Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) is a key performance indicator (KPI) that shows how well a company’s products or services meet or exceed customer expectations.
It is widely used to measure customers’ happiness with what they receive and to understand their loyalty to the company.1
Measurement
CSAT is typically measured using a customer feedback survey that asks respondents to rate their satisfaction with a product, service, or interaction on a scale (commonly 1-5, where 1 represents very dissatisfied and 5 means very satisfied).
The CSAT score is then calculated by averaging these responses or calculating the percentage of customers rated their satisfaction as high.
Example Survey Question
“How would you rate your overall satisfaction with the service you received?”
- Very Dissatisfied (1)
- Dissatisfied (2)
- Neutral (3)
- Satisfied (4)
- Very Satisfied (5)
Formula
Then CSAT is calculated using a simple formula:
- Number of Satisfied Customers: This is the count of customers who have given a high satisfaction rating. Depending on the survey scale, this typically includes the top two ratings. For instance, in a 5-point scale (1 being very dissatisfied and 5 being very satisfied), ratings of 4 and 5 are often considered as indicators of satisfaction.
- Total Number of Respondents: This is the total number of customers who responded to the CSAT survey.
- Multiplying by 100: The result is multiplied by 100 to convert it into a percentage.2
Benefits
- Improved Customer Retention: High CSAT scores often lead to more loyal and returning customers.
- Enhanced Product and Service Quality: Feedback from CSAT surveys can help improve products and services.
- Better Customer Insights: Understanding customer satisfaction helps tailor marketing and sales strategies to meet customer needs.3
Usage
- Website Experience Analysis: To assess users’ satisfaction with the website’s usability, content, and overall experience.
- Product Feedback: To gather opinions on products or services offered through the sales funnel.
- Customer Service Evaluation: To evaluate the effectiveness of customer support teams and identify areas for improvement.
- Marketing Strategy Development: To refine marketing campaigns and messaging based on customer preferences and satisfaction levels.4
Example
A company specializing in digital marketing tools uses a CSAT survey to measure customer satisfaction after purchasing its latest software.
The survey includes questions about the software’s ease of use, effectiveness in achieving marketing goals, and overall satisfaction with customer support.
The results show a high level of satisfaction with the product but indicate a need for improvement in customer support.
Based on this feedback, the company invests in additional training for its support team and introduces new support resources, which increases overall CSAT scores in subsequent surveys.
Calculation Example:
Suppose you conducted a CSAT survey; out of 200 respondents, 150 customers gave a satisfaction rating of 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale. The CSAT score would be calculated as follows:
This means 75% of the survey respondents are satisfied with your service or product.
Related Terms
References:
1. Franklin, A., & Director. (2023, November 14). What is customer satisfaction? definition + importance. Zendesk. https://www.zendesk.com/blog/3-steps-achieving-customer-satisfaction-loyalty/
2. Churchill Jr, G. A., & Surprenant, C. (1982). An investigation into the determinants of customer satisfaction. Journal of marketing research, 19(4), 491-504. https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/33273236/AN_INVESTIGATION_INTO_THE_DETERMINANTS_OF_CUSTOMER_SATISFACTION-libre.pdf?1395378704=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DReproduced_with_permission_of_the_An_inv.pdf&Expires=1704462422&Signature=SglL5NJkykf1v056ds7Xn8-28z3GOPboM6mUQt5UpBgSp~Kpctpy5YARbJYyMxVr8LdOBZoNq~1~so6z2sIRHWSHVPT4mhiFi6-19Pqj5QGOwvWMuw4De-fY2mbN1UMVolpquN1P4rDvy02eV7MrZIvscbvvWkweJ1ZulSroQ~Hj8wLOQvLRbsmHvFaUKvoMMrOWJUgD6Kfp2K0019ranBlBWPyN10Lgv8daZyIw6LCnjfiwxzRZU66FDqK2ndAMt3qlLKExMDGET7972pOYcut2KECujjqSWk2KFoSPvfllxosC2S6jn4k9yVH-AtDCl1QqpZur0S8IsGpzr78b~w__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA
3. Wikimedia Foundation. (2023a, October 23). Customer satisfaction. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_satisfaction
4. 10 ways to boost customer satisfaction. Harvard Business Review. (2023, February 24). https://hbr.org/2023/01/10-ways-to-boost-customer-satisfaction