Distinguishing between NPS, CSAT, CES – Which metric is best for measuring CX?

Need to think right about customers and customer service

For a business, the core element that makes up its success is its customers. Knowing who your customers are and how they feel on their journey is what your business needs to do if it wants to connect with them and build a long-term relationship with them.

Accordingly, businesses need to focus on metrics or toolkits that help measure their experience. NPS, CES, and CSAT are all metrics that measure CX customer experience. 

70% managers believe that CX will help their companies create a distinct competitive advantage. So how are these indicators measured and what role do they play in improving business services? 

NPS – Net Promoter Score

NPS is a measure of how likely customers are to continue using your product and recommend it to others.

NPS answers the question “How likely are you to recommend (company, product, service, etc.) to a friend or colleague?”. This metric can help measure the quality of a company’s products and services. It also provides valuable data on the likelihood of generating new orders from existing customers.

NPS Formula = % Promoters – % Detractors

NPS là gì? "Chỉ số vàng" giúp doanh nghiệp đo lường trải nghiệm khách hàng

Read more about NPS index in This.

CSAT – Customer Satisfaction

CSAT is a measure of customer satisfaction.

CSAT is measured through the question: “How would you rate your satisfaction with (product/service/space/staff attitude,…)?” CSAT is used to measure customer satisfaction with a specific process or event. 

Survey questions can be divided into two common scales: 

  • 3-point scale with options: Dissatisfied, neutral, satisfied.
  • 5-point scale with options: Very dissatisfied, dissatisfied, neutral, satisfied and very satisfied.

CSAT calculation formula = (Number of satisfied people) / (Total number of respondents) x 100

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Customer Effort Score – CES

CES is the customer effort index.

CES is measured using the question “How easy/convenient was your experience?”. Using a scale from 1 = “very difficult” to 7 = “very easy”.

This metric is used to measure the level of effort a customer goes through when interacting with a company's brand. It is also a short-term metric for customer experience. 

CES calculation formula = (Sum of scores of all respondents) / (Total number of respondents)

 

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Compare 3 indexes NPS, CSAT, CES

CSAT CES NPS
Survey questions  How do you rate your satisfaction with (product, service, space, etc.)? Is the experience (product, service, warranty, etc.) easy? Would you recommend this (company, product, service,…) to a friend or colleague?
Scoring scale  3 or 5 7 10
Meaning of the index Evaluate whether the actual experiences your business provides meet customer expectations. Assess ease of access to business services. Control negative experiences and promote positive ones. The foundation for nurturing loyal customers.
Scope of application  Focus on specific touch points such as product satisfaction, service, returns, etc. Does not reflect the overall relationship between customers and businesses CES can address customer service hurdles, but it doesn't get into why customers have problems, nor does it predict what problems might arise. Because the question is general, it only captures the overall relationship between the business and the customer. It is not possible to identify specific areas for improvement without using follow-up open-ended questions.
Applicable value Short term Short term Long term

Which customer experience metrics should you use?

As we have analyzed the differences between NPS, CSAT and CES above, we can see that each index has a different meaning and is collected for different purposes. They do not exist independently but complement each other to have the most complete picture of customer experience.

NPS and CSAT are considered the two most popular metrics. Those who are new to measuring customer experience mainly use NPS. Later, as they gain experience, they gradually switch to more diverse metrics.

CES is a new and quite industry-specific index, so later, when they understand customer experience better, businesses will begin to apply this index to measurement.

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Measuring CX is essential to help companies understand where they stand and find the key to creating a competitive advantage over their competitors. Bellsystem24 Vietnam has worked with many businesses to create experiences that are highly appreciated by customers. We are honored to be one of your next partners! 

Businesses wanting to learn more about customer service, see more HERE 

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