What is CSAT (Customer Satisfaction) Score?

Most customers are usually vocal about their experiences with a business, either literally or expressed through different media. They can be a passing comment in a conversation, a direct answer to a question, a review on a review site, a post, a video, or any other available format.

With the internet and the tools that are used now, it's easier to get customer feedback in buckets. And, finding these is good and all, but what next? How will you present the data gathered in a way that can be effectively used to further your business’ growth? 

Organic customer feedback, that is, given without any kind of prompting, is usually qualitative in nature. Qualitative data is also looked at and kept track of, but quantitative data gives more specific results that make it easier to notice small changes. This is when the CSAT in customer service and CSAT score comes in.

What is CSAT score and what does CSAT stand for?

CSAT, or Customer Satisfaction, is a metric used to calculate and quantify how satisfied a customer is with a product, service, and even the transaction process. The CSAT score is then determined, usually by calculating the results of a customer satisfaction survey.

Along with some instances of open-ended questions, the majority of CSAT surveys have a scale on which customers can base their answers. These scales generally apply to a range of 1-3, 1-5, or 1-10, but other businesses may choose to modify the maximum range.

Here is an example of a common satisfaction scale:

1 - Very Satisfied

2 - Moderately Satisfied

3 - Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied

4 - Moderately Dissatisfied

5 - Very Dissatisfied

There are alternate ways to label the scales as well. Some may just use the numbers as is, some use symbols like emojis, or other verbal indicators like ‘Strongly Agree’, ‘Mostly Agree’, etc.

To get the most out of customer feedback, customer satisfaction surveys need to be designed well and should contain the right questions that will bring out the desired answer. If you want to make a good customer satisfaction survey, think about these quick tips from CSAT best practices.

• Keep it short and simple to avoid frustrating the customer into opting out of answering.
• Avoid fluffing it up and only ask what you need.
• Keep a consistent rating scale throughout the survey.
• Keep your questions clear and easily understood.

Calculating the Customer Satisfaction Score

Yes indeed, there is an equation used to solve for customer satisfaction. Though computing the CSAT score might sound complicated at first glance, it’s actually quite easy.

Count the number of positive responses (the positive response may depend on the size of your satisfaction scale) and divide it by the total amount of responses. Then multiply it all by 100. The corresponding answer represents the estimated degree of satisfaction of the customers with their experiences with the brand.

To illustrate: (number of positive responses / total number of responses) x 100 = % customer satisfaction rate

What is a good CSAT score? There's no standard score for a good CSAT, but 75% to 85% is usually the standard for a good score. Given that achieving a virtually flawless score is nearly unachievable, the previously specified range is a fair benchmark.

Why Measure Customer Satisfaction?

• Measuring customer satisfaction goes beyond quantifying the CSAT for customer service. It is the culmination of the gathered customer feedback that tells you how good or how bad the state of the business is with regard to fulfilling customer expectations.

• The business’ CSAT score can be displayed and be one of its selling points. It can help convince potential clients to try out the brand and see this highly-rated experience for themselves.

• The data gathered, whether positive or negative, points the brand in the right direction as to how to improve the products, services, and experiences they provide. In addition, problems can be identified and immediately addressed.

Conclusion

With a saturated market, it becomes increasingly difficult for businesses to brand themselves uniquely. One way they can distinguish themselves is with the experiences they offer and their subsequent quality.

Yes, CSAT measures your customers’ satisfaction and indicates whether your strategies are working or not. But that is not enough. It’s how you use the insights from your research and its results that can propel you further. It’s also recommended to utilize other metrics for more detailed results and in consideration of other important factors.