Q3 customer NPS action report
Article Highlights
You spoke, we listened: How we’re taking action from our clients’ NPS survey responses.
Each quarter, we send out an NPS survey to all of our clients to see where we can make improvements to the way we work together. After all, feedback is essential to knowing where to begin making changes.
We all receive multiple feedback requests over the course of a month, quarter or year; everything from rating the products you buy on Amazon, to giving peer reviews at work. That can add up to a lot of time and effort spent responding and sometimes it can feel all a bit pointless if nothing is seen to be done with that feedback.
It turns out that companies on the whole aren’t brilliant at relaying what they’re doing with the information they’ve gathered from customer feedback efforts. So, inspired by a recent ‘post-mortem’ post from the brilliant team over at Agency Hackers, we’ve collated some of the responses from Q3’s NPS survey from our lovely clients, and outlined the actions we’re taking as a result.
Roadmaps & ways of working
Collaborative working is central to how we operate at Blue Array. We received a comment that asked for “greater clarity on what’s being worked on and when/more frequent updates.”
To help provide that clarity, we always produce a roadmap for clients. The roadmap acts as your single source of truth in terms of what deliverables are being planned and worked on, on a month-by-month basis. Whilst we build roadmaps with the ‘big needle movers’ in mind, we never set them in stone: after all, we all know how quickly things can move in SEO, so the roadmap acts as our grounding point, which we return to continuously and collaboratively update if needed.
This year we’ve also introduced implementation logs. As a ‘consulgency’ (an agency that works in a consultative way), we rely on our recommendations being implemented by our clients in a timely manner. The implementation log helps keep both sides accountable for implementation and keeping track of progress. The implementation log details tasks completed, tasks outstanding, progress bars and priority.
Here’s an example implementation log:
If you’ve not yet had an implementation log created by your account team, why not chat to them on your next call to see if it would be beneficial for you?
When it comes to regular updates, most of our clients have either weekly or bi-weekly calls with the team. These are a great chance to discuss business priorities, updates and any changes. However, if things are a little more urgent than that, we’re also available on email and aim to respond to you within 24 hours, during the working week (all that SEO brainpower means we need a breather on the weekends!).
Are you a Slack user? Did you know, we’re also happy to set up a shared Slack channel? These are ideal for sharing quick updates and reducing your inbox noise.
Image: Slack.com
Another comment we received was this: “To improve, we would benefit occasionally from more explanation/direction around your output – for example, we often get clear lists of actions following a task which is great, but sometimes (particularly where the actions are more technical) don’t get instructions on how to best implement those actions.”
We know that not everyone likes to get bogged down in detail when it comes to SEO. Therefore, we always try to ensure the right information gets to the right person in a format they can work with easily. However, if you find you need a little more support on the technical front, please let us know, we’d be happy to provide more guidance.
Don’t forget we’ve got a dedicated tech team to help you here. They’re like our engine room, powering everything from technical audits to migration checks, core web vital investigations, and much more in between!
The next comment we had was about changes in the account team: “We’ve had a lot of changes in account managers over the last few years, which has always led to changes.”
The pandemic years have seen unprecedented change in how, where, when and why people work, so many companies in the UK (and further afield) have seen more turnover than previous years. We work really hard to look after the incredible people who work here at Blue Array. We’d love everyone to stay forever, but we equally love seeing people spread their wings and grow in their careers. Naturally that means that sometimes folks move on, and we need to find someone new to look after you.
We always endeavour to match our account teams with clients where we feel there’ll be a great fit. For clients that stay with us for a long time, we occasionally bring in a fresh pair of eyes to the account to help stir up new innovative ideas.
Many of the team here have been in-house marketers in previous roles, so we appreciate how frustrating it can be when faced with agency team churn when things aren’t properly handed over. This is why we have a robust handover process that lasts several weeks to ensure your new account team can hit the ground running when they fully take over.
Content services
One of our clients commented: “[It] would be amazing to have a full stack writing service!” The great news here is that we do now offer a full end-to-end content creation service, from the initial keyword research, through to writing and sub-editing. If it’s something you’d like some support with, either temporarily or on an ongoing basis, simply chat to your account team and they can give you the details.
Naturally introducing new services isn’t always smooth sailing, and the comment below highlights that sometimes we’ve not quite hit the mark:
“I appreciate the more technical stuff was always going to be a stretch, but some of the content supplied has been vague and basic. The pricing is competitive but I’d pay more for freelance work if it guaranteed quality content with only minor edits needed on my side.”
We’ve been working really hard in the background to iron out some of the kinks with our content service to ensure we’ve got a variety of options to fit a variety of industries and budgets. Naturally, some of our clients sit within the YMYL space, so delivering quality, expertise content is the highest priority and we feel confident that we’re in a great place to deliver insightful, valuable content that drives relevant traffic.
Building SEO knowledge
We also had a comment around how we can help educate our clients and their teams on SEO: “Education of [the] client on SEO, this is how it works, this is why you need both parts (tech and content), this is why you can’t simply pick and choose keywords.”
We absolutely love working with clients who are just as passionate about building their SEO knowledge as we are. We also appreciate that when you’re working in-house, it can be tricky to get senior stakeholders on board with your SEO efforts when they’re focused on different metrics.
There are a variety of ways we can support you to build your SEO knowledge. Here are a few to explore:
Enrol on our free technical SEO course
Earlier this year, we launched a free Technical SEO Certification via the Blue Array Academy. With 14 modules as well as checkpoint quizzes and downloadable templates, it’s a fantastic, bite-sized resource for building your technical SEO knowledge.
Check out the course and enrol for free here: https://www.bluearrayacademy.com/courses/technical-seo-certification
Sign up to the weekly newsletter
There’s also the Blue Array weekly newsletter – delivered every Sunday at 8pm sharp, it gives you a handy round-up of the week’s breaking SEO news, videos and podcasts. Sign up here: https://www.bluearray.co.uk/seo-insights/subscribe/
^ We’re of course not the only ones sending a newsletter, so have a look around and sign up to a few for maximum SEO nerdiness!
Attend LondonSEO
These events are monthly, and completely free except for special events. We host an evening of networking with industry peers, leading experts, formidable talent, high-profile speakers and the team from Blue Array. Sign up to our next event here.
Attend BrightonSEO
We’re big supporters of BrightonSEO, the UK’s largest SEO conference, taking place twice a year in, you guessed it, Brighton. We’re often able to offer complimentary tickets to our clients, so if it’s something you’d like to experience, please let your account team know and we’ll make a note to get in touch if we’ve got tickets to spare! Don’t forget you can also enter the free ticket ballot too.
Bespoke training
If you need training that’s more in-depth and tailored to your business and industry, we can create a custom training plan for you. This will be delivered by your account team, or supporting departments (such as Digital PR) where appropriate. Training sessions can form part of your roadmap time, or be a one-off addition.
Broader services
“This is more of a positive than a negative… I wish you did PPC as well.”. Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time we’ve been asked if we can consult on paid activity in addition to SEO. There’s a lot to be said for keeping a close eye on both your PPC and SEO activities, as well planned campaigns that balance SEO and PPC can keep costs down whilst bringing in good value traffic.
Whilst we don’t have plans to go to the dark side of PPC (just joking!), we’re partners with an incredible agency, Launch, who specialise in paid. We’d be delighted to do intros, just let us know!
Team training
Lastly, we had a comment about team development:
“No massive improvements, possibly just some internal development to give your wonderful team the confidence in presenting the insightful results.”
We loved reading this one because it’s a great reminder that we’re all human, not robots.
We all know that delivering a big presentation can be a little daunting (even when you’re delivering good news!). Presenting skills are essential in almost all jobs, so it’s an area we work hard to help support our team with.
Alongside more formal presentation and public speaking training and opportunities (hello, BrightonSEO!), we run several internal initiatives to help people build their confidence. These include weekly newsletter read-outs, Blue Array sessions (think Lunch & Learn style) and opportunities to host meetings and events – from our laid-back end of the month meeting, to hosting LondonSEO.
If a member of your account team does a brilliant job with a presentation, please let them know! It really makes our day to know our work is appreciated.
Want to have your say?
We’ll be sending around our next NPS survey at the start of December, so if you’re a client of ours, be sure to keep an eye out for it in your inbox.
It goes without saying that there’s no need to wait for a quarterly survey if something’s on your mind. You’ve got a variety of people to chat to – from your account team to your SEO Director, Head of SEO or Head of Digital PR, or, of course, the Head of Customer Success (that’s me!). We’ll always make time to have a chat, and we love to hear where we can improve!
For those awaiting a copy of the brand new ‘In House SEO Success’ book, we’ll be in touch soon to confirm a delivery address, we promise it’ll be worth the wait!
Some NPS FAQs:
What is NPS?
NPS scores are measured with a single-question survey and reported with a number from -100 to +100.
Respondents give a rating between 0 (not at all likely to recommend a company) and 10 (extremely likely to recommend) and, depending on their response, fall into one of 3 categories to establish an NPS score:
- Promoters respond with a score of 9 or 10 and are typically very satisfied and enthusiastic customers.
- Passives respond with a score of 7 or 8. They are satisfied but not happy enough to be considered promoters.
- Detractors respond with a score of 0 to 6. These are your red flags: actively dissatisfied customers who are likely to churn.
Why does Blue Array use NPS (and not CSAT or another metric?)
Naturally, NPS isn’t a perfect system, none of them are. It simply gives us another option for collecting feedback from our clients. It helps us keep an eye on satisfaction trends, spot areas for active improvement, and understand how our clients feel about us on a more objective level.
Will my account team see my score and/or comments?
We actively share great feedback with our team members – after all, we want to celebrate their efforts and great work! For comments that are more sensitive, we may choose not to share these verbatim, but provide constructive feedback to the team member where required.
Does my account team get anything for a good score?
Maintaining a high level of client satisfaction is something we actively measure as part of our internal OKRs, so our teams are encouraged to seek feedback (good or bad) often. We shout out great reviews and feedback (whether they’re via NPS, Trustpilot or email) to recognise the individuals who’ve played a role in that success.
Cool ok. What about clients though? Why should I complete it?
We appreciate filling in surveys can be a bit of a bore. That’s why we only send one NPS survey each quarter. An NPS survey takes mere seconds to complete and all responses are reviewed by a member of the senior leadership team to ensure we’re taking the right steps for our clients.
We plant 5 trees for each NPS response we receive via Ecologi (whether you’re a promoter, passive or detractor). As a certified B Corp, looking after the big, blue planet we all call home is really important to us, and we want to include all of our clients in our journey towards making a difference. (We also plant 25 trees for each Trustpilot review too, in case you’re feeling extra green thumbed!).
Occasionally, we’ll also throw in a freebie to help gather responses. In Q3, we offered a complimentary copy of our new book, ‘In House SEO success’, for those willing to leave a comment with their score. We’ll be doing the same for Q4’s survey, so there’s still time to get your hands on a shiny new copy.