Measuring customer satisfaction is crucial to understand how well your business meets customer needs. If your sales are booming but complaints are piling up, it’s a sign that something’s off. To uncover the root cause and course-correct, you need to measure customer satisfaction effectively.

So, how do you measure customer satisfaction?

While there are numerous metrics available, the most popular and effective ones are:

Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)
Customer Effort Score (CES)
Net Promoter Score (NPS®)

Let’s break these metrics down, compare their strengths, and help you decide which one to use based on your business needs.

TL;DR

CSAT is best for measuring short-term satisfaction at specific touchpoints.
CES helps identify and reduce customer effort, improving process efficiency.
NPS® is ideal for tracking long-term customer loyalty and benchmarking performance.
Combining all three metrics provides a complete understanding of customer satisfaction. Thus, it allows you to act on both short-term issues and long-term trends.

Definition: NPS® vs CSAT vs CES

What is NPS®?

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The Net Promoter Score (NPS®) measures customer loyalty by asking a single, powerful question:

“How likely are you to recommend our product/service to friends or family?”

Customers respond on a scale of 0-10, and respondents are categorized as:

Promoters (9-10): Loyal enthusiasts who drive growth.
Passives (7-8): Neutral customers who may switch to competitors.
Detractors (0-6): Unhappy customers are likely to churn.

The NPS® is calculated as: NPS® = % Promoters - % Detractors

Why is NPS® Useful?

NPS® is a proven indicator of customer loyalty and business growth. It’s benchmarkable, easy to interpret, and widely adopted across industries.

What is CSAT?

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The Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) measures how satisfied customers are with a specific interaction, product, or service.

It typically uses a simple, direct question like: “How satisfied are you with our product/service?”

Customers respond using a numerical scale, often 1-5, 1-7, or 1-10, where a higher score reflects greater satisfaction.

The specialty about this method is that it is extremely simple for the customer to answer. You can easily get the customer to respond, thanks to the scale which makes it specific. As someone who is interested in measuring customer satisfaction, you can see the level of satisfaction you achieved.

Why is CSAT Useful?

CSAT surveys are short, quick, and easy for customers to complete, leading to high response rates. They provide a snapshot of short-term satisfaction and help identify areas needing improvement.

What is CES?

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The Customer Effort Score (CES) measures how easy or difficult it is for customers to achieve a goal. This can be anything from resolving an issue and purchasing a product to navigating a process.

It asks a question like: “How easy was it to resolve your issue today?”

Customers respond using a scale, often ranging from “Strongly Agree” to “Strongly Disagree”.

Why is CES Useful?

CES focuses on effort, a critical predictor of customer loyalty. Customers value seamless experiences, and reducing friction can significantly boost loyalty.

When and How to Use Them: NPS® vs CSAT vs CES

Net Promoter Score (NPS®)

When Should You Use NPS®?

To measure long-term customer loyalty.
To track overall brand perception over time.
To benchmark your performance against competitors.

How to Use NPS® Effectively

1. Follow up with Passives and Detractors:

Address concerns to improve their experience. Reach out to Detractors to understand their dissatisfaction and fix issues before they churn. Engage Passives by improving their experience and encouraging them to become Promoters.

2. Track trends over time:

Use NPS® to monitor loyalty growth or decline. Analyzing NPS® regularly helps you identify trends. For example, a decline in NPS® could signal emerging customer pain points that need immediate action.

3. Benchmark scores:

Compare your NPS® with industry standards to identify gaps. Benchmarking allows you to see how your loyalty scores stack up against competitors, providing context for your performance and helping set realistic goals.

4. Act on insights:

Use follow-up questions to uncover the “why” behind the scores. Ask customers for additional feedback (e.g., “What can we improve to earn a higher score?”) and take concrete actions based on their responses.

Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)

When Should You Use CSAT?

The best time to send a CSAT survey is after you complete at least one milestone with the customer. This could be after onboarding, after the installation and setup, or even after the first service. At this point, the customer has a decent idea of the kind of service you offer.

You can also benefit from sending a survey after each milestone so that you can know how you are faring as a business and take corrective measures.

Conducting these surveys constantly will keep you on track even if your firm doesn’t add any features or plan any major launch. This constant feedback will be helpful for you to monitor your progress and act accordingly.

How to Use CSAT Effectively

1. Send surveys at the right time:

Post-milestone or post-interaction surveys yield the most relevant insights. For instance, send a CSAT survey right after a support call or the completion of onboarding. This allows you to capture customer sentiment when the experience is top-of-mind.

Similarly, regular CSAT check-ins after major service updates help ensure customer expectations are being met.

2. Act on low scores:

Scores of 3 or below (on a 5-point scale) require immediate follow-up. Assign a customer success representative or account manager to personally follow up with dissatisfied customers.

Use this opportunity to understand their grievances and resolve issues promptly.

3. Engage frequently:

Continuous feedback ensures you stay aligned with customer expectations, even if no major changes occur in your business. Frequent CSAT surveys help you proactively track improvements or declines over time.

They also provide a means to test the impact of changes, such as new product features or process updates.

Customer Effort Score (CES)

When Should You Use CES?

After specific interactions that involve effort, like support calls or product purchases.
To identify friction points in your processes and improve customer experience.

How to Use CES Effectively

1. Use real-time feedback:

Analyze CES scores immediately after interactions to address pain points promptly. Real-time feedback allows you to intervene before small problems escalate into customer churn.

For example, if a support resolution requires too much effort, assign a representative to apologize, offer guidance, and ensure the issue is fully resolved.

2. Analyze score distribution:

An average score might hide outliers (e.g., some customers facing extreme difficulties). Beyond the average score, look at the range of responses.

For example, if 20% of customers score 1 or 2 (high effort), identify what’s causing those struggles. Break down CES results by customer segment (e.g., new customers vs. long-term customers) to uncover unique challenges.

3. Identify problem areas:

Use CES data to pinpoint processes or touchpoints requiring optimization. For example, if customers struggle with onboarding or account setup, simplify the steps, add tooltips, or provide more personalized support.

Address widespread issues with process-level improvements, like automating repetitive tasks or updating confusing interfaces.

Pros and Cons: NPS® vs CSAT vs CES

Net Promoter Score (NPS®)

Pros of NPS®	Cons of NPS®
Simple, quick, and easy to implement.	Doesn’t explain why customers gave their scores.
Benchmarkable across industries.	Customers may not act on their stated intent to recommend.
Provides a clear, quantifiable score for stakeholders.	Ignore non-customers who could influence perceptions.

Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)

Pros of CSAT	Cons of CSAT
High response rates.	Focuses on short-term sentiment and doesn’t predict long-term loyalty.
Easy to implement and cost-effective.	Benchmarks vary across industries, making comparison difficult.
Flexible scale options based on context.	Dissatisfied or neutral customers may skip surveys altogether.

Customer Effort Score (CES)

Pros of CES	Cons of CES
Highlights pain points and areas for improvement.	Lacks segmentation of customers (e.g., loyal vs. occasional users).
Strong predictor of future purchases and loyalty.	Doesn’t explain the reasons behind difficulties.
Provides actionable, specific insights.	Doesn’t measure broader customer satisfaction.

CSAT vs CES vs NPS®: How Do They Compare?

	CSAT	CES	NPS®
What it measures	Short-term satisfaction	Ease of customer experience	Long-term loyalty
When to use	Post-interaction feedback	After specific high-effort tasks	Overall brand perception
Scoring	1-5 / 1-10 scale	Agreement scale (1-7)	0-10 scale
Best for	Evaluating specific touchpoints	Identifying pain points	Measuring customer loyalty
Example Question	How satisfied are you with our product/service?	How easy was it to resolve your issue today?	How likely are you to recommend our product/service to friends or family?

Takeaway - Which Is The Right One For You

NPS®, CSAT, and CES - are the three key metrics for calculating customer satisfaction. Based on your goal, you should focus on specific metrics.

It should also be noted that while each metric offers valuable insights, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. The best approach is to use these methods in combination to gain a complete view of your customer experience.

Ready to put these metrics into action? SurveySparrow can help you.

It makes it easy to create CSAT, CES, and NPS® surveys, helping you gather feedback that drives real results. Start improving your customer experience today!

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NPS® vs CSAT vs CES: A Comparison of Satisfaction Metrics