Customers are no longer satisfied with just a good product and reasonable prices. They also expect a good — if not great — customer experience, to keep buying from the same business. To quote PwC, “If experience isn’t your strategy, you’re doing it wrong”.
According to PwC, 65% of U.S. customers find a positive experience with a brand to be more influential than great advertising. Meanwhile, Zendesk reports that over half of consumers will switch to a competitor after just one bad experience.
There are several ways to assess the effectiveness of your customer experience, but one of the key metrics is the CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score).
What is CSAT & how is it measured?
CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score) measures how your customers feel after interacting with your business, such as making a purchase or requesting customer support.
In traditional CSAT surveys, customers are asked to rate their recent experience on a scale of 1-10. Your CSAT score is calculated as the percentage of respondents who gave your business a positive rating (7-10). More advanced monitoring methods include AI sentiment analysis, which uses AI-powered natural language processing technology to extract sentiment and summarize conversations.
Where possible, you should try to gather data about every step of the customer journey, from initial contact through after-sales support. This will help you improve CSAT scores by identifying the gaps and weak links in your processes.
What is a good CSAT score?
CSAT scores vary by industry, but a good score typically falls between 75% and 85%. Here are some 2024 CSAT benchmarks by industry, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index:
- Consumer shipping: 77
- Internet service providers: 71
- Food delivery: 73
- Online retailers: 80
- Health insurance: 76
Why are CSAT scores important?
The happier your customers, the more loyal they'll be and the louder they’ll sing your praises. The CSAT metric serves as a health indicator for your business, allowing you to identify and address service shortcomings.
A good CSAT score is essential for:
- Reinforcing customer loyalty
Studies show that new customers cost up to five times more to acquire, compared to earning sales from existing customers.
- Increasing CLV (customer lifetime value)
The longer a customer stays loyal to your brand, the more total revenue you’ll generate from them.
- Reducing customer churn
Customers are spoiled for choice these days. If their expectations aren’t met, they’ll simply move on to your competitors.
- Improving brand perception
Thanks to social media, bad reviews are now more visible than before. Positive customer experiences are therefore mandatory to earn positive reviews, which automatically enhance your brand credibility and favorability.
How to improve your CSAT scores in customer service
Here are 10 actionable strategies to help you boost your customer satisfaction score and grow your recurring revenue:
- Set clear goals & expectations
Managing expectations is key to ensuring customer satisfaction. Internally, setting clear benchmarks for response times and service quality keeps your customer support teams focused and aligned. Externally, communicating your service standards demonstrates your organization’s commitment and transparency.
- Personalize your customer experience
McKinsey touts personalization as a force multiplier and business necessity. According to their research, 78% of consumers said personalized communications made them more likely to repurchase.
The message is clear: consumers don’t just want personalization, they demand it. Tailored recommendations and personalized emails, for example, are a great way to customize the customer experience to the individual buyer's behavior and needs.
- Listen to customer feedback & address concerns
It’s not easy getting customers to spend time participating in a survey. When they do, it's essential to listen to their feedback and take the necessary steps to address their concerns. This shows that you care and are committed to improving your service standards.
- Provide support across multiple channels
Offering omnichannel customer support ensures you’re easily accessible to customers. Whether it’s email, phone, web chat, or social media, it’s important to be reachable wherever your customers are.
- Have a consistent brand persona
Your brand persona or brand voice gives your business a specific character and identity, so customers know what to expect when they interact with your brand. It allows you to create consistent customer experiences aligned with your brand values and priorities. Your brand voice can be reflected in your communication style, design and user experience, and customer service approach across different touchpoints.
- Reduce response times
Customers today want it all, and they want it now. Research by HubSpot finds that 90% of consumers regard an immediate response to support requests as “important” or “very important.”, with a majority defining “immediate” as 10 minutes or less. This is where automation can lighten the load, from chatbots and AI-assisted self-service options to advanced features such as AI Chat Analysis.
- Develop & maintain a robust QA framework
Having a well-established QA framework allows you to deliver and maintain high standards of customer service. Key components of a QA framework include product and user testing, regular training & development, performance monitoring, and feedback systems.
- Create a customer community
A vibrant customer community keeps your customers active and engaged, giving them easy access to necessary resources and peer support, besides providing your organization with valuable feedback on customer sentiment and trending issues.
- Ask thoughtful survey questions
The way your survey questions are phrased influences the kind of data you’ll get. For meaningful insights that help identify specific improvement areas, here are some principles to follow:
- Ask questions that serve a specific purpose
- Use clear language that’s easy to understand
- Avoid asking leading questions that prompt a certain answer
- Use weighted ratings rather than yes or no questions
- Include open-ended questions to invite customers to share their thoughts
- Measure your CSAT score regularly
Regular tracking of your CSAT scores allows you to measure customer sentiment and monitor their satisfaction levels over time. The data analysis will also enable continuous improvements in a targeted manner.
How GoTo Connect helps improve your CSAT score
Meeting your customers' expectations starts with responding when and where they need you, and on their preferred channel. GoTo Connect Contact Center is designed for building a better customer journey. From AI-powered sentiment ratings to a seamless omnichannel experience to real-time analytics and reports, GoTo Connect makes it easy for you to elevate your customer experience.