Customer satisfaction is a key performance indicator for business-to-consumer companies, but the abundance of customer service support metrics has made it hard to identify the best way to gauge how your customers actually feel. We help you understand the pros and cons of the most prevalent scoring systems to help you understand your options.

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Customer Support
Scores:
CSAT vs. NPS vs. CES
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Customer Support
Scores:
CSAT vs. NPS vs. CES
Customer satisfaction is a key performance indicator for business-to-consumer
companies, but the abundance of customer service support metrics has made it
hard to identify the best way to gauge how your customers actually feel. We help
you understand the pros and cons of the most prevalent scoring systems to help
you understand your options.
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SCORES (CSAT)
The Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) is a broad term that describes many
different types of customer service survey questions. The goal of any CSAT is to
measure a customer’s satisfaction level with your company’s product, service, or
interaction. CSAT is often determined by asking customers a single question, a set
of queries, or a long survey to asses their experiences, for example:
Q: How would you describe your overall satisfaction with this product?
A. Very dissatisfied
B. Somewhat dissatisfied

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C. Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
D. Somewhat satisfied
E. Very satisfied
Measurement: The answers are quantified, then expressed as a percentage
between 0 and 100%. A high percentage indicates that your customers are highly
satisfied.
Pros: CSAT’s best asset is versatility because it allows you to ask customers a variety
of questions. CSAT allows for the most customized survey questions, so you can
delve into different strengths and weaknesses, which lets you focus on finding best
way to meet your customers’ needs.
Cons: This method doesn’t take into account that people who are either somewhat
dissatisfied or somewhat satisfied are unlikely to complete surveys, which is known
to skew results. The CSAT is the weakest predictor of future behavior because it
often limits its scope to a single interaction. The CSAT is also a poor predictor of
any type of loyalty; although a low CSAT score can predict attrition, but a high CSAT
doesn’t accurately predict repeat business.
NET PROMOTER SCORE (NPS)
The Net Promoter Score, or NPS score, has garnered a lot of attention lately as
the go-to customer satisfaction metric. At its core, NPS embodies the fundamental
idea that all of a company’s customers fall into one of three categories: promoters,
passives, or detractors. Promoters are dedicated, repeat customers who
enthusiastically recommend your products or services to others. Passives are

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customers who are satisfied, but lack any enthusiasm or loyalty; passives could easily
switch to a competitor. Detractors are customers who are decidedly unsatisfied with
your company.
Q: For example, you may ask a customer“How likely is it that you would recommend us
to a friend?”and give them the option to select a score on a scale of 0 – 10 where 0 means
“not at all likely”and 10 is“extremely likely.”
Measurement: The numerical scores to categorize each customer: Detractors have
scores in the 0-6 scores range; Passives are in the 7-8 range; Promoters have scores
in the 9-10 range.
Calculate your NPS by starting with the percentage of customers who are promoters
and subtract the percentage who are detractors. The larger the difference is
between the number of promoters and detractors, the higher your company’s NPS.
Pros: NPS only requires a customer to respond to one simple question, which
makes it easy to complete and more likely the customer will do so.
Cons: The main criticism for NPS is that asking just a single question is one-
dimensional, so it gives only a narrow perspective of customer satisfaction.
Additionally, there’s no proof that promoters will in fact recommend your company
to a friends, so the score doesn’t necessarily correlate with a boost in real world
business.

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CUSTOMER EFFORT SCORE (CES)
The CES looks at how much effort a customer must exert to have their needs met by
a company.
Q: How much effort did you personally have to put forth to handle your request on a scale
of 1-5?
A: Choose between 1 and 5. 1 indicates very low effort and 5 indicates very high effort.
Measurement: After aggregating the replies, a low number indicates that your
company is making things easy for the consumer. A very high number means that
customers are putting in way too much work to interact with your company.
Pros: One benefit of the CES is that it keeps solutions focused on a single element
– customer effort. The sole goal of calculating a CES is to eliminate or minimize
any barriers for customer service. CES has been proven to be the best indicator of
customer loyalty.
Cons: CES can address obstacles for customer service, but doesn’t delve into why
customers have any issues in the first place or what those obstacles may be.
Ultimately, all three systems of measurement useful for evaluating the effectiveness
of changes in processes, products, or services on customer satisfaction; company’s
can compare a score before and after implementing a new protocol to measure
the impact. Additionally, these metrics are designed specifically to help businesses
identify their strengths and weaknesses. The whole purpose of consumer research is
to translate those insights into action items that will in turn improve your customer’s
experience overall.

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As you might suspect, no single measurement can properly address all of your
company’s concerns with customer support. These measurements can be combined
and used with other complementary tools to render a comprehensive look at your
company’s needs. The best advice is to use these tools in tandem with any industry
specific tactics or anecdotal evidence that you uncover.
Through experimentation, you’ll find the blend that is the most effective for your
company, and most importantly, your customers.