That's why we suggest that our clients measure just about everything, including audience needs and advertiser satisfaction. When the right metric is used, clients recognize it as a tool that works and we see employees become more accountable, have clearer direction, and work effectively to reach common business goals.

Over the years, we've used many different measures to track performance, but recently our clients are finding that the unique frameworks and processes we have built around the Net Promoter® Score (NPS) metric is making a real difference in their businesses.

The NPS metric is based on research that found company growth can be predicted by how likely consumers are to recommend a company's product or service. You can measure customer loyalty and satisfaction, and consequently a company's own performance, by asking: "On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely would you be to recommend [this product or service] to a friend or colleague?" Those who give ratings of nine or ten are considered Promoters, and have the highest rates of repurchase and referral. Detractors, who give ratings of zero to six, have the lowest rates of referral and are inclined to spread negative word-of-mouth comments about the company, which can negatively impact the company's reputation.

For more detailed information on the NPS metric, see Kannon's Growth Framework: Harnessing Net Promoter® Scores.

Kannon has been helping clients use the NPS measure in ways that makes sense for their specific industries and the distinct challenges they face in the marketplace. We build frameworks around the NPS metric that compare what consumers or advertisers find important against the company's own performance. The results aren't always what clients expect.

For example, we recently conducted an audience satisfaction study of almost 9,000 newspaper readers across the United States. We found that readers' willingness to recommend a local newspaper to others is clearly related to their satisfaction in key content areas, like local news, sports, and entertainment coverage. However, readers expect newspapers to deliver more than just excellent content; they also hold certain attitudes and perceptions about the paper. People who enjoy reading the newspaper and believe it is a good value tend to be more likely to recommend it to others. On the other hand, perception of bias can negatively impact satisfaction. One key finding, and an eye-opener for some, is that bias can mean many different things to readers: It can mean that the newspaper reporting isn't reliable, that the newspaper is falsely portraying minority groups, or even that stories are inaccurate or have political skews. Simply put, we've found that all of these factors are important to readers and they should matter to newspaper executives, too.

We have helped media companies better understand their customers' advertising needs as well. For example, we recently used NPS and our Kannon frameworks in an advertiser satisfaction study with a multi-market newspaper. The results showed that advertisers want to feel that newspapers deliver results and are good companies to do business with. They expect to work with salespeople who are professional, understand their business goals, and can support their offers with quality research and information. One newspaper market was surprised to learn that billing was a bigger issue than they realized; advertisers were particularly looking for clear and accurate invoicing.

We've also measured performance outside of the media industry, most recently with an education service provider. We learned that the company had clear strengths and weaknesses in its curriculum, with parents and students more satisfied with certain grade levels than others. Although there were clear opportunities for product extension, there also were parents who felt that the company's programs were already too expensive and pricing had become a real issue. Once these attitudes and viewpoints were revealed, the company integrated the learnings into the development of future marketing and communications programs.

Across the varied industries and clients we have worked with, we've seen performances that are relatively high, as well as scores that demonstrate real vulnerability. Whatever the results, the upside we see again and again for our clients is that they are able to act quickly and decisively in a way that can have a positive impact on customer satisfaction and audience growth. That's why we encourage our clients to measure performance. Our metrics and frameworks serve as helpful scorecards to show clients how well they are doing and how they can perform even better moving forward.