NPS Is Dead, Long Live the NPS

Since 2003, the Net Promoter Score has been sold as the one number that predicts growth. Two decades on, the record is sobering. Longitudinal studies find no robust link to future revenue, the scale suffers from cultural bias, and once bonuses are attached, the score turns into a vanity metric. This article dissects these weaknesses and shows where loyalty measurement is heading. One path is the Earned Growth Rate, which proves loyalty with auditable financial metrics. The other is predictive NPS, which uses AI to score every single customer and flag churn before it happens. It includes case studies from Lufthansa and E.ON and five concrete recommendations for decision-makers.