This was followed by ‘Knowledgeable customer service people (7.9) and ‘Providing excellent financial returns’ (7.2 out of 10). The full survey provides more detail on the variations in these scores depending on factors such as the age of members and how long they’ve belonged to the fund. Generally speaking, the older members were and the greater their engagement with their fund, the more likely they would be to recommend it to others. According to Prof. Ritson, it’s difficult to generalise about the results. “But if I can highlight one recurring theme, it would be the importance of small things. In the thousands of qualitative comments from members we analysed, it is the returned call, the personal touch or that extra service that turns passive members into promoters. “And equally, it is the missed call, the inefficient service and the thoughtless approach to statements or web pages that usually turns a happy member into one that actively considers a switch. “I remain a big fan of NPS for very prosaic reasons,” he says. “For starters, I have seen more non-marketing executives quote NPS in the past 12 months than all other marketing concepts put together. “This concept is making senior people think about where the money comes from. Not balance sheets, funds under management or fees, but what really drives the business: the customers.”