It doesn’t have to be hard or expensive to figure out how to measure customer satisfaction. In fact, measuring customer satisfaction is easy to add to your current plan for customer success.
No matter how you look at it, the only way to measure customer satisfaction is to ask customers what they think through surveys and customer data. To get a good idea of how customers feel, we’ll need to ask them how their experience went and then compare their answers to the data.
There are many ways to do a survey, from how it’s set up to when it’s done to the sample size and how the results are analyzed. No matter your strategy, you need to do some basic things to ensure your business makes money from its investment.
In this post, we’ll talk about the steps for measuring customer satisfaction, the tools you can use to measure it, and then some things you can do at your business to improve customer satisfaction.
How to measure customer satisfaction (CSAT)?
One of the most common methods of measuring customer satisfaction is through surveys. Respondents record their feedback via multiple-choice questions, rating questions, open-ended questions, etc. Customer satisfaction measurement tools can help you gather real-time insights through online surveys and deliver excellent experiences.
You can measure the CSAT score from the responses to below question,
“How would you rate your overall satisfaction with the [product/service]?”
The options typically range from one end of the satisfaction level to the polar opposite.
- Very Unsatisfied
- Unsatisfied
- Neutral
- Satisfied
- Very satisfied
The higher the number of responses for ‘Satisfied’ and ‘Very satisfied,’ the higher the score. It implies that the customers are happy with the products and services. They are likely to stay loyal and lead to stable business growth.
You can also use ready-made customer satisfaction survey templates for different businesses.
Benefits of measuring customer satisfaction (CSAT)
Customer retention is one of the most important metrics for SaaS companies like QuestionPro. Getting new business is much more expensive and takes a lot more time than building an existing relationship. Customer satisfaction and loyalty is the most important thing for a business relationship to last and is successful.
Customer happiness is a big part of how loyal a customer is. Customers who aren’t happy have a lot of options, so they won’t think twice about taking their business elsewhere if they’re not happy. It’s important to figure out how to measure and track customer satisfaction because it can be both a sign of growth and a warning sign of customer churn.
The idea of a happy customer is complicated and includes many different things. It’s not as easy to measure as revenue or growth, but it affects both numbers. This blog aims to explain how to measure and increase customer satisfaction and how to use that information to help your business.
7 steps to measure customer satisfaction
Sometimes it’s hard for strategists and marketers to choose a course of action and measure customer satisfaction. The way you grow happiness and retention will be unique to your organization. Still, the elements of a satisfying experience can be measured with similar strategies, regardless of your industry and the products and services you offer.
We have outlined seven key steps for you to gauge customer satisfaction successfully.
1. Define your research focus.
Before starting your quest to measure CSAT, you need to set clear goals. Why do we measure it? Or why now? Your measurement or data may be skewed without a definite focus and not help you achieve your goals. Depending on your brand, capabilities, etc., you will receive a lot of data when you start with your exercise. Putting the data to good use has a clear goal in mind. It will help guide your plans and actions and will bear great results. Use insights from this to address gap areas and smoothen your processes.
2. Devise a plan.
Now that you have a clear goal in your mind, you need a plan to achieve it. This plan should translate into actions based on the feedback gathered. It could mean improving your website navigation and customer support interactions, creating a knowledge base, streamlining processes, etc.
3. Select your CSAT survey metric
CSAT surveys are an excellent way to study and measure customer satisfaction. However, it is not a one-size-fits-all tool. Depending on your focus, you can select any one of the following customer satisfaction metrics.
- Net Promoter Score® (NPS)
NPS measures customer loyalty by asking the question, ‘Based on your complete experience with the organization, how likely are you to recommend it to your friends and colleagues?’ Net promoter score surveys can be distributed at various customer journey touchpoints. Based on the score at each point, you can identify improvement areas.
For example, the Net promoter score of 5 for the customer support team means the users had a poor experience. They are not likely to recommend your business to others. Thus, it can be an active area for the management team to ensure their relationship with the users doesn’t end.
Learn more: How to calculate Net Promoter Score (NPS)
- Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT score)
CSAT measures the level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with your product or service. Usually, customers rate their satisfaction on a scale of 1-3, 1-5, or 1-7. CSAT score is the percentage number of satisfied customers who enjoy using your products and services. They are likely to continue buying your offerings in the future as well. The CSAT score can be an excellent metric for forecasting sales and making smart decisions.
- Customer Effort Score (CES)
Like CSAT, CES works on customers’ ratings on the ease of operation or experience. It indicates if your users had a smooth, hassle-free experience at various touchpoints of their journey.
For instance, you can use the below questions to calculate CES.
- How easy was it to locate our store?
- How easy was it to operate our machine?
- How easy was it to connect with our customer service staff?
- How easy was it to find the documentation you needed?
4. Design effective surveys.
Designing your surveys is crucial because it will determine your survey completion and response rates and let you know how customers feel. You do not want the surveys to be monotonous and long. Keep it simple, asking only necessary questions and data from which you will refine your processes. Your customers might be willing to fill in surveys, but you certainly have to respect their time.
Customizing your surveys and using your brand colors and themes to make them credible and authentic is always a good idea. You can also segment your data and send different types of surveys for the best results.
If you’ve made it here, congratulations! Luckily, you’ve learned a bit more about Customer Satisfaction. If you’d like to take the extra mile and learn more about how customer experience can help you gain more happy, loyal customers and increase your business growth, download our free eBook: The Hacker’s Guide to Customer Experience – CX= Emotion x Value.
5. Select CX measurement software.
If you are using an online CX measurement tool such as QuestionPro CX, you have many options to deliver your surveys. You can email surveys to your customers and send them via short messaging service (SMS), etc. These options ensure a healthy survey response rate, as these can be taken anywhere and anytime. SMS surveys get a 7.5 times higher response than email surveys.
6. Collect and review the data.
If you’re unsure how to measure customer satisfaction levels, interpreting your survey data can also be confusing. Start by reviewing the feedback with a detailed eye. Yes, you will build a follow-up strategy from additional analysis, but first, you must be familiar with the feedback. This way, you can recognize a strong or flawed step in your plans.
Once you know what’s in the raw data, you can quantify and analyze results and draw out key takeaways with our reporting tools. At this point, you have measured CSAT by referring to various metrics and asking carefully crafted questions. Next, you will take the scores and results you’ve revealed to create your strategy to achieve your established goal.
7. Collect, act, repeat.
All your above efforts will bear fruit if you collect data appropriately, act on it to bring about changes in your processes and systems and repeat it. Your findings could bring issues with support, pricing, or service. Knowing this will help you address any immediate concerns and ensure a smooth and excellent customer experience. It could be something after a while. It is crucial to note that this is not a one-time activity, and you should do this regularly with a cadence relevant to your organization or brand.
Following these straightforward steps for calculating overall satisfaction will give your organization the feedback you need to improve, optimize CX, boost customer retention, and increase customer loyalty.
Methods of measuring CSAT
While there are many ways to measure customer satisfaction, some of the proven methods to collect CSAT data are below:
1. Online surveys
Online surveys are one of the best methods of CSAT measurement. They offer an easy and quick solution to data collection. Select your target audience and present relevant questions using survey logic. You can also insert images and multimedia files in the survey. The online survey tools offer capabilities to view the dashboard, generate reports, apply filters, and export results. Many CSAT surveys are conducted annually or half-yearly.
While these are valuable and provide great insights into customer feedback, they may lack customers’ immediate reaction when interacting with your brand at various touchpoints. Try and conduct follow-up surveys to gather immediate customer feedback on their interaction with support, billing queries with accounting, etc.
2. Marketing e-mailers
Emails are ideal for engaging with your customers and collecting quality feedback. Those who have signed in to receive updates will be happy to hear from you. You can survey them by sending questionnaires or adding links to them in newsletters.
3. Social media
Customers sharing about you, talking about you, positively or negatively, indicates how they regard your brand, its products, services, and content. Social media has changed how your users provide feedback; it’s instantaneous, candid, and honest. They get to react or comment on what you’ve published on your social media channels, such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter. The spontaneity seen on social media cannot be replicated via surveys or phone surveys. Use these channels and the options they provide, such as polls, reviews, etc., to maximum benefit.
4. Live chats
Businesses operating in almost all industries have websites; these actively provide information about products and services, host case studies and whitepapers, and provide all sorts of information and support. Live chats within websites and apps are a rich source of information. You get to know what your visitors or customers are looking for, what they expect, etc. You can also engage with them in real-time rather than sending out surveys and gathering precious customer feedback at the moment. All your previous conversation history is crucial information to look over and learn from.
5. Short message service (SMS)
SMS surveys are incredibly convenient for respondents. They can answer questions using their cell phones while commuting, waiting in lines, etc. SMS surveys have high response rates; customers respond to SMSs 45% of the time, which is 6% more than emails. Research shows that about 31% of customers respond to SMS surveys, which you can use to your advantage.
6. Churn rate
The churn rate is the percentage of customers lost over time. If you regularly conduct surveys and know the number of unique responses, you can gauge the number of users who left without giving feedback. These unhappy customers are not engaged with your brand and are at risk of going to your competitors. Keep an eye out for these numbers and use them to devise plans.
7. Web intercepts
A web intercept lets a certain percentage of your website visitors participate in online customer surveys. Visitors get a message on their screens about the survey and can choose to answer it. Web intercepts work since there are no redirections or pop-ups, ensuring you do not lose your visitors. You can set up intercepts on certain actions such as clicks, scrolls, hovers, etc., making it extremely easy to set up and deploy.
Customer satisfaction measurement tool
QuestionPro CX is a highly rated customer satisfaction management platform. Some of the ways it can help you collect data, improve your CSAT score, and transform the customer journey are:
Free surveys library
The customer experience management platform comes with a set of readymade survey templates that you can directly use to create questionnaires. These templates are also customizable; you can make edit questions and add logic to customize the flow.
Customizable dashboards
You get access to customizable dashboards that let you customize your reports by charts, labels, and filters. Several dashboards with data useful to different teams can be built and shared.
Role-based access
You can assign survey access based on your team members’ roles. It ensures information is passed to the relevant stakeholders. It also helps safeguard any sensitive information that you may have gathered through questionnaires.
Detractor recovery
Customers who have expressed dissatisfaction can be followed up with and resolved. Using tickets and efficient administration, you may quickly address concerns raised by detractors. The trends among promoters can be discovered and then replicated.
Conducting a survey to know whether your customers feel satisfied signifies your care for them. It shows your customer-centric and data-driven approach to solving problems. The tools for measuring customer satisfaction data can let you gain actionable insights and measure the improvement in scores over time.
QuestionPro offers some of the most advanced customer experience tools available. Gain valuable insights into your customers’ thoughts and feelings using QuestionPro CX software today. So sign up to QuestionPro now to create customer satisfaction surveys.
Customer satisfaction level can be measured through methods like customer surveys, Net Promoter Score (NPS), online reviews, customer complaints, and repeat business.
The 4 key metrics of customer satisfaction are:
1. Customer loyalty
2. Customer retention
3. Customer churn rate
4. Customer lifetime value.
For more information, visit: https://www.questionpro.com/blog/metrics-to-measure-customer-satisfaction/
To get a full picture of customer satisfaction, it’s important to use more than one metric, such as customer surveys, NPS, online reviews, customer complaints, and repeat business.
To know more about our Customer Satisfaction KPIs blog, kindly visit: https://www.questionpro.com/blog/customer-satisfaction-kpi/
Measuring customer satisfaction helps businesses find ways to improve, increase customer loyalty and retention, and drive growth and profits.
