Satisfaction indicators

The CSAT is a traditional indicator and consists in a simple, unavoidable question: “Were you satisfied?” The answer is just as simple: yes or no. To refine the level of satisfaction, we can also ask customers to rank or give stars or use a semantic scale (fully satisfied, rather satisfied, rather dissatisfied, totally dissatisfied).

The question can be asked regularly to a sample of consumers to follow the evolution of the indicator over time. To identify dissatisfied customers in real time and correct the dissatisfaction, we recommend that you ask customers the question right after a transaction.

• For more information see Best Practice n1 : Automatic dissatisfaction alert

On the condition of going beyond the simple question, “Are you satisfied?” and asking consumers to express themselves on key points, the CSAT enables better steering of the company and its customer service.

This customer relationship indicator appeared in the article entitled “Stop Delighting Your Customers” that appeared in the Harvard Business Review in 2010 and proposed a totally different approach.

CES is measured by the question: “How much of an effort did you make to have your request processed?” Customers evaluate their effort on a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 is “low level of effort” and 5 corresponds to “high level of effort”.

The main advantage of the CES is to propose a functional measurement based on the observation that customer loyalty is closely tied to a low level of effort on the part of customers to access company services or have a request satisfied. The CES is particularly adapted to the services area and enables measuring the quality of the customer relationship at a call center or sales outlet.

To understand why the customer had the feeling of making more or less effort and to know where to act, you must use open questions as a complement. Customer comments are essential because they represent the customer’s voice.