Designed by Freepik
A negative NPS can look scary at first glance. A score like -10 or -25 triggers alarms in dashboards and boardrooms. Here is the truth: a number below zero is not automatically a crisis. It is a signal, and every signal needs context.
First, what a negative NPS actually means
Net Promoter Score is computed as the percentage of Promoters (9–10) minus the percentage of Detractors (0–6).
If you are below zero, you simply have more Detractors than Promoters in the sample you measured. Nothing more mystical than that. You can track this by market, product line, store, or channel.
That flexibility is part of NPS’s appeal.
Quick example. If 28 percent of respondents are Promoters and 40 percent are Detractors, NPS = 28 − 40 = -12. That is the whole calculation.
See NPS benchmarks for 20 industries, region by region.
When a negative NPS is not a catastrophe
There are several situations where a sub‑zero score is understandable, temporary, or even expected.
Industry baselines differ a lot
Some categories naturally run lower than others. Telecom and utilities typically benchmark lower than, say, specialty retail or hospitality. Use industry cohorts to set expectations before you panic. Tool like npsBench exists exactly for this reason.
Culture and country effects
Response styles vary by country. In some markets people avoid extreme positive ratings; in others they are more generous. The same experience can produce different NPS distributions across countries, so normalize before you compare.
Transactional vs relationship surveys
If you capture NPS right after a support interaction, expect a tougher crowd than in a relationship survey sent quarterly to the full base. Design and timing matter.
Sampling volatility
Small samples swing wildly. An NPS can move 10 to 20 points month to month with the same underlying experience when n is low. Confidence intervals are your friend.
Channel and audience mix
Surveying only new customers, only churn‑risk accounts, or only one channel (for example, support tickets) will skew results. That is not “bad” data, it is a different lens.
The bottom line
A negative NPS is not a scarlet letter. It is a data point that needs context, precision, and comparison. Frame it correctly, run the quick math, and let structured feedback guide your fixes. If you want help benchmarking your position at the city level, nationally, and within your industry while turning unstructured comments into prioritized actions, that is exactly what we built npsBench to do.
