What is a CSAT Score? How Do You Measure It?

The CSAT Score is a widely used performance metric that measures how satisfied customers are with a company’s products, services, or recent interactions. It allows businesses to understand how well they met customer expectations at that moment.

To calculate CSAT, you need to collect short surveys where customers rate their experience on a scale, such as 1-5 or 1-10. Then, it is calculated as a percentage ranging from 0% to 100%, where a higher score indicates higher customer satisfaction and a lower score highlights the need for improvement.

To measure CSAT, collect customer feedback after recent interactions using a defined rating scale and identify those who are satisfied or very satisfied. Then, calculate the score as a percentage of satisfied customers and use it to evaluate overall satisfaction levels.

1. Step 1 - Ask Customers for Feedback:
   After an interaction, purchase, or service experience, ask customers to rate their satisfaction, such as: “How would you rate your overall satisfaction with our product or service?” Provide a defined rating scale, such as 1 to 5.
2. Step 2 - Collect Responses:
   Gather responses from customers through email, in-app surveys, website pop-ups, or after support interactions.
3. Step 3 - Identify "Satisfied" Customers:
   Count how many customers rated their experience as "Satisfied" (4) or "Very Satisfied" (5).
4. Step 4 - Calculate the CSAT Score:
   CSAT (%) = (Number of satisfied customers ÷ Total number of responses) × 100
5. Step 5 - Interpret the Score:
   • 90 - 100%: Excellent
   • 70 - 89%: Good
   • 50 - 69%: Average
   • Below 50%: Poor

CSAT can be measured at certain time intervals, such as weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually, depending on your business goals and how often customers interact with your product or service. It is most effective when calculated immediately after customer interactions. At this stage, customers can clearly recall what went well and what didn’t, making it easier to identify strengths and pain points across different touchpoints in the customer journey.

Businesses with frequent, fast-moving interactions, such as e-commerce platforms, SaaS products, customer support teams, and food delivery services, can benefit from daily CSAT tracking to monitor performance and address issues quickly. In contrast, businesses with less frequent or longer customer cycles, such as B2B services, subscription-based companies, consulting firms, and real estate, may find it more effective to review CSAT weekly, monthly, or quarterly.

A good CSAT score generally falls between 70% and 80%, indicating that most customers are satisfied with their experience. Scores above 80% are considered excellent and suggest strong customer loyalty and effective service delivery.

However, what qualifies as a “good” CSAT score can vary by industry benchmarks, customer expectations, and the type of interaction being measured. So, it’s best to compare the score against past performance and relevant industry benchmarks.

Measuring CSAT helps businesses understand customer concerns, improve experiences, and address dissatisfaction before it impacts loyalty. By tracking satisfaction over time, organizations can strengthen service quality, retain customers, and build a positive brand reputation.

1. Identify Customer Pain Points: Measuring CSAT helps businesses spot areas where customers are unhappy. By identifying these pain points, companies can take immediate action to resolve issues and prevent negative experiences from recurring.
2. Improve Customer Experience: CSAT feedback provides actionable insights into what customers like and dislike. Using this information, businesses can optimize their products, services, and processes to enhance customer experience.
3. Boost Customer Retention: Satisfied customers are more likely to stay loyal and make repeat purchases. Monitoring CSAT allows companies to address dissatisfaction early, reducing churn and increasing long-term revenue.
4. Track Performance Over Time: Regular CSAT calculation helps track improvements and identify trends in customer satisfaction. It enables businesses to evaluate the impact of changes and set realistic benchmarks for service quality.
5. Strengthen Brand Reputation: Consistently high CSAT scores signal a strong commitment to customer satisfaction. This builds trust, improves brand perception, and encourages positive word-of-mouth referrals.

CSAT, NPS, and CES are key customer experience (CX) metrics that measure different aspects of the customer journey: immediate satisfaction, long-term loyalty, and ease of interaction, respectively.

Although the aim of all three indicators sounds similar, revolving around customer satisfaction, the process and intention are entirely different.

Here is a quick comparison table:

To increase your CSAT score, focus on collecting timely feedback, understanding the reasons behind customer dissatisfaction, and addressing high-impact issues with faster responses, empowered teams, and personalized support. By combining effective self-service options with continuous monitoring and optimization, you can consistently improve customer satisfaction and overall experience.

1. Collect Feedback at the Right Time: Send CSAT surveys immediately after customer interactions, such as purchases or support conversations, when the experience is still fresh in their mind.
2. Understand the Reasons Behind Low Scores: Include open-ended follow-up questions to learn why customers gave a particular rating. This helps identify specific issues causing dissatisfaction.
3. Analyze CSAT Data and Comments: Review both quantitative scores and qualitative feedback to identify common issues and recurring pain points. Look for patterns that highlight where customers are most dissatisfied.
4. Identify and Prioritize Key Issues: Focus first on issues that affect a large number of customers or significantly reduce satisfaction at critical touchpoints.
5. Improve Response and Resolution Times: Customers value quick and effective support. Reducing wait times and resolving issues in fewer steps can lead to immediate improvements in CSAT.
6. Train and Empower Team: Ensure employees have the skills, tools, and authority to resolve customer issues effectively. Training teams in empathy, communication, and problem-solving directly improves satisfaction.
7. Personalize Customer Interactions: Use customer history and preferences to tailor responses and solutions. Personalized interactions create a more positive experience and increase customer satisfaction.
8. Expand Self-service Options: Provide clear tutorials, up-to-date FAQs, chatbots, and proactive guidance to help customers quickly find answers on their own. Reducing customer effort through effective self-service leads to faster issue resolution and higher overall satisfaction.
9. Track Progress and Optimize Continuously: Monitor CSAT trends over time and measure the impact of improvements. Continuous review and adjustment help maintain and improve CSAT scores consistently.

The CSAT score serves as a clear indicator of how customers perceive their experience with a business. It provides a quick, easy-to-understand snapshot of customer sentiment and helps organizations stay aligned with customer expectations. When used consistently, CSAT supports informed decision-making and reinforces a customer-focused approach across the business.

To turn CSAT insights into real improvements, businesses need effective communication systems that support better customer interactions. Calilio, a cloud-based business phone system, helps bridge this gap by providing tools that directly improve customer satisfaction.

With Calilio’s AI-powered call sentiment analysis, teams can better understand customer emotions in real-time. Automatic call routing and IVR help connect customers to the right agent quickly, reducing wait times and unnecessary transfers. Customizable business hour settings ensure calls are handled professionally at all times, while call recording and analytics provide valuable data to monitor performance, train agents, and continuously improve service quality.