years, going from a 13 percent in 2010 to a 34 percent NPS this year. Perhaps being bought by Sprint Nextel or starting to offer WiMax products made the difference. Hopefully, the prepaid service from Virgin Mobile USA continues to get even better.
Smartphone Makers by Carrier:
AT&T (tie):
Samsung Electronics (Windows Phone) – 75 percent
Apple Inc. (iPhone) – 75 percent
We don't see to many ties in Net Promoter Scores, especially when Apple is involved. So, for Samsung and its Windows Phone 7 devices to get as high a mark as Apple and the iPhone when used on AT&T says a lot. Both are 24 percent above the next competitor, Motorola's Android handsets for AT&T.
Sprint: Apple Inc. (iPhone) – 75 percent
Apple again steals the spotlight with a 75 percent NPS for iPhones used on Sprint. Moto's Android phones are much closer here with a 66 percent NPS, but Apple is the clear favorite.
T-Mobile: Samsung Electronics (Android) – 60 percent
There are no Apple phones available from T-Mobile. Consequently, the carrier's customers prefer the Android-based phones from Samsung. The 60 percent NPS is the lowest of the high-rated phone makers here, but that's the highest recommendation T-Mobile customers would give.
Verizon Wireless: Apple Inc. (iPhone) – 75 percent
Back at the nation's largest carrier, iPhone is again the favorite with a 75 percent NPS.
CONSUMER RECOMMENDED COMPANIES: NETWORKING
Routers:
Apple Inc. – 79 percent
Network routers that let you share your Internet connection throughout your home or small office are another area where Apple is tops when it comes to customer recommendations. Apple's Net Promoter Score of 79 percent is typical of what it's had in this category for three years running.
Network Attached Storage (NAS):
Standalone NAS: Synology Inc. – 68 percent
Synology is one of PCMag's favorite makers of NAS devices (with three DiskStations currently earning an Editors' Choice), and we're glad to see readers recommend the company as well. The 68 percent NPS that Synology earned from our readers is more than double that of the next two closest competitors.
Integrated NAS/Router: Apple Inc. – 80 percent
When it comes to a router that also integrates storage, Apple again is on top. Apple's Time Capsule does automatic backup of Macs to the device's network storage, working entirely over wireless if desired. Plus, the Airport Extreme base station (a,k,a. router) will work with any USB-based storage to make it into a NAS. That combo is one readers found worthy of giving an 80 percent NPS.
Internet Service Provider (ISP):
Verizon FiOS – 65 percent
For our readers, the clear winner is fiber. Just that technology by itself, when not attributed to any one vendor, scores a 40 percent NPS. So it's no surprise that Verizon FiOS, a fiber-to-the-home service, lands a 65 percent NPS with our readers. ISPs are one category where there's lots of competition and many negative Net Promoter Scores, so these big numbers stand out.
CONSUMER RECOMMENDED COMPANIES: PERIPHERALS
Printers:
Brother International Corporation– 61 percent
Brother International cleans up for printer recommendations. Overall, the company received a 61 percent Net Promoter Score. It's also well ahead of the curve on printers for the home at 65 percent NPS and slightly ahead in printers less than a year old (63 percent).
Ebooks & Tablets:
Color: Apple Inc. – 74 percent
Apple owns the color LCD tablet market and for good reason: All of the iPad products to date have been pretty great. The only surprise might be that the Net Promoter Score for Apple isn't higher than 74 percent.
E-ink: Amazon.com – 66 percent
Looking at the recommendation numbers for E-ink-based ebook readers, it becomes pretty clear that online book sellers Amazon and Barnes & Noble own this category. That's despite coming to market relatively late; obviously it helps to own a major book-selling business. Amazon's 66 percent NPS underscores just how well-liked the Kindle products are.
Cameras:
Canon U.S.A. – 80 percent
The overall highest recommended digital camera maker is Canon USA, a vendor with a hand in just about every camera type. An 80 percent Net Promoter Score puts it in approval territory that is generally reserved for Apple computers, at least with PCMag readers. That's pretty amazing for a company with such an extensive range of products.
Camcorders:
Canon U.S.A. – 57 percent
Canon again leads the category with its video-specific camcorders. It's 57 percent NPS is not as big a lead over the competition as it had with digital cameras, with Sony close behind at 54 percent, but it's clear that Canon is the favorite brand to recommend among PCMag readers for anything related to image or video capture.
CONSUMER RECOMMENDED COMPANIES: HOME ENTERTAINMENT
HDTVs:
TIE:
Samsung Electronics – 74 percent
Panasonic Corporation – 74 percent
It's a crazy mixed- up world out there when a company that no longer makes HDTVs gets an amazingly high recommendation score for its HDTVs. But that's the case here; where Pioneer got an 89 percent Net Promoter Score, despite not making a new plasma TV since 2010. Therefore, it can't get the win by default. This is good news for Samsung and Panasonic, which tied each other in customer satisfaction, with a very reputable 74 percent NPS.
Blu-ray Players:
OPPO Digital Inc. – 95 percent
Wow, OPPO. Wow. That's what we have to say when we see a Net Promoter Score of 95 percent. OPPO is a high-end brand name of Blu-ray players. (Its cheapest device is $499). OPPO's 95 percent NPS is higher than any vendor in any category in any survey we've ever done at PCMag. And that's six points higher than what OPPO's NPS from last year.
Gaming Consoles:
Sony Corp. – 67 percent
Okay, so Sony couldn't carry the category of Blu-ray player (which it invented!), but it makes up for it in the gaming console market. The PlayStation 3 helped garner an NPS of 67 percent. This is not a rock solid lead, since Microsoft's Xbox 360 is close behind with a 64 percent NPS. That indicates both consoles have a strong following even after years on the market, with the PS3 having a slight edge (perhaps because it's also a Blu-ray player).
Streaming Media Devices:
Roku – 67 percent
One of the only areas in our surveys where Apple is outdone is in streaming-media devices. While people certainly recommend the Apple TV highly, with its very respectable 60 percent Net Promoter Score, it's Roku's brand that gets the top spot, with a 67 percent NPS. Making inexpensive, easy-to-use devices that work with a huge selection of content providers is paying off for the smaller company.
Home Theater in a Box:
Bose Corporation – 62 percent
A Home Theater in a Box (or HTIB) system includes all the speakers and the receiver you need to put great audio on your HDTV. The clear winner in this category is Bose at a 62 percent NPS. The company's speakers, which range from sound bars to the $500 Bose Solo to $2,500 systems with five speakers, are doing the trick when it comes to audibly satisfying PCMag readers.
CONSUMER RECOMMENDED COMPANIES: SECURITY
Antivirus Software:
Stand Alone Antivirus: ESET North America – 85 percent
To succeed, antivirus vendors have to provide great protection without affecting the performance of a user's system. Every vendor attempts to get the balance right, but this year, the most recommended company in the antivirus market was the Slovakia-based ESET, edging past larger, better-known competitors.