Measure experience

Transactional vs relationship NPS

You understand both uses of NPS, see trigger and cadence examples, and learn not to mix the two numbers.

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Direct answer

What is the difference between transactional and relationship NPS?

Relationship NPS asks about the brand as a whole, in regular waves — for example every quarter — and tracks the health of the relationship. Transactional NPS fires right after a specific event, such as a purchase, a support contact, or a delivery, and measures the effect of that interaction. The question and the 0–10 scale are the same; what changes is the trigger, the framing, and the reading. Both coexist well as long as each number is tracked against its own history.

Both NPS programs in one operation

A carrier sends quarterly relationship NPS to its active base (“would you recommend us?”) and transactional NPS after every technical visit (“based on this visit, would you recommend us?”). The visit can score 9 while the relationship scores 6 — and the gap between the curves shows where to act.

Practical lab

Understand it in a few minutes

  1. 01

    Relationship NPS measures the brand as a whole, on a regular cadence such as quarterly.

  2. 02

    Transactional NPS fires after an event — purchase, support, delivery — and points to what to fix.

  3. 03

    The two numbers do not compare with each other: track each against its own history.

How we reached this result

The distinction follows Bain & Company material: the same recommendation question changes meaning with the trigger and cadence. The 0–10 scale and the formula are identical in both uses.

What this calculation does not show

Labeling NPS transactional or relationship does not fix a bad sample or the wrong send moment. Mixing responses of both kinds in one indicator makes the number unreadable.

Direct answer

Frequently asked questions

Can I pool transactional and relationship responses?

No. The triggers and framings differ, so the numbers measure different things. Track each series separately, each against its own history.

Which one should I roll out first?

Start with the one behind your most urgent decision: transactional to diagnose journey steps, relationship to track the brand and report to leadership.

How often should each one go out?

Transactional goes right after the event, with suppression so the same person is not surveyed repeatedly. Relationship works in quarterly or semiannual waves with rotating samples.

Does the question change between the two?

The core is the same: likelihood to recommend, 0–10. In the transactional version, anchor the wording to the event (“based on this experience…”) so the reading stays honest.

Methodology

Sources, assumptions, and review

The references support the definitions and assumptions. The formula used is shown on this page and covered by automated tests.

Content and methodology maintained by the NPSLab team. Reviewed on .

Primary sources

Tools and learning
NPS calculatorOpen toolWhat is a good NPS score?Read the guideGuided survey builderOpen tool

Set up both programs in NPSLab: relationship on a cadence and transactional per event.

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