Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) and Net Promoter Score (NPS) are market standard customer experience metrics. It measures the overall customer’s experience with relation to a brand’s products or services. However, the metrics are different from each other in terms of the research goals and formula. In this blog, we will define CSAT vs NPS, share individual formulas and if you can convert one metric to the other. You will also get information on key differences and key similarities.
What is A Customer Satisfaction Metric?
A customer satisfaction metric is market standard procedure to assess how customers perceive their interactions with a company. It maps their interaction, transaction, efforts, long term relationship and overall experience with the brand. It gives detailed insights on the aspects of a customer’s purchase journey with a brand. This includes their satisfaction levels and experiences based on the purchase of products, services or ongoing brand-customer interactions. There are three popular types of CX metrics used across industries.
- Net Promoter Score NPS
- Customer Satisfaction Score CSAT
- Customer Effort Score CES
1. Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)
What is a CSAT score?
CSAT scale is a measure of how well a company meets the customer’s needs or expectations. It is usually measured on a 5-point rating scale. A CSAT survey will ask its respondents to rate their satisfaction with a particular product, service or interaction. The average of these ratings is calculated to determine the overall CSAT results. Higher scores indicate higher satisfaction rate.
Examples of a standard customer satisfaction survey as marked on a 1 to 5 point scale:
- Very unsatisfied
- Unsatisfied
- Neutral
- Satisfied
- Very satisfied
How to calculate CSAT?
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 can you use CSAT ?
- Short-term performance evaluation: CSAT is ideal for short-term assessments of specific interactions or events (like a purchase or service call).
- Customer service interactions: It can be deployed immediately after customer service interactions to gauge satisfaction level and improve service standards rapidly.
2. The Net Promoter Score (NPS)
What is NPS?
A Net Promoter Score survey will ask if people are likely to recommend a product to their family or friends. Example questions of an NPS survey.
- On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our company’s products or services to a friend or colleague?
- Please rate your likelihood to recommend our company’s products or services to others on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being “not at all likely” and 10 being “extremely likely”.
The responses are marked between 0 to 10. 10 being “extremely likely” and 0 being “extremely unlikely.”
Based on responses, people are segregated into three categories of customers.
- Promoters (9 or a 10).
They showcase extreme brand loyalty. They are more likely to talk about the positive brand experience with their friends and peers. - Passives ( 7 or 8).
They do not shift on either side of the scale. They can be easily whisked away by competitors. - Detractors (0 to 6).
These are unhappy customers who can damage your online reputation. Detractors may have had a repeated bad experience with the organisation.
How to calculate NPS?
The NPS score is based on a scale of -100 to 100. This is the formula.
Percentage of promoters – percentage of detractors = the NPS results.
For example, if you have 60% promoters and 10% detractors, your NPS would be 50.
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 NPS: rNPS measures the general experience of people with the brand. As in the name, the main aim is to understand a customer’s relationship with an organisation.
Transactional NPS: 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 the metrics 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 NPS 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 NPS above 60 to 70 is considered world class. Note that the NPS metric can also be negative.
When can you use NPS?
- Long-term customer loyalty assessment: NPS helps track loyalty trends over time. This reveals how customer sentiment evolves and which factors influence these changes.
- Overall brand health: NPS aggregates customer loyalty insights into a single score, aiding in strategic decision-making and proactive improvements.
3. What is a Customer Effort Score?
CES or the Customer Effort Score is very specific metrics that will determine the amount of effort a customer had to go through, to solve a problem. Similar to the CSAT survey, CES also uses a scale from 1-5. CES focuses on improving customer service interactions.
7 Differences Between CSAT and NPS
1. End goal of each scale:
CSAT is more transactional and measures the in-moment customer satisfaction. CSAT 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 for each 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 rNPS is overall brand loyalty and long-term relationships. The focus of tNPS is on a transactional relationship.
3. Time of seeking feedback:
CSAT measures customer 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 to improve experiences 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 brand loyalty over time. It provides data into long-term strategies to retain customers and increase recommendation status.
7 Similarities Between CSAT and NPS
Here are the key similarities between Net Promoter Score (NPS) and Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) 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 metric consists of two questions. The quantitative question comes with a single scale. The qualitative question encourages people to explain the reason for their rating.
3. Quantitative scoring:
Both surveys use numeric scales for scoring. NPS is based on a scale from 0 to 10. Respondents are segregated into promoters, passives, or detractors. CSAT commonly uses a 1-5 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. Regularly conducting these surveys monitor trends in customer satisfaction and comparison against industry benchmarks.
6. Customer feedback insights:
NPS helps segment customers (promoters and detractors), while 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 where improvements are needed to prevent churn.
CSAT vs NPS:Choosing the right satisfaction metric
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?
- Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures brand advocacy by evaluating the likelihood of customers recommending a brand to others.
- NPS provides a holistic view of customer sentiment and standardizes feedback across businesses.
- The standardized question format offers benchmarking against competitors in various industries.
- NPS may not be suitable for certain product categories, such as medical, sexual wellness, or niche B2B products.
- NPS is used 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?
- CSAT evaluates how well a company’s products or services meet customer expectations. For example immediate post-purchase satisfaction.
- It focuses on assessing individual interactions or specific experiences.
- The metric is simpler to calculate, using an average of customer ratings on a straightforward scale.
- CSAT is highly flexible and can be applied across diverse product categories, even those where recommendations are irrelevant.
- It provides actionable feedback, aiding in product enhancements and service adjustments.
Example: A software company might use CSAT to measure customer satisfaction after a tech support call. Immediate feedback helps improve service processes.
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 particular 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.
Using the Customer Satisfaction Metric: 5 Best Practices
1. Make it easy for customers to provide feedback:
Customers should be able to provide feedback in a way that is convenient and easy for them. Use survey channels that are in-the-moment in nature. This includes WhatsApp surveys, Facebook Messenger, interactive and dynamic emails and website chatbots.
2. Use clear and pre-designed questions:
Keep the questions easy to understand for every respondent. Avoid lengthy or complicated surveys. People tend to abandon surveys that are too long or 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 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 is also not uncommon but it 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.
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:
A great CX protocol involves fast action on important customer insight. People expect companies to listen to their concerns. One way to do this is to close any feedback loop at the earliest. This will prevent bad experiences, improve retention rates and maintain the online reputation of a brand.
How Merren Can Help
If you are looking to curate the right metric for your business, Merren can help. Merren has pre-designed CSAT and NPS surveys for your CX needs.
Visit the NPS metrics website here.
Visit the CSAT metric website here.
Merren has superfast survey channels where you can obtain 10X the response rate- more than the industry standard response rate. Launch your NPS 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.