Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Definition

What is customer satisfaction?

Customer satisfaction, or CSAT, is a broader group of metrics designed to show how delighted customers are with your experience as a brand. You could think of it as a barometer for customer experience and product quality, in many ways. There are ultimately tons of different surveys that companies run with customers and entire departments of companies and third-party vendors who help with this information. Common ideas like Net Promoter Score (NPS), or even Customer Effort Score (CES), are considered versions of CSAT metrics.

In general, though, when someone refers to “CSAT,” they are referring to a comprehensive array of metrics designed to gauge how you’re performing in the eyes of end-users. Each company will have a specific approach and a specific slate of metrics that define their particular CSAT, but the idea is to keep your finger on the pulse of how your customers perceive you.

As with any data set, CSAT only works effectively for companies if it is pointed towards action. If it’s just collected and not acted upon, it’s useless navel-gazing for that business. If companies monitor CSAT and respond to dips in CSAT metrics, either by hiring more agents, embracing new channels of support, changing product design, etc.. then CSAT has been valuable for that company. In short, don’t just track it and report on it to executives. It needs to inform decision-making.