4 Types of Customer Satisfaction Surveys and How to Create Them

No one has to tell any savvy business leader that customer satisfaction is a crucial factor for the success of any business. Companies often rely on customer satisfaction surveys to measure and understand customer satisfaction levels.

These surveys allow businesses to gather valuable customer feedback and insights, helping them make informed decisions and improve their products or services.

What is a Customer Satisfaction Survey?

A customer satisfaction survey is a tool many organizations use to gather feedback and measure customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their products, services, or overall customer experience. It involves collecting data directly from customers through a structured questionnaire or survey format.

A customer satisfaction survey aims to assess customers’ perceptions, opinions, and experiences to gain insights into areas that are performing well and areas that need improvement. By understanding customer satisfaction levels, organizations can make data-driven decisions, prioritize areas for enhancement, and take proactive measures to meet customer expectations and increase overall satisfaction.

Customer satisfaction surveys typically include questions designed to gather feedback on various aspects of the customer experience, such as product quality, customer service, pricing, ease of use, or website functionality.

The collected survey data is then analyzed to identify patterns, trends, and customer sentiment. The insights gained from customer satisfaction surveys enable organizations to improve, enhance customer loyalty, and drive business growth by aligning their strategies with customer needs and expectations.

Customer satisfaction surveys can be conducted through various channels, including online surveys, email surveys, phone surveys, in-person interviews, or integrated feedback mechanisms within digital platforms. The frequency of customer satisfaction surveys may vary depending on the organization’s goals and the nature of its products or services. Still, regular customer satisfaction monitoring is essential for maintaining and improving customer relationships.

Types of Customer Satisfaction Surveys

Customer Satisfaction Survey Type 1: NPS (Net Promoter Score) Survey

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey is widely used to measure customer loyalty and satisfaction. It focuses on identifying customers who are likely to recommend the company to others.

All the magic starts with a single question: “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our company/product/service to a friend or colleague?”

Based on the responses, customers are categorized into three groups: Promoters (score 9-10), Passives (score 7-8), and Detractors (score 0-6).

How do you calculate NPS?

NPS = % of Promoters – % of Detractors

Or, you can say it’s: (Number of Promoter Scores/Total Number of Respondents) – (Number of Detractor Scores/Total Number of Respondents)

Take note: What is a good NPS? The percentage you get at the end is your NPS. Things change by industry, but anything over 50% is generally seen as a positive NPS or good, with 70% or higher considered excellent!

Example NPS Questions:

How likely are you to recommend our product to others?
Would you encourage your friends or family to use our services?

Customer Satisfaction Survey Type 2: CES (Customer Effort Score) Survey

The Customer Effort Score (CES) survey measures the ease of customer experience. It aims to understand how much effort customers need to exert to achieve their desired outcomes when interacting with a company.

Consider questions like: “How easy was it to solve your problem?” or “How much effort did you have to put in to get the support you needed?”

How do you calculate CES?

CES is calculated based on a scale, typically ranging from 1 to 7 or 1 to 5, where a higher score indicates lower effort.

Or another way to look at it isby getting the average: (Sum of ratings/total respondents)

Take note: What is a good CES score? You want your CES to behigher. On a scale, a score above 3 is considered good. Comparatively, a score of 1 would mean very high effort and not so good for your customers!

Example CES Questions:

How easy was it to find the information you were looking for on our website?
Did you find resolving your issue with our customer support effortless?

Customer Satisfaction Survey Type 3: CSAT (Customer Satisfaction) Survey

The Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) survey measures overall customer satisfaction with a specific interaction, product, or service. It provides valuable insights into how customers perceive their experience.

The CSAT survey usually uses a rating scale question, such as: “On a scale of 1 to 5, how satisfied are you with your recent purchase?” or “How would you rate the quality of our customer service?”

How do you calculate CSAT?

CSAT is calculated by averaging the responses to the rating scale question.

Or another way to look at it is: (Number of satisfied customers/total respondents) x 100

Take note: What is a good CSAT score? Between 75% and 85% is good, but make sure you’re sampling as many of your customer base as possible to ensure you’re getting representative data.

Example CSAT Questions:

How satisfied are you with the overall experience of using our product?
How would you rate the delivery speed of your recent order?

Customer Satisfaction Survey Type 4: Customer Experience (CX) Survey

The Customer Experience (CX) survey focuses on understanding customers’ holistic experience with a company. It gathers feedback across various touchpoints and interactions throughout the customer journey.

CX surveys can include a combination of Likert scale, multiple-choice, and open-ended questions. They aim to capture detailed insights about different aspects of the customer experience, such as product quality, customer service, or website usability.

How do you calculate CX?

CX surveys do not have a specific calculation method, as they collect qualitative and quantitative feedback for analysis. You want to take a comprehensive view of things like NPS, CSAT, and CES—among other key performance indicators (KPIs) metrics—to get a clear picture of the experiences your customers have with you.

Take note: What is a good CX score? You will look at positive scores on NPS, CSAT, and CES together to get a sense of how good your CX is doing. Look to deeper analytics in Sentiment Analysis of open-ended questions and.

Example CX Questions:

How would you rate the user-friendliness of our website?
Did our customer support team meet your expectations regarding knowledge and responsiveness?

Customer satisfaction surveys play a vital role in understanding customer needs and improving business performance. By implementing NPS, CES, CSAT, and CX surveys, companies can gain valuable insights to enhance customer satisfaction.

In customer satisfaction surveys, various questions can be used to gather feedback and measure customer satisfaction. Here are three commonly used types of questions!

Types of Questions on Customer Satisfaction Surveys

Likert Scale Questions:

Likert scale questions are designed to measure the degree of agreement or disagreement with a statement. Respondents are presented with a statement and a range of response options, typically ranging from “Strongly Agree” to “Strongly Disagree.” They select the option that best represents their opinion or perception. Likert scale questions allow for capturing the intensity of attitudes or opinions.

Example:

“How satisfied are you with the customer service you received?”

Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Binary (Yes/No) Questions:

Binary questions give respondents two options: “Yes” or “No.” These straightforward questions can be used to gather specific information or measure customer preferences.

Example:

“Did you find the product user-friendly?”

Rating Scale Questions:

Rating scale questions ask respondents to rate a particular aspect or attribute on a predefined scale. The scale can be numerical, from 1 to 5 or 1 to 10, or it can be descriptive, such as “Very Satisfied” to “Very Dissatisfied.” Rating scale questions effectively measure satisfaction levels and compare different attributes or experiences.

Example:

“On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the quality of our product?”

1 (Lowest)
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 (Highest)

By combining these question types in customer satisfaction surveys, businesses can collect valuable data to assess customer experiences and make data-driven improvements to enhance customer satisfaction levels.

Benefits of Conducting Customer Satisfaction Surveys

Conducting customer satisfaction surveys offers several benefits for organizations. Here are some key advantages:

Insight into customer needs and expectations
Identify strengths and weaknesses
Measure customer loyalty and retention
Drive continuous improvement
Enhance customer engagement and trust

Insight into Customer Needs and Expectations: Customer satisfaction surveys provide valuable insights into customer needs, expectations, and preferences. By collecting feedback directly from customers, organizations gain a better understanding of what their target audience values, allowing them to align their products, services, and overall customer experience accordingly.

Identify Strengths and Weaknesses: Customer satisfaction surveys help organizations identify their strengths and weaknesses. By analyzing survey responses, businesses can pinpoint areas where they excel and areas that require improvement. This information allows organizations to focus their resources and efforts on enhancing customer satisfaction and addressing pain points.

Measure Customer Loyalty and Retention: Customer satisfaction surveys often include Net Promoter Score (NPS) or Customer Effort Score (CES), which help measure customer loyalty and retention. These metrics provide insights into the likelihood of customers recommending the organization to others or their ease of doing business with the company. By monitoring these scores over time, organizations can track customer loyalty trends and take necessary actions to increase customer retention.

Drive Continuous Improvement: Customer satisfaction surveys serve as a valuable tool for driving continuous improvement within an organization. Feedback received from customers allows businesses to make data-driven decisions and implement targeted improvements. Regularly conducting surveys and monitoring customer satisfaction metrics enable organizations to measure the impact of their initiatives and refine their strategies over time.

Enhance Customer Engagement and Trust: Engaging customers through surveys demonstrates that an organization values their opinions and experiences. By actively seeking feedback, organizations foster a sense of trust and partnership with their customers. This can lead to increased customer engagement, loyalty, and advocacy, as customers feel their voices are heard, and their needs are being addressed.

The customer satisfaction survey is a powerful tool for any organization to improve their customer experience and have happier and more loyal customers. If you’ relooking to do more for your customers, create online surveys to better understand your customers and how to create lasting relationships.