What is the Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)?

    The Customer Satisfaction Score is one of the most widely used metrics by marketing teams to measure customer satisfaction. It allows real-time feedback to be collected from customers, by gathering “hot” opinions directly after a purchase experience or interaction with the brand. CSAT is based on the customer’s emotions, unlike the Net Promoter Score (NPS), which aims to obtain a more rational perspective. The goal of the Customer Satisfaction Score is to obtain an evaluation on very specific points such as the product or service, the quality of contact with the sales or after-sales teams, the purchasing process, ease of navigation on the website, etc. To fully understand its challenges and learn how to calculate it, follow this guide.

    > Visit Drag’n Survey to create a satisfaction survey, click here

    Presentation and Calculation of CSAT

    The CSAT allows you to measure customer satisfaction on several levels. With this in mind, questions are most often presented as follows:

    • On a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied are you with the services offered by our company / our after-sales service / the advice given in-store, etc.

    The result of the CSAT is expressed as a percentage and ranges between 0 and 100%. For the rate to be representative, it is essential to collect as many responses as possible from customers.

    To calculate the satisfaction rate, you should proceed as follows:

    • CSAT = (number of positive responses / total number of responses) X100

    Starting from 80%, the result is considered very satisfactory. On the other hand, a rate below 50% is symptomatic of a bad relationship with customers and should alert the marketing teams.

    Asking the Right Questions and Understanding the Value Scale

    For the responses to be easily interpretable and leave no room for ambiguity, it is recommended to offer a limited choice of closed questions. For example, you can opt for a simple choice like “yes” or “no,” or a precise value scale:

    • Very satisfied
    • Satisfied
    • Neutral
    • Dissatisfied
    • Very dissatisfied

    The latter option is the most frequently used. Indeed, the responses obtained are more relevant because they are more nuanced. They can thus be sorted easily.

    Based on this scale, a response will be considered positive if it falls into the “Very satisfied” or “Satisfied” categories.

    To succeed in your CSAT measurement, keep in mind that a question should:

    • Be understandable and complete
    • Be easy to formulate
    • Be obvious and not leave room for doubt or ambiguity
    • Remain completely neutral
    • Clearly mark the scope of the customer experience concerned (purchase of a product, interaction with customer service, delivery of a specific product, etc.)

    Choosing the Right Time to Ask Your Questions

    The best time to ask your questions is “hot off the press.” The memory is fresh, the customer’s emotions are intact, and the measurement of their degree of satisfaction is much more representative of their purchase experience or interaction with the brand. It is not polluted by external factors such as reading comments about your brand or disappointment upon receiving the product.

    To do this, you should set up a survey, via a form, that can be offered at the end of a purchase. During payment confirmation or by email, immediately after the end of the transaction.

    Using CSAT Results to Improve Your Marketing

    For the Customer Satisfaction Score to have a real marketing interest and for its results to benefit from an in-depth analysis, it is important not to stop at the scale proposed above.

    Ideally, each questionnaire should be accompanied by open-ended questions, investigating the reasons for the given score. It is in these feedbacks that the real pieces of information for the brand lie. Based on these explanations of the reasons for the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of certain customers, the marketing teams will be able to implement appropriate action plans and correct certain mistakes. They will also be equipped to maintain the loyalty of their satisfied customers.

    Obtaining a Better Overall View of Customer Satisfaction

    While the Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) is essential and must be taken into account to better understand the actions to be taken, it is important to compare the result obtained with other indicators such as the NPS (Net Promoter Score). Indeed, the latter measures a customer’s propensity to recommend or not recommend your company. It is also possible to use the CES (Customer Effort Score). This last indicator measures the effort required by a consumer to carry out their purchasing experience or get in touch with your brand.

    Other analysis factors can be added, such as the bounce rate on a web page, the number of emails opened after an email campaign, etc.

    It is important to keep in mind that, like other customer satisfaction indicators, CSAT must be consulted and measured over time. It must be compared regularly in order to observe a real trend and to be able to judge the impact of the actions implemented by the marketing teams.

    More about surveys:
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    The Ultimate Guide to Online Quiz Makers, click here
    Five Key Indicators of Customer Satisfaction, click here
    Leading 10 Tools for Online Survey Creation, click here
    Discover Competing Software Options to Typeform, click here
    The Best Software Options to Replace SurveyMonkey, click here
    Explore Alternatives to Jotform for Your Online Form Needs, click here
    Distinguishing Between Qualitative and Quantitative Research Practices, click here
    Key Pitfalls to Watch Out for with Open-Ended Online Survey Questions, click here

    Read the article:
    Portuguese – índice de satisfação do cliente, click here
    French – Comprendre le Score de Satisfaction Client, click here
    German – Die Nutzung des CSAT zur Steigerung der Kundenbindung, click here