For most businesses, the primary concern is whether their customers are satisfied with their products and services.

Customer satisfaction is essential to sustaining a successful business but remains a significant challenge. Nearly half of customer experience (CX) professionals identify meeting and exceeding customer expectations as their top priority.

Businesses rely on the Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) to evaluate customer satisfaction. CSAT survey insights enable teams to improve the customer experience, benefiting customers and businesses.

Use our customer satisfaction calculator above to measure your CSAT.

The Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) is a CX metric that measures satisfaction with your business's products, services, and experiences.

There are a variety of ways you can conduct a CSAT survey. Teams typically use a numerical scale to gauge customer feelings about their products and services.

Typically, a CSAT survey includes a simple question like, “How satisfied are you with our business?

Respondents choose from a scale—usually from 1-5—to indicate their level of satisfaction:

Some businesses use a slightly different scale, like 1-7, 1-10,  or even emoji ratings. Businesses generally prefer numerical scales, which are simple and intuitive for the survey administrators and the respondents. 

The CSAT formula is simple. Take the number of satisfied responses and divide this figure by the total number of responses. Then, multiply that value by 100 to get a percentage.

You need to know two things to calculate your CSAT score:

For example, a shoe store receives 100 responses to customer satisfaction surveys. Eighty-two responses are satisfied or very satisfied, respectively 4 or 5. The CSAT score is 82%. 

What is a good CSAT score? Generally, a high CSAT score correlates with satisfied customers.

These guidelines are loose, and you should consider several outstanding factors.

You should evaluate CSAT scores as more than just an isolated data point. They are a part of a comprehensive assessment of your business performance. A higher score than before indicates improved customer experience, even if the score is still low overall.

You should also evaluate CSAT scores in terms of industry benchmarks. For example, ecommerce and retail typically aim for higher CSAT scores to achieve 80%-90%. However, 70% to 80% is often the norm for technology and software companies.

Finally, compare CSAT scores to other CX metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS®) and Customer Effort Score (CES). This approach provides a more holistic snapshot of your business performance and highlights areas for improvement.

CSAT data can be collected in myriad ways. Here are a few ideas to kickstart your survey distribution.

Share the survey through emails, flyers, social media, product packaging, or receipts using a URL or QR code.

Surveys can be distributed to a targeted pool of respondents through personalized email invitations. Simply include the survey link in the body of the email. This method makes it easy to track which customers have participated.

CSAT surveys can be shared as status updates or posts on social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn. That way, you can reach customers where they are and amplify the post to reach a wider audience.

Deliver the survey using a Facebook Messenger chatbot to collect real-time responses. This fast and dynamic method delivers immediate feedback and generates high response rates.

Share the survey by embedding a link on your website or triggering a pop-up for visitors. Interactions like a checkout or content download can trigger pop-ups.

​​By sharing the survey manually, you can collect responses offline via paper forms, in-person interviews, or phone calls. This method reaches respondents without reliable internet access or those less comfortable with digital responses.

Developers can use this method to integrate CSAT surveys into mobile apps using a Software Development Kit (SDK). The SDK prompts customers to complete the survey after they purchase an item or finish a task. This method provides a frictionless experience that captures customer sentiment at key points in the user journey.

You can send a survey link via SMS, allowing mobile users to complete the survey quickly and conveniently.

Timing is just as crucial as survey content to boost response rates and collect valuable data. These are the best times to survey customers for satisfaction data.

Using a CSAT calculator formula to automate calculations lets you measure customer satisfaction quickly, accurately, and at scale. Here are some benefits of using CSAT calculators.

Tracking CSAT scores is crucial for any brand looking to retain customers, build loyalty, reduce churn, and achieve success. Here are some reasons you should measure and track CSAT over time.

Customer needs and preferences are not static. They change in response to market developments, economic shifts, emerging technologies, and industry trends. CSAT surveys allow you to track your customers' needs, ensuring you offer experiences that resonate with your base.

The customer lifetime value (CLV) is the total revenue you can generate from their interactions with your business. You can increase CLV and boost retention by tracking customer satisfaction, proactively addressing pain points, and reducing churn.

Satisfied customers are more likely to spread the word about your business, increasing organic growth. Measuring CSAT allows you to boost word-of-mouth referrals by tracking what resonates with your customers. 

CSAT surveys, especially combined with qualitative data or NPS, offer valuable insights into your business's strengths. They also highlight areas where your business could improve.

Data-driven insights empower your business to make choices that deliver tangible impact. By monitoring customer satisfaction, CSAT scores provide actionable data so your business can allocate resources effectively. 

Customer feedback is vital for product development. Gathering feedback can enable product teams to understand better how to improve products or services.

Tracking CSAT allows businesses to tailor their messaging to their customers’ preferences. CSAT scores provide a reliable indication of whether your brand promises align with customer expectations.

A good customer experience has been linked to lower churn, higher revenue, and greater customer lifetime value. Improving customer experience—and achieving customer satisfaction—is necessary for a company to survive and thrive.

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NPS, Net Promoter & Net Promoter Score are registered trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company and Fred Reichheld.