Greater Topeka Partnership Releases 2022 Net Promoter Score Results: Community Morale Jumps 20%, Negativity Falls To 33%
The Greater Topeka Partnership today announced results of the 2022 Net Promoter Score (NPS) Survey, which measures community satisfaction in Topeka and Shawnee County. The latest survey was conducted during the final year of Momentum 2022; results come following the conclusion of the Momentum 2022 strategy and as the community begins to implement Momentum 2027.
The latest results demonstrate notable movement in community satisfaction compared to initial findings reported in 2017. The 2022 data show significant progress in community morale, with a 20-percentage-point jump in the number of respondents actively promoting Topeka and Shawnee County — moving from 12% in 2017 to 32% in 2022. Meanwhile, those who were actively negative about the community (detractors) fell from 59% in 2017 to 33% in 2022. In total, 67% of those surveyed during the past year would actively or passively recommend the Topeka area to others.
“These are encouraging numbers!” said Matt Pivarnik, CEO of the Greater Topeka Partnership. “When I arrived in Topeka, I immediately noticed the city’s greatest obstacle was its own self-image. Over the past five years, this community has worked to reimagine itself, and the progress we’ve made is stunning. Our GDP has grown by $2 billion; household incomes have jumped 25%; our downtown core is being rebuilt; and our population growth is now leading the state. These improvements are being noticed and impacting our survey results. Today, nearly 70% of those polled would recommend our city to others. This is up dramatically from 2017, when we first surveyed the community and found that only 41% of people at the time recommended our community. This is progress worth celebrating.”
Regularly leveraged by Fortune 500 companies, Net Promoter Score is an internationally recognized tool that has been used by The Partnership to track community morale and apply best practices from the business world to Topeka and Shawnee County’s strategic planning. Each year, the survey poses a version of the same question: “How likely is it that you would recommend Topeka and Shawnee County?”
“Our Net Promoter Score has moved to ‘minus 1,’ which is calculated by comparing the number of active promoters in the community to the number of active detractors,” said Patrick Altenor, economic advisor for GO Topeka. “For comparison, a company like Apple has an NPS of ‘plus 47’ — with NPS being measured on a scale of ‘minus 100’ to ‘plus 100.’ Topeka’s improved promoter score is now stronger than a legacy brand like Disney, which is estimated to be at ‘minus 7.’ Facebook, for comparison, is at ‘minus 21.’”
“NPS has become a useful set of data for us to evaluate our progress,” said Tara Dimick, tri-chair of the Momentum 2027 leadership committee. “It is exciting to see our improvement over the past six years. To move the needle from ‘minus 47’ to ‘minus 1’ is stunning. I’m also encouraged that our community growth is resonating across demographics. This year’s data showed that 77% of those 55 and older would positively recommend Topeka. Meanwhile, 67% of those aged 25 to 44 would recommend the city, and 100% of those aged 18 to 24 responded they are ‘likely’ or ‘very likely’ to recommend Topeka to someone they meet!”
