Key performance indicators (KPIs) work like guiding stars that show the way to your business goals. They help to define whether the company, a certain team, or an agent meets the initial plan and show the overall progress the company makes. There is a great variety of key performance indicators related to various metrics crucial for business processes, like customer satisfaction or social media engagement.
Today, we will review CSAT vs NPS vs CES KPIs. Through our insight, you will be able to discover what these indicators are and the function they perform. Here, you can explore the main differences between CX KPIs and obtain formulas for their calculation. Join us as we explore the KPIs that best match your business needs.
Choosing the right customer experience metrics is crucial because it impacts how well you understand your customers and the target audience. They simplify the measurement of business success and the effectiveness of reaching the desired goal.
All indicators are important and cannot be replaced by one another; using the wrong metrics can lead to a misunderstanding of customers' feelings and desires. With the right metrics, it is easier to ensure that teams' efforts improve the customer experience and increase loyalty, ultimately boosting overall business growth.
The correct CX metrics highlight what works well and what requires improvement. They enhance decision-making by helping prioritize investments and work process adjustments.
To make the understanding of key performance indicators easier for you, we have prepared a short guide on three main KPIs related to customer experience.
Customer satisfaction scores serve to measure and analyze how satisfied your customers are. If you want to find out what they feel about the company's products or services, this metric is the first choice.
Usually, it is collected via surveys and customer feedback. For instance, after a purchase or interaction with support services, customers may be asked to rate how satisfied they are on a scale of 1 to 5. Some businesses collect feedback through persistent forms on webpages, while others use pop-ups in applications, messages, or other means.
Net Promoter Scores demonstrate customers' loyalty and satisfaction by measuring their willingness to recommend the company to others. NPS checks how well word-of-mouth works for your business and whether existing customers want to share their impressions with family and friends. It is a strategically valuable metrics that help predict business growth.
You can collect NPS by asking customers to rate how likely they are to recommend the company's products and services to others on a scale from 0 to 10, for example. Businesses enhance the surveys by additionally asking to explain the set mark.
The customer effort score measures the difficulty customers experience when interacting with your representatives or resolving an issue. It may include using the products or services, obtaining required information, or seeking assistance. For instance, if customers always have to put too much effort into it, they may consider choosing easier options from competitors.
You can apply CES surveys after purchases or subscriptions. They can also be useful after interactions with customer support or other service-related teams.
| Aspects | CSAT | CES | NPS |
| Focus | customer satisfaction | ease of use | loyalty |
| Timing | after purchase, service, or some time of use | after service or interactions | regularly: monthly or annually |
| Actions | improve service or product quality based on feedback | simplify and streamline operations for customers | Improve loyalty programs and brand perception |
| CSAT | Number of satisfied customers (those who set 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale) x 100 = CSAT%The higher the percentage, the better. |
| NPS | All responses are divided into three categories:Promoters (9-10) - customers who share a positive experience.Passives (7-8) - customers who are more likely to do nothing.Detractors (0-6) - customers who advise avoiding the company. % promoters - % detractors = NPS %The high percentage is a good sign. |
| CES | The average score of all collected responses.The results depend on the question you ask.For example:How easy was it, or how difficult was it, to use our services? |
The choice of metrics to track depends mainly on the type of business and the goals of setting KPI. What exactly do you want to measure, and what do you want to achieve with it?
For instance, if it is a new business that wants to build long-term connections and grow customer loyalty, you can focus on NPS. These metrics can help evaluate whether buyers or service users will remain loyal to the company over time.
Retail businesses and various customer service providers may be more interested in the CSAT, as it's a simple and effective method to evaluate current satisfaction with CX.
For SaaS businesses, CES can become one of the most valuable KPIs, as it indicates whether the application is simple to use.
Simply Contact has been providing award-winning customer support outsourcing services since 2013. Based on our experience, it’s best to use a combination of KPIs. Instead of covering only one aspect of CX, you can combine NPS, CES, and CSAT. For instance, you can apply CSAT to collect immediate feedback, while NPS enables effective monitoring of loyalty trends. CES, meanwhile, will help ensure customers will not have to suffer using your products or services.
As a result, you will be fully aware of the customer experience that the company provides. Equipped with such valuable insights, it is easier to apply necessary corrections and to tailor CX to the desired quality and level of satisfaction. Instead of looking at the CX KPIs as a choice between CES vs NPS vs CSAT, you can retrieve the best insights from all-inclusive measurements.
As an example of successful KPI implementation, we want to mention our collaboration with Fareportal. It is a US company focused on travel technology that actively collaborates with hotels, airlines, and car agencies.
Previously, Fareportal didn't monitor the CSAT at all, and with our work starting, we have increased their 0% to a decent 75%. Such growth demonstrates the effectiveness of scripts that match customer requests perfectly and efficient team training. We also paid special attention to the Net Promoter Score, which rose to 56%. As a result, assistance has become more accessible and requires less effort from customers to reach, as confirmed by over 20,000 processed calls per month.
This real-world example demonstrates that NPS, CSAT, and CES can help provide a comprehensive view of business situations. Knowing how customers feel about work processing and available services, you can adjust the whole workflow to meet their expectations. As a consequence, customers are more satisfied and can attract others to become loyal followers.
First, you need to decide what exactly you plan to check and improve. The answers to these questions will form the basis of a new customer journey. Setting measurable goals will enable more productive plan creation, and it will be easier to choose the right metrics. For instance, CSAT for satisfaction, NPS for growing loyalty, and CES for simplicity of use.
Choosing between CES vs CSAT vs NPS is not always about setting one parameter. Consider which KPI aligns with the company's objectives. You can start with one or two prioritized items and add more as needed.
Now, you can map the customer journey. It's time to choose when exactly to collect feedback. Then, you will need to design the surveys and finally launch them.
The collected information will highlight the company's weak points and help guide improvements the business needs most. The surveys will enable the effective collection of common themes in comments and loop identifications. We recommend using insights to align teams for reaching common goals.
KPI monitoring is not a one-time action; it's the journey of constant checks and improvements to make your services and products more user-friendly. Using CSAT, CES, and NPS as key performance indicators, the company can build deeper connections with customers, responding to their needs and addressing pain points.
As you can see, CES, NPS, and CSAT are key customer experience KPIs that can help tailor the customer experience and identify the root causes of problems. By monitoring interactions and collecting insights into customers' impressions, businesses can identify areas for improvement in their work processes and address them accordingly. It will lead to more satisfied customers and growing brand popularity. Consider key performance indicators as an opportunity to get a 360-degree view of CX, from satisfaction to long-term loyalty.
At Simply Contact, we specialize in creating personalized customer support solutions that drive business growth and customer satisfaction. Let us help you elevate your customer experience and stand out from the competition.
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