Key CX Metrics:
How Do You Measure Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)?
CX stands for Customer Experience. CSAT measures how satisfied a customer is with a product, service, or interaction. Use clear survey design, consistent scales, and a governance cadence so CSAT guides decisions across product, support, and marketing.
Measure CSAT with a standardized question (e.g., “How satisfied were you with your experience?”), a consistent scale (1–5 or 1–7), and a clear formula: % of “Satisfied/Very Satisfied” responses over total valid responses. Segment by touchpoint, product, channel, and customer segment; review trends monthly and tie actions to owners.
Principles For Reliable CSAT
The CSAT Execution Playbook
A practical sequence to instrument surveys, compute the score, and act on insights.
Step-by-Step
- Define the question & scale — Example: “Overall, how satisfied were you with today’s interaction?” (1=Very Dissatisfied to 5=Very Satisfied).
- Set sampling & triggers — Send to a representative sample after events (purchase, case close, onboarding step). Cap frequency to avoid fatigue.
- Instrument collection — Use in-product banners, email/SMS, or IVR. Capture user ID, account, channel, product, and timestamp.
- Calculate CSAT — CSAT % = (# of 4–5 ratings) ÷ (total ratings) × 100. Track median/mean, response rate, and open-text themes.
- Segment & benchmark — Compare by region, agent, product, and journey stage. Maintain a control chart to detect meaningful changes.
- Act & close the loop — Auto-create tasks for low scores; escalate chronic issues; celebrate top performers; feed insights to product roadmap.
- Review cadence — Weekly ops huddle for hotspots; monthly executive review for trends, targets, and resourcing decisions.
CSAT & Related Signals: When To Use Each
| Method | What It Tells You | Question Template | Best For | Limitations | Cadence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transactional CSAT | Satisfaction with a specific interaction or task. | “How satisfied were you with your experience today?” | Support tickets, checkout, onboarding steps. | Narrow scope; can miss overall relationship health. | Ongoing (event-triggered) |
| Relational CSAT | Overall satisfaction with the brand/product. | “Overall, how satisfied are you with our company?” | Quarterly/biannual health checks for leadership. | Less diagnostic for specific journeys. | Quarterly / Semiannual |
| In-Product Micro-Surveys | Moment-by-moment sentiment in the app. | Star/thumbs up after a feature use. | Feature launches, UI changes, self-serve flows. | Can skew to engaged users; brief context. | Real-time |
| CES (Customer Effort Score) | Perceived effort to resolve an issue or task. | “How easy was it to resolve your issue?” | Support, billing, cancellations, password resets. | Not a satisfaction metric; complementary to CSAT. | Ongoing (post-resolution) |
| NPS (Net Promoter Score) | Likelihood to recommend (loyalty proxy). | “How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?” | Relationship tracking and growth signals. | Intent ≠ behavior; slow to move; not diagnostic alone. | Monthly / Quarterly |
| Post-Interaction Stars/Thumbs | Quick pulse on discrete moments. | “Was this helpful?” (Yes/No) or 1–5 stars. | Knowledge articles, chatbots, tutorials. | Binary/low-context; needs text follow-up. | Real-time |
Client Snapshot: CSAT To Action
A subscription platform added transactional CSAT at ticket close with a 1–5 scale and keyword tagging. Within 60 days, they identified a billing-flow defect driving 42% of low scores, prioritized a fix, and lifted CSAT by 9 points while cutting repeat contacts by 18%.
Align CSAT with your Customer Experience strategy so insights guide staffing, training, and product improvements—not just reports.
FAQ: Measuring Customer Satisfaction
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