Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)

What is a customer satisfaction score?

Customer satisfaction score (CSAT) is a key performance indicator that measures how pleased customers are with either a purchase or support interaction. A strong CSAT score signals happy customers who are likely to purchase from you again and refer your brand to others. Meanwhile, a low score indicates unhappy customers who may complain about your brand or take their business elsewhere.

First, ask customers to rate their satisfaction on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 representing the highest level of satisfaction and 1 the lowest. Categorize respondents who select 4 or 5 as “satisfied customers.” Then, use this formula to calculate your customer satisfaction score: 

(Number of Satisfied Customers) / (Total Number of Respondents) = CSAT score. 

For example, if you have 100 respondents and 70 of them say they’re “satisfied” or “very satisfied,” then your CSAT score would be 70%. 

Example: This quarter, leadership set a goal to improve our CSAT score by 5%. They identified product knowledge as a skills gap and will offer online training on frequently returned items, so customer service reps can better equip customers to resolve product issues and improve both their product and customer service experience.  

Best practices to improve your customer satisfaction score

To improve your customer satisfaction score, first understand why customers are unhappy. Review customer feedback from support tickets, message threads, and survey responses. Then, create a plan to address these issues. 

If customers complain about defective products, strive to improve product quality or product troubleshooting. Or, if they express frustration with agent knowledge, emphasize product knowledge training. 

You can also improve your CSAT score by making it easy for customers to interact with your brand—whether that’s providing multiple support channels (phone, email, live chat) or simplifying the return or exchange process.