Why Collecting NPS Scores Is Still Important for SaaS Companies

September 15, 2025

If you run a SaaS company, you’ve probably heard the debate: “Is Net Promoter Score still relevant?” Some critics argue that NPS is too simplistic, while others swear by it as the north star for customer sentiment. Here’s the truth: while NPS on its own isn’t a silver bullet, it remains one of the most effective and scalable ways for SaaS companies to measure customer loyalty, spot risks, and fuel growth. In this post, we’ll explore why NPS still matters, how leading SaaS businesses use it effectively, and how you can get the most value out of your NPS program in 2025.

What Is NPS (and Why SaaS Companies Care)?

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a simple survey that asks one core question: “On a scale of 0–10, how likely are you to recommend our product to a friend or colleague?"

  • Promoters (9–10): Loyal fans who recommend your product.

  • Passives (7–8): Satisfied but not enthusiastic.

  • Detractors (0–6): Unhappy customers who could churn or spread negative word of mouth.

Your NPS is calculated by subtracting the percentage of Detractors from the percentage of Promoters.

For SaaS companies, this matters because recurring revenue depends on customer happiness. When customers are delighted, they renew and advocate for your product. When they’re not, they churn.

NPS Provides a Universal Benchmark for SaaS

One reason NPS endures is its simplicity and comparability. SaaS leaders can benchmark their NPS against industry averages or competitors to see how they stack up.

  • B2B SaaS companies typically see NPS scores between 30–50.

  • World-class SaaS products can achieve 60+, which signals exceptional loyalty.

Because the metric is standardized, it’s easy to communicate results across the business and to investors. A board member might not understand every product engagement metric, but they’ll instantly recognize the meaning of a high or low NPS.

NPS Predicts SaaS Growth and Churn

NPS isn’t just about satisfaction — it’s a leading indicator of retention and revenue growth.

  • High NPS = Growth potential. Promoters generate referrals, leave positive reviews, and expand their accounts.

  • Low NPS = Churn risk. Detractors often signal early warning signs of dissatisfaction, allowing you to intervene before they cancel.

In fact, research from Bain & Company (the creators of NPS) shows that companies with higher NPS scores tend to grow 2x faster than competitors. For SaaS, where lifetime value depends on renewal, that’s a huge advantage.

NPS Unlocks Qualitative Insights

The most valuable part of NPS isn’t the score — it’s the “why” behind the score. When you follow up with an open-ended question like “What’s the main reason for your score?”, you gain direct insights into:

  • Which features customers love

  • Where they’re struggling

  • What competitors might be doing better

  • How your product roadmap should evolve

These qualitative comments are gold for SaaS product teams. They provide customer-driven evidence for prioritizing features, fixing bugs, or improving onboarding.

NPS Complements, Not Replaces, Other SaaS Metrics

Some critics dismiss NPS because it doesn’t capture the full customer journey. That’s true — but NPS was never designed to stand alone. For SaaS, the magic happens when you combine NPS with other metrics:

  • CSAT (Customer Satisfaction): Useful for support interactions.

  • CES (Customer Effort Score): Measures how easy it is for customers to complete tasks.

  • Product Analytics (DAU/WAU, feature adoption): Tracks behavior in-app.

By layering NPS on top of behavioral metrics, you see not only what customers are doing but also how they feel about it.

NPS Helps Align the Entire SaaS Organization

One of the biggest challenges in SaaS is ensuring that teams don’t work in silos.

  • Product teams need customer feedback to guide development.

  • Customer success teams need to identify at-risk accounts.

  • Marketing teams need stories and testimonials from promoters.

  • Leadership needs a pulse on overall customer sentiment.

Because NPS is simple and widely understood, it serves as a shared language across departments. It keeps everyone aligned around the most important truth: happy customers fuel SaaS growth.

NPS Builds Customer Advocacy Programs

Your promoters are your most powerful growth engine. By identifying them through NPS, you can:

  • Invite them to case studies or testimonials.

  • Encourage reviews on G2, Capterra, or Trustpilot.

  • Launch referral programs that reward them for spreading the word.

In SaaS, where trust is critical, peer recommendations carry more weight than ads. NPS helps you find and activate those advocates.

NPS Is Evolving with SaaS Tools

One reason some companies gave up on NPS in the past was survey fatigue or poor timing. But modern SaaS tools have solved this. Today, you can:

  • Trigger NPS surveys in-app, at the right moment in the user journey.

  • Automate follow-ups based on scores (e.g., send promoters a referral invite, alert customer success about detractors).

  • Analyze NPS feedback alongside product usage to identify patterns.

With lightweight tools (like Sensaro 😉), NPS collection is no longer a clunky quarterly project — it’s a continuous feedback loop.

The Cost of Ignoring NPS

What happens if you stop measuring NPS altogether?

  • You lose visibility into customer sentiment trends.

  • You risk missing early churn signals.

  • You give up an easy, scalable benchmark investors often expect.

For SaaS companies fighting for retention in competitive markets, flying blind on customer loyalty is a dangerous strategy.

How to Make NPS Work for Your SaaS Company

To get the most from NPS, follow these best practices:

  1. Ask regularly, not just once. Customer sentiment changes over time.

  2. Segment your results. Look at NPS by customer type, plan tier, or geography.

  3. Act on the feedback. Close the loop with detractors, thank promoters, and share improvements with all customers.

  4. Integrate NPS into your workflows. Connect it with CRM, customer success platforms, and product analytics.

  5. Communicate results internally. Make NPS part of your team’s shared metrics dashboard.

Conclusion: NPS Remains a SaaS Essential

While no single metric tells the whole story, NPS continues to be one of the most practical, scalable, and actionable ways for SaaS companies to measure customer loyalty. It gives you:

  • A universal benchmark

  • A predictor of growth and churn

  • A source of qualitative insights

  • A tool for alignment and advocacy

In a subscription-driven world, happy customers aren’t just nice to have — they’re the foundation of long-term SaaS success. And NPS is still one of the best ways to keep that foundation strong.

Ready to start collecting NPS feedback without the hassle? 👉 Try Sensaro