It seems that there is no universally accepted definition of customer satisfaction. Most agree that customer satisfaction is closely connected to expectations, hence the ongoing debate as to whether it is a cognitive or an emotionally-driven process.
There are many interesting theories used to explain customer satisfaction, but the two considered to best portray the concept are the disconfirmation and value-percept theories.
The first indicates that customers compare a new experience with a standard they already have in mind, and their satisfaction with the product/service depends on whether it lives up to the respective expectations. It is a generally accepted theory, however it is difficult to apply it to all product categories.
According to the expectancy-value theory, customers make judgments about a product’s value and its benefits, based on personal needs and wants. Customer satisfaction levels depend on how close the initial judgment is to the value the product provides after the actual purchase.
To sum up, the difference between the performance of the product a customer interacts with and the personal expectation and needs in relation to it, is what shapes customer satisfaction.
Measuring CSAT
Measures how satisfied your users are with your product or a specific feature. It’s a broad KPI so it doesn’t provide much (or any) insight into exactly what elements your users are or are not satisfied with. However, used in conjunction with other KPIs, it can give you an indicator as to your user’s happiness levels—and thus how your product is performing from a UX standpoint
To measure customer satisfaction, you can ask your users to answer just one question: How satisfied are you with the product? Here, you can replace the word ‘product’ with whatever is relevant—feature, website, or app, for example.
Users can answer on a scale of 1-5, 1 being ‘very unsatisfied’ and 5 being ‘very satisfied’. Based on the answers you gather, you can calculate your final CSAT score as follows:
Add up how many users answered with a 4 or a 5 (‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’). These are your satisfied users (and the only users who will count for this score).
Divide the number of satisfied users by the total number of responses you received. For example, if you surveyed 150 users and 50 of those count as satisfied customers, you would do: 50 ÷ 150 = 0.33. You can then multiply this by 100 for an overall customer satisfaction score (CSAT) of 33%.
The definition of a ‘good’ CSAT score varies by product and industry. Research suggests that the average CSAT for e-commerce products is 77. The software industry also reports an average score of 77, compared to 75 for the online travel industry. When interpreting your customer satisfaction score, it’s important to benchmark against the average for your industry as well as your own past performance.
Define questions and then ask users.
CSAT Benefits
Can give helpful information on specific actions or aspects of the product
Can be used for any type of customer interaction
May indicate improved Customer Loyalty and Experience
Poor score is indicator of Customer Churn
CSAT generates higher response rates than other satisfaction surveys because there are fewer questions.
CSAT Limitations
Only reflects short-term customer sentiment
Focuses only on a specific customer experience
Is subjective, as satisfied can mean different things to different people (cultural bias)
The score can be inaccurate due to fear of admission
requires follow-up questions as the results might be too vague
Example CSAT questions
Rate you overall satisfaction with <Product>
Rate you satisfaction of <Function> / <Feature>
Rate your satisfaction with the time taken to complete <Task>
Rate your satisfaction in finding <Content>
Rate your satisfaction of the page load times for <product> ….eg product performance