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A high recommendation rate has a positive influence on visitor numbers.
Customer satisfaction does not necessarily lead to recommendations, but has at least as much influence on visitor numbers.
High recommendation rates from regular guests do not automatically indicate higher usage behavior.
The effect of a high recommendation rate is best predicted for the following season.
Summary of the study
The Net Promoter Score, which shows the recommendation rate andis praised for its predictive power for visitor numbers , has become a popular metric in various industries. This study examines the effectiveness of various customer-related data in predicting skier visits. A comparison of thepredictive power of the Net Promoter Score with the predictive power of customer satisfaction and perceived value is made. It also takes into account how the destination experience of the respondents influences the predictive power of the recommendation rate on the number of visitors to a ski resort.
The study uses a long-termdata set (136 destination-year observations) that combines semi-annual survey data on customer satisfaction for the period 2011/12 to 2017/18 (more than 120,000 responses) with archived access data from 38 ski resorts. The results show that although the recommendation rate influences the number of skier visits, customer satisfaction as such plays an even greater role. Theexperience of surveyed regular customers with the ski destination also weakens the predictive power of the Net Promoter Score. The influence of a high recommendation rate is strongest in the following season.
The article extends the literature by providing important theoretical and practical insights into the value of the Net Promoter Score for predicting skier visits to ski resorts. Specifically, the study shows that while the Net Promoter Score has predictive power, it is not superiorto the traditional metric of customer satisfaction.
Key findings of this study
The Net Promoter Score is a useful predictive value for ski resorts: The study confirms that the Net Promoter Score actually helps to predict the future number of visitors:inside. Statistically speaking, an increase in the Net Promoter Score leads to a measurable increase in the number of visitor days in the following period.
Customer satisfaction is superior to the Net Promoter Score: Contrary to existing research, the study shows that the Net Promoter Score has no better predictive power than the customer satisfaction of guests. The general satisfaction of guests does not inevitably lead to a recommendation and even has a significantly stronger positive influence on future visitor numbers than the Net Promoter Score.
A lot of guest experience makes the Net Promoter Score inaccurate:The predictive power decreases the more experience the surveyed guests have with the ski resort. In the case of loyal regular guests (high destination experience), the recommendation rate even loses its significance for growth after a certain point, as this group is already loyal and will not increase its usage behavior any further.
The best prediction is made one year later:The study examined various time periods and found that the Net Promoter Score hasthe strongest predictive power with a time lag of one year. This means that today's guest recommendations most accurately reflect the number of visitors next season.