Know your score, then beat it
How do you measure customer satisfaction in a call center? We recommend utilizing call center customer satisfaction surveys (or customer service surveys) such as CSAT, NPS, and CES.
If those acronyms remind you of the nightmarish exams we took in high school, you’re not alone. But for businesses with high-visibility customer service components, these customer satisfaction surveys are just as impactful—and can mean the difference between barely surviving and thriving.
So, what do CSAT, NPS and CES stand for in a call center? They represent the Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT), Net Promoter Score (NPS), and Customer Effort Score (CES).
Customer Satisfaction Score
The CSAT measures customer satisfaction with a business, purchase, or interaction. It’s widely regarded as one of the easiest methods to measuring customer satisfaction, and it’s obtained by asking a basic question related to the customer’s experience. Customers are asked to respond by utilizing a scale such as, “On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being not at all satisfied and 5 being extremely satisfied, how satisfied were you with your experience today?”
The CSAT score is the sum of all positive responses, divided by the total responses collected, then multiplied by 100. The result provides the overall percentage of satisfied customers for your business.
Net Promoter Score
The Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures your customers’ overall loyalty to your company. Fred Reichheld, the creator of Net Promoter Score, and his team at Bain & Company were researching whether or not a simple approach to measuring customer satisfaction could be more fruitful than longer-form surveys. They sought to develop the best “one-question indicator of customer lifetime value” (Net Promoter System).
“…one question worked best for most mature, competitive industries: How likely are you to recommend Company X to a friend or colleague? High scores on this question correlated strongly with repurchases, referrals, and other customer behaviors that contribute to a company’s growth.”
Customer Effort Score
The Customer Effort Score (CES) is a metric that measures how much effort customers put in to interact with your business. These interactions can be anything from how much effort it takes to use your products or services to how easy was it to have a problem solved by a customer service representative. People tend to do business with companies who make it easy. They also recommend and stay loyal to those companies at a higher rate than others. Knowing your CES can help determine how easy it is to a customer and better pinpoint areas for improvement in the customer lifecycle.
Customer satisfaction surveys are not about beating the competition
It’s likely you’ll never know what your competitors’ internal surveys reveal. They’re meant to establish a baseline for how your staff performs going forward—as long as the questions are consistent. Your NPS call center metric or benchmarks are tracked over time and should compare apples to apples to accurately gauge your progress.
If you’re not already measuring your customers’ satisfaction with your business, it’s easy to get started. In fact, a number of free trials are available for you to test the waters and determine what will (and won’t) work for your customers and your own reporting needs. Customer Thermometer, for example, offers free live demos and access to their platform via their website.
Improve customer satisfaction
Now that you’re keeping score, how can you improve customer satisfaction? Here are a couple of ideas:
- Become a customer again! Call your 800 line yourself, or record and listen to your agents’ calls. Find out what they do well and where they struggle. Then, offer helpful feedback to your team members.
- Ask for agents’ input. Why not go to the team members who are directly responsible for the customer’s experience? Ask them how they handle certain situations or how to improve the current scripts. They are likely to have ideas and will enjoy the opportunity to be a part of the process.
For more insight and ideas, check out another one of our articles on driving down average handle times and driving up CSAT. If you are looking to learn more about outsourcing your call center, we would appreciate the opportunity to connect and learn more about your goals and challenges. Reach out today!
