Customer satisfaction is the backbone of any successful business. There are three most common yet major CX metrics. These metrics are CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score), CES (Customer Effort Score) and NPS (Net Promoter Score). So how do you know which one to focus on? While these measure customer satisfaction, they serve different purposes and provide unique insights.
What is A Customer Satisfaction Metric?
A customer satisfaction metric is a standard way to measure of how customers perceive their interactions with a brand. It maps their experiences across interactions, transactions, brand-buyer relationships and tracks overall experience with the brand. The three standard customer satisfaction surveys are:
- Net Promoter Score
- Customer Satisfaction Score
- Customer Effort Score
1. Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)
CSAT, or Customer Satisfaction Score, measures how satisfied customers are with a specific interaction, product, or service. This survey typically uses a 5-point scale.
Examples of a standard customer satisfaction survey as marked on a 1-to-5 rating scale:
Q: How satisfied are you with [product/service]?”
- Very unsatisfied
- Unsatisfied
- Neutral
- Satisfied
- Very satisfied
CSAT Formula:
CSAT formula = (Total number of responses / Number of satisfied responses) ×100.
If 80 out of 100 customers gave a satisfaction score of 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale, the CSAT would be: CSAT=(100 / 80) ×100= 80%
Number of satisfied responses: Typically, these are responses that fall in the upper range of the scale (e.g., 4 and 5 on a 5-point scale).
Total number of responses: The total number of customers who answered the satisfaction question.
What is a good CSAT score?
CSAT scores from 60% – 80% are considered average to good. Anything above 80% is considered excellent. A score below 60% might need improvements.
When to use the CSAT survey?
- Short-term feedback: CSAT is ideal for short-term assessments of specific interactions or events ( eg: purchase or support call).
- Customer service interactions: It can be shared immediately after customer service interactions to gauge satisfaction level and improve service standards rapidly.
2. The Net Promoter Score (NPS)
NPS, or Net Promoter Score, measures customer loyalty and the likelihood of customers recommending your business to others. It’s calculated using a single question::
On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our company’s products or services to a friend or colleague?
Respondents are segregated into three categories.
- Promoters (9 or a 10).
They showcase extreme brand loyalty. They are more likely to talk about the positive brand experience. - Passives (7 or 8).
They are satisfied but unenthusiastic customers. They can easily switch to competitor products/ services. - Detractors (0 to 6).
These are unhappy customers who can damage your brand reputation. Detractors may have had a repeated bad experience with the brand.
Net Promoter Score Formula:
The NPS score is from -100 to 100. The formula is as follows:
NPS results = Percentage of promoters – percentage of detractors.
For example, if you have 60% promoters and 10% detractors, your NPS will be 50%.
2 types of Net Promoter Score: tNPS and rNPS
Net Promoter Score has two variants: transactional Net Promoter Score (tNPS) and relational net promoter score (rNPS).
Relational Net Promoter Score: rNPS measures the general experience of people with the brand. The main aim is to understand a customer’s relationship with an organisation.
Transactional Net Promoter Score: tNPS measures customer’s experience based on a specific interaction or transaction with a company. This includes purchase, support call, or a service experience. This score provides insights into how specific interactions influence overall customer sentiment.
Both transactional and relational Net Promoter Score have the same calculation method but under a slightly different label. You can read more on transactional net promoter score here.
What is a good Net Promoter Score?
A Net Promoter Score above 0 is positive. Industry benchmarks can vary depending on the type of industry you compare with. Most scores above 50 are good. Any score above 60 to 70 is considered excellent.
When to use the NPS survey?
- Measure long-term customer loyalty: NPS helps measure overall customer sentiment and loyalty over time. It can identify promoters who can drive referrals and organic growth.
- Overall brand health: NPS Understands how customers view your brand compared to competitors. It helps with strategic decision-making and proactive improvements.
3. The Customer Effort Score (CES)
The Customer Effort Score will determine the amount of effort a customer had to undertake to solve a problem. Similar to the CSAT survey, CES can use the 7-point scale or the 5-point scale survey. CES focuses on decreasing the effort taken to interact with a customer support person.
Example:
- “On a scale of 1 to 7, how easy was it to [complete the task/interact with our service]?”
- Very Difficult
- Difficult
- Somewhat Difficult
- Neither Easy or Difficult
- Somewhat Easy
- Easy
- Very Easy
Customer Effort Score formula:
The most common CES question uses a 7-point scale (1 = Very Difficult, 7 = Very Easy). To calculate the average CES:
- Add up all the scores provided by respondents.
- Divide the total by the number of responses.
CES= Sum of all scores / Number of all responses
When to use the CES survey?
CES is particularly useful in scenarios where you want to measure the ease of customer interactions, such as:
- Resolving a customer support issue.
- Completing a purchase or transaction.
- Navigating your website or app.
- Using a specific feature or service.
CSAT vs NPS: How are they different?
1. End goal of each scale:
CSAT is more transactional and measures customer satisfaction based on one experience at a time. It checks the current pulse of the customer.
NPS aims to understand the overall customer-brand relationship. NPS provides a broader view of customer sentiment toward the brand.
2. Question variation per scale:
CSAT typically asks a direct question such as, “How satisfied were you with your experience?” Customers rate their experience on a 5-point rating scale. The focus here is on a certain interaction.
NPS asks a single question on the metric: “How likely are you to recommend us to others?”. The focus of NPS is brand loyalty and long-term relationships. The focus of tNPS is on a transactional relationship.
3. Time of seeking feedback:
CSAT measures satisfaction in-the-moment, directly after an event or experience. NPS captures customer loyalty over a longer period of a customer’s association with the brand.
4. Scope of feedback:
CSAT tracks detailed feedback on specific touchpoints in a customer journey.
NPS brings a bird’s eye view on the overall customer sentiment toward the brand. NPS can track long-term brand loyalty and identify potential churn risks.
5. Types of insights:
CSAT measures specific aspects of customer service, product quality, or product features.
NPS is used for brand-level insights to identify long-term brand loyalty. It provides data into long-term strategies to retain customers and increase recommendation status.
CSAT vs NPS: How are they similar?
Here are the key similarities between Net Promoter Score and Customer Satisfaction surveys, explained briefly:
1. Focus on customer experience:
Both NPS and CSAT are designed to capture customer satisfaction and overall experience with a product, service, or brand. NPS measures long-term brand loyalty and recommendation. CSAT directly measures satisfaction with a specific interaction or feature.
2. Simple to administer:
A standard customer satisfaction survey has two questions. A closed-ended scale for numerical ratings. An open-ended question to allow people to explain the reason for their rating.
3. Quantitative scoring:
Both surveys use numerical scales for scoring. NPS is based on a scale from 0 to 10 to identify brand advocates. CSAT commonly uses a 1-5 poor to excellent rating scale to directly measure satisfaction levels.
4. Applicable across touchpoints:
Both NPS and CSAT can be used across various stages of the customer journey. For instance, CSAT can assess specific interactions or post-purchase.
NPS evaluates overall brand loyalty or post-purchase behaviour (including customer sentiment).
5. Industry standard benchmarking:
NPS and CSAT are valuable for tracking customer feedback. Conducting periodic surveys can monitor trends in customer satisfaction and comparison against industry benchmarks.
6. Customer feedback insights:
NPS helps segment customers (promoters and detractors). CSAT pinpoints areas where customers are most and least satisfied.
7. Impact on business outcomes:
High NPS and CSAT scores are both linked to positive business outcomes. This includes increased customer retention, improved word-of-mouth marketing, and higher revenue. Similarly, low scores can highlight areas to prevent churn.
Choose the right metric: CSAT vs NPS vs CES
Choosing the right customer feedback metric need not be difficult. Both the scales can complement each other at different phases to better understand your customer.
When to use the Net Promoter Score?
- To measure brand advocacy and brand recommendations.
- To get a holistic view of customer sentiments and standardized feedback.
- To keep a standardized question format for benchmarking against competitors across industries.
- NPS may not be suitable for certain product categories, such as medical items, sexual wellness, or niche B2B products.
- To track long-term customer loyalty.
Example: An e-commerce business may deploy NPS quarterly to track customer loyalty and adjust marketing strategies based on loyalty data
When to use Customer Satisfaction Score?
- To evaluate how well a company’s products or services meet customer expectations.
- To focus on assessing individual interactions or specific experiences.
- CSAT is highly flexible. It can be applied across diverse product categories, even those where recommendations are irrelevant.
- To get actionable feedback for product enhancements and service adjustments.
Example: A software company might use a CSAT survey to measure satisfaction after a tech support call. Immediate feedback helps improve service processes.
When to use Customer Effort Score?
- Use CES to measure if a customer had to endure greater or lesser effort to solve a problem.
- CES can help you understand if it was easy or difficult for users to understand product features.
- To evaluate if the customer onboarding process was smooth or difficult.
- To evaluate experiences in certain touchpoints where customers may face high effort, like using a website or completing a survey form.
Example: A website launches a CES chatbot at the end of the landing page. This is done to identify if users could find what they are looking for.
Converting One Metric into the Other
Can you convert CSAT to NPS?
The short answer is no. The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a standardized question asked in a specific way and on a fixed scale. Although you can rescale CSAT data mathematically, you cannot change the wording of the question. CSAT does not measure brand advocacy. Converting CSAT into NPS denotes that satisfaction and brand advocacy are the same, but they may not be. Customers might be satisfied with a category but may not feel comfortable recommending a brand.
Can you convert NPS to CSAT?
It depends. Mathematically, it is not very complex to remodel a CSAT scale (0-10 scale into a 1-5 scale or any other). When converting NPS into CSAT, the assumption is that brand advocacy is the same as satisfaction. One can argue that satisfaction with the brand is the bare minimum requirement for brand advocacy. However, the assumption that the relationship between NPS and CSAT is linear may not hold.
5 Best Practices to Use CSAT, NPS & CES Effectively
1. Make it easy for customers to provide feedback:
Customers should be able to share feedback in a way that is convenient to them. Use survey channels that are interactive. This includes WhatsApp surveys, Facebook surveys, dynamic emails and website chatbots.
2. Use clear and pre-designed questions:
Keep the questions easy to understand for every respondent. Avoid lengthy surveys of complex 7-point or 10-point scale. People will abandon surveys that don’t stick to the point.
3. Use an appropriate scale with the right questions:
CSAT is often used with a 5-point scale but a 3-point or a 7-point rating scale works as well. Odd scales work better for CSAT. It provides a clear neutral point (for example: 3 is neutral on a 1 to 5 scale) but it is not mandatory. A 10-point scale may put a cognitive load on the respondent.
NPS uses a single 10-point scale. Both the metrics are accompanied by an open-ended question. This is a standard protocol. CES mostly uses a 5-point rating scale to measure effort.
4. Follow up to prevent negative feedback:
Follow up on customer feedback and take action based on the responses. This also includes making changes to products or services based on customer feedback. Close the customer feedback loop and acknowledge the people for their responses. This will make them feel positive about the company.
5. Use actionable data to reduce churn rate:
People expect companies to listen to their concerns. Use data from high-effort touchpoints and create seamless experiences for greater customer retention rates. This will prevent bad experiences, and maintain the online reputation of a brand.
Conclusion
If you are looking to curate the right metric for your business, Merren can help. Merren has pre-designed CSAT, NPS and CES surveys for your CX needs.
Visit the NPS metrics website here.
Visit the CSAT metric website here.
Visit the CES metric website here.
Merren has superfast survey channels where you can obtain 10x the response rate- more than the industry standard. Launch your NPS, CES and CSAT scores using these channels and gain detailed customer insights. Start your 14 day free trial with Merren and access all our advanced features.