What is customer satisfaction?
Definition: Customer satisfaction is the reflection of how well a product or service provider has met the customer's needs and expectations.
More precisely, customer satisfaction is the result of the interaction of a customer with a brand or its product/service, which shapes the customer’s perception of the brand.
Customer satisfaction is important for businesses that want loyal and returning customers, good reviews, and a positive brand image.
Measuring customer satisfaction
Customer satisfaction score is one of the most popular metrics for measuring the level of satisfaction a customer has with your product, service, or brand.
To calculate the score, brands s ask their customers to rate their satisfaction on a scale from 1 to 5 and divide the number of high grades by the total number of answers. This metric is easy to implement and calculate, but without additional questions, it’s hard for companies to find areas of improvement.
Net promoter score measures customer loyalty and satisfaction, and it is calculated by asking customers to rate on a scale from 1 to 10 how likely they would recommend your product/service to a customer or friend.
Based on their answers, customers are divided into three groups of customers, and the percentage of customers who answered 1 or 2 is subtracted by the percentage who answered 4 or 5.
Unlike CSAT, the Net promoter score is more focused on dividing your customers into groups, and without additional questions, it won’t reveal the reasoning behind the scores.
- Customer effort score
The customer effort score indicates the level of effort a customer has to put in to achieve a specific goal or task, such as getting a problem solved by customer service or buying the product or service. Again, a direct question and rating system are used, and a low score indicates that the customer’s interaction wasn’t easy and smooth.
If the question is asked right after a specific interaction, it reveals the satisfaction of the customer and potential areas of improvement.
- Surveys and feedback
Companies find the most elaborate answers in customer surveys or through feedback. Both surveys and feedback forms are conducted through email, app, or on-site, while companies look at comments on review sites and under social media posts to find possible pain points.
Improving customer satisfaction
The strategies for improving customer satisfaction depend on the issues customers have reported. The first step is finding these pain points and areas of improvement in surveys, reviews, social media comments, or customer service interactions.
Once key issues are determined, brands put all their efforts into ensuring customers are more satisfied in that area.
Examples
- Quality/Delivery/Design — If customers aren’t satisfied with the quality, delivery, or design of the product/service, companies should gather specific teams, such as development for product/service quality, and make sure to implement the changes customers want.
- Customer support interactions — If there are a lot of complaints about the customer service, companies should consider including support operations to monitor the interactions, provide precise guidelines for support agents, or create a FAQ section for quicker self-service.
- Pricing/Value for money — If customers aren’t satisfied with the pricing, companies need to look into competitors pricing and adapt or add more value so customers don’t feel like they overpaid.
- Unmet expectations — If customer expectations aren’t met with the product/service, the company must analyze the competitors, customers, and the market to find those expectations and adjust adequately.
- Lack of communication — If customers report a lack of communication, brands should analyze their communication channels and find better ways to interact with their customers.
Examples of customer satisfaction
- Zoom — Ease of use
- Deel — Customer service
- Canva — Value for money
