Potential Limitations of NPS
NPS is useful, but it is not infallible. It captures how a customer feels at a single point, often missing the nuances of their journey.
As Amine Semouma, Client Experience Manager at Cisilion, explains,
“NPS captures a customer’s feeling at a single point in time. Sentiment and health change dynamically across the lifecycle-one score can’t reflect the real journey.”
This is where the Watermelon Effect comes into play. A customer may appear “green” on the outside – with a high NPS and positive renewal intent – but be “red” inside, harbouring frustrations, missed expectations or dissatisfaction with adoption and support. Over-reliance on NPS can blind organisations to these hidden risks.
Sentiment Is Multi-Dimensional
True sentiment is not confined to survey responses. It surfaces in support tickets, executive engagement, product usage, contract negotiations and even the tone of emails. While some teams are experimenting with AI-driven tone analysis, the broader point remains – sentiment is everywhere and it is layered.
Client health is best understood as a blend of quantitative metrics – usage, adoption, renewals – and qualitative signals – feedback, sentiment and stakeholder trust. When these align, organisations gain a clearer picture of relationship strength.
Bias and Blind Spots in NPS
NPS is prone to distortion. Low response rates skew results. Detractors may stay silent, meaning danger signals never surface. Cultural and regional scoring habits further complicate interpretation – some regions rarely give a 10, regardless of satisfaction.
Sentiment, on the other hand, can act as a leading indicator. Subtle shifts often appear long before renewal discussions or churn. A proactive Client Success Manager (CSM) who picks up on these early signals can course-correct before issues escalate.
Operationalising Sentiment
To make sentiment actionable, it must be captured systematically. This includes feedback from QBRs, support escalations and informal touchpoints. Layering in AI-driven sentiment analysis across emails, surveys and call transcripts can feed into a Client Health Score that leadership can trust.
We Can Help
Organisations that rely solely on NPS risk missing the deeper signals that drive retention, growth and trust. By layering sentiment into your client health strategy, you gain a more accurate, proactive view of customer relationships.
If your business is looking to strengthen its approach to client success, now is the time to rethink how you measure what matters. Speak to our team to explore how sentiment-led strategies can help you reduce churn, uncover hidden risks and build more resilient partnerships.