What is CSAT and why is it an important customer satisfaction metric?
Customer experience and customer satisfaction are key competitive factors in almost every industry, and measuring them systematically is essential for continuous improvement. One of the best-known and most widely used customer experience metrics is CSAT, or Customer Satisfaction Score.
In this blog, we explain what CSAT measures, why it is useful and how to use it effectively in practice.
What is CSAT?
CSAT is a customer satisfaction metric that measures how satisfied customers are with a specific experience, such as a product, service or interaction. It is based on a simple question:
“How satisfied are you with the service/product you received?”
The response scale is usually 1–5, and the result is a percentage representing the proportion of satisfied respondents. Here is how to calculate CSAT:
CSAT % = (Number of satisfied customers (ratings 4–5) ÷ Total number of respondents) × 100
What is a good CSAT score?
The expected CSAT level varies considerably by industry and service. In general, 70–85% is considered good and above 85% excellent. Expectations may be higher for consumer services and products, while slightly lower figures can still represent strong performance in B2B services where customer relationships are often more complex.
The best way to assess your CSAT score is to compare it with your industry average and your own previous results. This provides a more reliable view of progress and helps identify both strengths and areas for improvement.
Why is CSAT a useful customer experience metric?
CSAT provides a simple, clear view of customer satisfaction with a specific interaction or service experience. It is particularly useful for evaluating customer support, purchases and other service encounters, helping organisations quickly identify areas for improvement quickly.
Practical benefits
- Simple but effective: A clearly worded question and response scale make feedback easy to provide and interpret.
- Clear feedback on individual interactions: CSAT effectively measures specific encounters and service situations.
- Easy monitoring and fast response: By tracking CSAT continuously, you can quickly detect changes in customer satisfaction, for example after a particular update or operational change.
How should you use CSAT?
Effective use of CSAT depends on timing, context and analysis.
- Ask at the right time – as close as possible to the customer interaction, such as immediately after a purchase or service encounter.
- Gather more detail with follow-up questions – add an open feedback field directly after the CSAT question or use a matrix question to assess satisfaction with specific aspects, such as staff friendliness, professionalism and speed of service.
- Combine CSAT with other customer experience metrics – CSAT works best alongside metrics such as NPS (Net Promoter Score) and CES (Customer Effort Score). Read how different customer experience metrics work in practice and how they differ.
- Monitor results continuously – track CSAT performance in real time, identify trends and fluctuations, and respond to changes promptly.
By measuring customer satisfaction systematically and comprehensively, you can improve both the customer experience and your business over the long term.
Summary: CSAT is an effective metric for monitoring and improving customer satisfaction
CSAT is a valuable customer experience metric when you want to measure satisfaction with a specific interaction or service experience. It helps you:
- collect customer satisfaction data simply and effectively,
- track changes in satisfaction and respond in good time,
- build a culture in which customer satisfaction supports business success.
By combining CSAT with other customer experience metrics, you gain comprehensive insight into customers’ experiences and expectations and can improve the customer experience as a whole.
How does Webropol support customer experience measurement?
Webropol offers a versatile solution for measuring customer experience, designing and running customer feedback surveys, and reporting the results.
With one solution, you can:
- Combine CSAT with other customer experience metrics and efficiently collect and analyse open-ended feedback.
- Send surveys automatically immediately after a service interaction using a Webropol integration.
- Act on results effectively with versatile reporting and results that are easy to share.
Want to measure and improve customer satisfaction in your organisation?
With Webropol, you can measure customer satisfaction and customer experience from multiple perspectives, analyse the results comprehensively and turn insights into effective development actions. Explore our customer experience solution.
Frequently asked questions about CSAT
What is CSAT?
CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score) is a widely used customer satisfaction metric that shows how satisfied customers are with a specific experience, such as a product or service. It is based on a simple question: “How satisfied are you with the service/product you received?”
How do you calculate CSAT
The CSAT result is expressed as a percentage. To calculate it, divide the number of satisfied respondents (ratings of 4–5) by the total number of respondents and multiply the result by 100.
When should you use CSAT?
CSAT can be used after a purchase or service interaction, for example. Customer satisfaction should be measured as soon as possible after the interaction, while the experience is still fresh.
What is a good CSAT score?
Results vary by industry, but customer satisfaction of 75% or higher is generally considered good. The most important thing is to compare your results with industry averages and your own previous results.
Should you use other metrics alongside CSAT?
Yes. CSAT should be combined with other customer experience metrics, such as NPS and CES. To better understand the reasons behind the numerical results, add an open-ended question after the CSAT question or use a matrix question to measure satisfaction with specific aspects, such as staff friendliness, professionalism and speed of service.