What is CSAT?
CSAT stands for Customer Satisfaction Score. It is a customer experience metric used to measure how satisfied customers are with a specific interaction, product, service or experience.
CSAT is often used after key moments in the customer journey, such as a purchase, support interaction, onboarding process or service delivery. It helps organizations understand whether the experience met customer expectations.
Quick Answer:
CSAT measures how satisfied customers are with a specific experience.
Customers are usually asked a question such as: “How satisfied were you with your experience?” They answer on a scale, for example from very dissatisfied to very satisfied, or from 1 to 5.
A Simple way to Understand CSAT
CSAT helps organizations understand whether a customer experience worked well in a specific moment.
While NPS looks at likelihood to recommend, CSAT is often more focused on satisfaction after a particular interaction. This makes it useful for understanding touchpoints such as support, delivery, onboarding or service quality.
CSAT is most valuable when it is combined with open feedback. The score can show whether customers were satisfied, but comments can help explain why.
How is CSAT Calculated?
CSAT is usually calculated as the percentage of satisfied customers.
The most common method is to count the customers who gave a positive satisfaction score and divide that number by the total number of responses.
For example, if 80 out of 100 customers give a positive score, the CSAT score is 80%.
The exact scale can vary, but the purpose is the same: to understand how satisfied customers were with a specific experience.
CSAT Example
A company asks 1,000 customers to rate their satisfaction on a scale from 1 to 5.
The results show:
- 780 customers select 4 or 5 and are considered satisfied.
- 220 customers select 1, 2 or 3..
To calculate the CSAT score, divide the number of satisfied customers by the total number of responses and multiply by 100:
CSAT = (780 / 1,000) × 100 = 78%
The company’s CSAT score is therefore 78%.
How is CSAT Used?
CSAT is often used to track satisfaction after important customer interactions.
Organizations may use CSAT to understand whether customers are satisfied with support, onboarding, delivery, product use, service quality or communication.
CSAT can also help teams identify patterns over time. If satisfaction drops after a specific type of interaction, it may show where the customer experience needs attention.
Common Misunderstandings
- CSAT is not the same as NPS.
- CSAT measures satisfaction with a specific experience, not always the full relationship.
- A high CSAT score does not explain what customers value most.
- CSAT should be combined with comments and context.
- The value of CSAT comes from using the feedback to improve the customer experience.
Related Customer Experience Topics
Explore Customer Experience further
CSAT helps organizations understand whether specific customer interactions meet expectations. When satisfaction scores are combined with feedback and follow-up, they can support better decisions about the customer experience.
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