What is Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)?

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What Is Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)?

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TL;DR

Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) is a simple, direct way to measure how satisfied customers are with a specific experience—usually right after an interaction like onboarding, support, or product use. It’s typically measured through a single-question survey and scored as a percentage. While it doesn’t capture long-term loyalty, CSAT is invaluable for spotting friction in real time and improving key CX moments. It’s one of the fastest ways to listen, learn, and act.

Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) is a transactional CX metric used to gauge how happy customers are with a specific touchpoint, such as a support ticket, onboarding session, or feature experience. It's collected via a simple survey, typically asking:

“How satisfied were you with [experience]?”

Respondents choose from a scale—often 1 to 5, where 4 or 5 counts as “satisfied.” The final score is calculated as a percentage of satisfied responses over total responses.

CSAT = (Number of satisfied responses ÷ Total responses) × 100

Unlike broader sentiment metrics like NPS, CSAT is moment-specific. It gives CX teams real-time visibility into how well they’re delivering on individual interactions—before those experiences compound into churn risk.

Its strength lies in its speed. CSAT surveys are easy to deploy, quick for customers to answer, and actionable for teams. It’s an ideal KPI to track in tactical workflows where immediate feedback matters—like resolving issues, guiding adoption, or testing new features.

Why CSAT Matters in SaaS CX

In SaaS, each customer interaction either builds or erodes trust. CSAT helps you monitor that trust in real time.

Real-Time Feedback Loop: CSAT captures sentiment right after critical touchpoints—support, onboarding, feature use—allowing teams to respond before dissatisfaction compounds.

Tactical and Actionable: It links directly to specific moments in the customer journey, helping CX and Support teams fix what’s broken—fast.

Performance Visibility: CSAT highlights gaps in service quality, UI friction, or communication that might otherwise go unnoticed in aggregate metrics.

Scales Across Interactions: Whether you're supporting 100 or 10,000 customers, CSAT gives consistent, scalable insight into how each interaction lands.

How to Measure CSAT

CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score) is measured by asking customers a question like:

“How satisfied were you with your experience?”

They respond on a numeric scale (typically 1–5), where 4 and 5 are considered “satisfied” responses.

Formula

CSAT = (Number of Satisfied Responses ÷ Total Responses) × 100

Example

If 80 out of 100 respondents gave a rating of 4 or 5:

CSAT = (80 ÷ 100) × 100 = 80%

When to Measure CSAT

After a support ticket is resolved
After onboarding is completed
After a key product milestone
Following a CSM interaction or QBR

Tips

Segment CSAT by channel, agent, or customer type
Track trends over time to catch early dips in satisfaction
Use CSAT alongside CES and NPS for a fuller view of customer experience

Final Thought

Customer Satisfaction Score gives your team a pulse on how each interaction lands with your users. It won’t tell the whole story—but it will spotlight where things are working or breaking down. In fast-moving SaaS environments, that signal is critical. CSAT helps you stay close to the customer—one experience at a time.

FAQs

What’s a good CSAT score?

Across SaaS, anything above 75–80% is generally strong. But benchmarks vary by team and channel.

How often should I measure CSAT?

After key touchpoints—support interactions, onboarding sessions, feature usage, etc. Avoid survey fatigue by keeping questions short and targeted.

What’s the difference between CSAT and NPS?

CSAT measures short-term satisfaction with a specific interaction. NPS tracks long-term loyalty and brand perception.

Can CSAT predict churn?

Not alone—but consistent low CSAT scores can signal friction that, over time, contributes to churn.

Should I personalize CSAT surveys?

Yes. Use clear language and context (“How satisfied were you with your support experience today?”) to increase relevance and response rate.