Client Satisfaction Score (CSAT): What is it and how to measure it?

The Client Satisfaction Score (CSAT) is one of the most important metrics for assessing customer and user experience and satisfaction. Many organisations use CSAT surveys as a way to detect opportunities for improvement, increase loyalty and attract new customers.

Today we tell you in detail what the CSAT is, what it is used for, and how it differs from other important metrics in the Customer Experience world such as the Net Promoter Score. Let’s get started!

What is CSAT?

The Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) is a metric used to evaluate the degree of satisfaction with a specific product or service. The CSAT score is a value obtained through surveys that collect the opinions of customers and users.

CSAT questionnaires include questions on customer satisfaction with specific aspects of the product or service, such as quality, functionality, price, customer service and others. Respondents rate their satisfaction on a predefined scale (e.g. from 1 to 5 or from «very dissatisfied» to «very satisfied»). The final CSAT score is calculated as the percentage of positive responses in relation to the total number of responses.

The CSAT allows you to understand how your customers rate your products or services at a specific point in time. This helps you identify areas for improvement, uncover problems and make informed decisions to improve the customer experience.

What is CSAT used for?

The CSAT has multiple applications in any type of organisation:

• Identify areas for improvement: Thanks to the CSAT, you can identify specific areas of customer dissatisfaction. If you send a CSAT survey to users after an update of your application and you discover that they negatively evaluate the usability of a new functionality, you can take steps to improve it and make it more intuitive.
• Manage dissatisfied customers: CSAT allows you to detect customers at risk of defection. If a customer rates low satisfaction with your customer service in a CSAT survey, you can escalate the issue and take further action to reverse the risk with the specific customer.
• Maintain and improve customer loyalty: By continuously tracking satisfaction through the CSAT score, you can ensure that you are progressing towards higher levels of satisfaction and loyalty. For example, a restaurant chain can use CSAT surveys to ensure that menu quality and customer service meet expectations. This will help retain customers and encourage repeat business.
• Guide strategic decisions: CSAT provides tangible data to support strategic decisions. For example, if you see a decrease in CSAT related to product delivery in your e-commerce channel, you can decide to invest in supply chain improvements or faster shipping options to improve customer satisfaction.
• Differentiation from the competition: You can use your high CSAT levels as a selling point to differentiate yourself from the competition. In this way, CSAT data will serve as proof of your customer focus and excellence in service delivery.

How to create a CSAT survey?

By following these steps, you will be able to design an effective CSAT survey:

• Define the purpose of the survey: Before you start designing the survey, it is important that you are clear about what specific aspects of the product or service are to be assessed, what information you expect to obtain and how you will use it to make decisions in your organisation.
• Select the sample. The first step is to be clear about the target universe and how you can access a representative sample of it. For example, we may be interested in having a CSAT measurement of a bank’s customers, or perhaps we are only interested in interviewing those who use the online banking app. The sample source you use will depend on the definition of the universe.
• Create the questionnaire: Write clear questions that are relevant to the purpose of the survey. Choose a rating scale and keep it consistent throughout the questionnaire to facilitate understanding. Include open-ended questions so that your respondents can give you a greater level of detail about their experience.
• Do the fieldwork. Before sending the survey to customers, test it with a small group to make sure the questions are clear and understandable, and that the survey works well on all devices. Once you are ready, make it available to the people you want to respond to it through the appropriate channels.
• Analyse the results: Once you have collected the survey responses, analyse the results to identify trends, patterns and areas for improvement. Use this information to make decisions or take it to the appropriate forums.

Where to obtain a sample for a CSAT survey?

There are several sample sources for conducting a CSAT survey. The choice of source will depend on your objectives and universe you wish to study. Here are the most common options:

• Existing customer database: If you already have a customer database, you can use it to obtain samples. This allows you to survey customers who have already interacted with your company and have experience with your products or services. Be aware that the response rate is usually low, so you will need to have a large sample size.
• People who interact with one of your channels. Sometimes you can serve the CSAT survey to people who experience your organisation through one of your own channels.
  • Website or app: You can embed the survey directly on your website or app so that visitors can complete it.
  • Social media: Use your social media profiles to promote the survey and encourage your followers to participate.
  • Call centre services. Rate satisfaction with the service support team after taking a call.
  • Events or physical outlets: If you have a physical shop or participate in some kind of event, you can collect responses about satisfaction from people who visit them.
• Consumer and user panels: These are large bases of people who voluntarily agree to participate in market research on a regular basis. At We are testers we have a consumer panel of over 120,000 registered consumers and we know in detail their buying patterns including their most common service providers. So when you need to interview customers in your organisation, we can easily access them directly. In addition, we can also provide you with samples of your competitors’ customers so you can compare your CSAT rates with theirs over time. This will give you a better understanding of whether your satisfaction data is above or below your main competitors and allow you to make better decisions.

When selecting your sample, make sure its source is consistent with your research objectives. And above all, make sure you comply with privacy and consent regulations when collecting data from respondents.

CSAT questionnaire template

If you want to design your own CSAT survey, here is a sample questionnaire. In this case we have designed it to evaluate customer satisfaction with a customer service. We hope it will inspire you to create your own questionnaire tailored to the needs of your organisation.

Dear customer,

Thank you for choosing our services! We want to make sure we provide you with the best possible experience. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey and help us improve our customer service.

On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate your satisfaction with the speed of response from our customer service team?

• 1: Very dissatisfied
• 2: Dissatisfied
• 3: Neutral
• 4: Satisfied
• 5: Very satisfied

How would you rate your satisfaction with the friendliness and courtesy of our customer service team?

• 1: Very dissatisfied
• 2: Dissatisfied
• 3: Neutral
• 4: Satisfied
• 5: Very satisfied

How would you rate your satisfaction with the usefulness of the information provided by our customer service team in answering your questions?

• 1: Very dissatisfied
• 2: Dissatisfied
• 3: Neutral
• 4: Satisfied
• 5: Very satisfied

On a scale of 1 to 5, how likely would you be to recommend our customer services to your friends or family?

• 1: Very unlikely
• 2: Unlikely
• 3: Neutral
• 4: Likely
• 5: Very likely

Is there anything else you would like to share about your experience with our customer service?

[Space for open comments]

Customer Information (Optional):

Please complete the following information if you would like us to contact you to discuss your experience in more detail.

• Name:
• Phone number:
• Email:

Thank you for your time and for helping us improve our services!

CSAT Formula. How is it calculated?

The basic formula for calculating the Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) is very simple. It is based on the proportion of positive responses to the total possible responses in a customer satisfaction survey. The formula is expressed as a percentage.

CSAT = (Number of positive responses / Total responses) x100.

Where:

• «Number of Positive Responses» is the number of responses indicating satisfaction or a positive experience.
• «Total Responses» is the total number of responses collected in the customer satisfaction survey.

The result is multiplied by 100 to get a percentage, which provides a measure of customer satisfaction on a scale from 0 to 100%. For example, if a customer satisfaction survey collects 80 responses, of which 60 indicate a positive experience, then the CSAT calculation would be:

CSAT = (60/80) x 100 = 75%.

CSAT vs NPS

CSAT is often compared to another popular customer satisfaction metric, the Net Promoter Score (NPS). While both are indicators of customer satisfaction, they differ in their focus and objective. While CSAT focuses on the customer’s immediate satisfaction with a specific transaction or interaction, NPS measures the customer’s willingness to recommend the company to others.

CSAT surveys with We are testers

At We are testers we can help you with your CX programme in general and with your CSAT surveys in particular.

• Consumer panel of 120.000 users. We can provide you with the sample you need for your CSAT surveys quickly and efficiently. Tell us which brands you want to assess satisfaction and we can tell you how many customers we have on the panel at that precise moment. We can provide you not only with a sample of customers from your own brand, but also from your competitors so you can make decisions based on a comparison of your performance.
• All-in-one research platform. We provide you with an easy-to-use tool that will allow you to save time in creating your surveys and analysing data. Enjoy the integration with Artificial Intelligence solutions to help you make the analysis of open-ended questions effortless. In addition, with the We are testers platform you can have all your CSAT surveys in one place, as it allows you to use both our consumer panel and your own databases as a sample source.
• Expert support in the creation of the surveys. Contact us whenever you need expert guidance. And if you’d prefer us to create the surveys for you, you can leave them to us in complete confidence.

Contact our experts today to get your CSAT survey programme up and running.