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New and existing customers give different types of feedback on loyalty and satisfaction.

When it comes to measuring customer satisfaction and loyalty, two surveys dominate the space: the Net Promoter Score (NPS) and the customer satisfaction score (CSAT). These tools are valuable resources for any organization looking to better understand its audiences, integrate feedback, and keep improving. 

Customer feedback also leads to better business performance. When you can identify exactly where problems lie, you can more easily address them. 

This all sounds pretty basic. But consider taking customer surveys a step further and evaluating how your different customer segments respond – new versus existing clients. This strategy provides even deeper insights into your customers. 

This post walks through how these different segments give you different insights through the NPS and CSAT surveys.

Understanding your customer segments

The first step in separating responses from your customers is to understand your two broad segments: 

New customers

Every business will have different targets, but examine prospects and the people you’ve only just gotten to convert. Consider that, in most cases, new customers may still need more nurturing and convincing. They still have high expectations from a business. They thus could be more critical of small things about your business versus your more loyal customers. 

However, remember that negative comments are extremely valuable, as they are the ones that really push you to improve and grow. Whenever you get feedback from prospects or new customers, remember just how valuable it is that they took the time to provide that feedback. Use it.

Returning customers

Now, you likely have more information on this segment since they’ve hopefully stayed with you for a while. Take a look at the length of the relationships, how they’ve shown their loyalty with repeat purchases or upgrades, and the kinds of feedback they generally give you. This segment will most likely give you higher feedback scores – their repeat business says it all, especially for the NPS.

Customer response patterns to NPS surveys

NPS surveys consist of one question: “How likely is it that you would recommend our business to a friend or colleague?” Respondents use a scale from 0 to 10 to answer. This question is aimed at uncovering how loyal a customer is to the company.

Think about the factors that guide this kind of feedback for each segment. For new customers, they’re just going off their first impressions and how satisfied they were with that initial interaction. Because they don’t have a lot to work with, they may be more hesitant to shout your praises with a 10. This is why new customers tend to give lower NPS scores.

Common factors that guide new customers may be:

• Whether the customer service representative was friendly and helpful
• If their concerns were addressed
• If they feel heard and understood
• If they think the brand has a good reputation, they would want to support

Returning customers may sometimes dip into these same themes, but they’ll be accessing information from their longer-term relationship with your business. They have a higher likelihood of giving you a great NPS score – if they are repeat customers, they’re definitely more likely to recommend you to friends or colleagues.

Customer response patterns to CSAT surveys

The CSAT is another common metric but works differently than the NPS. It’s expressed as a percentage, so it could be 0% to 100%. Typically, CSAT also includes one question but often includes more than one. An example would be, “How would you rate your overall satisfaction with the service you received?” Respondents answer using a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being Very Unsatisfied and 5 being Very Satisfied.

CSAT measures customer satisfaction, whereas NPS measures customer loyalty. This means that for new customers, you’re essentially measuring their immediate satisfaction with the first interaction. First impressions and ease of service are even more important here, as initial satisfaction depends on a positive interaction.

For returning customers, their satisfaction is based more on the ongoing relationship and less on one single interaction. These customers will give their rating based on factors like:

• Consistency in quality
• Long-term support and communication
• Satisfaction with the rate of and content in messages

Satisfaction becomes a bit complicated for loyal customers, but the CSAT is still a valuable tool to assess how they’re feeling.

How to analyze and act on feedback from different segments

Once you start examining these two segments, you’ll see how they review your company differently. Don’t be surprised if your existing customers give you higher ratings in both categories. The way you interpret these results should be guided by the type of segment you’re evaluating and how long customer relationships tend to last.

Next is acting on the information you gathered. Here are insights for each segment:

New customers

New customers need to be wowed. Start tailoring your customer service strategies so they align with this segment’s wants and needs. When writing call scripts, for example, what is most important to make people feel heard? How can you improve your training methods to focus more on new customers, addressing the feedback they provided?

Returning customers

An effective strategy with this audience is enhancing your loyalty programs. Reward people for coming back. Show them you appreciate that loyalty with perks and discounts. Another way to act on this segment’s feedback is to ensure ongoing service or product quality. This is what they’ll be using for their ratings.

Another tip for returning customers: try boosting revenue through upselling or cross-selling. This takes understanding their buying behavior and further needs they may have. Always be looking for ways to improve customer retention and lifetime value numbers.

How Crewhu helps with customer feedback

Gathering customer feedback with the NPS and CSAT helps you understand your audiences, incorporate their feedback, and address issues to keep improving. Segmenting your customers into new and existing helps you further break down where people are getting stuck in your processes, how they perceive your brand, and how likely they are to be long-term customers. 

As a business leader, focus on leveraging segment-based insights that drive improvements to your brand reputation, customer service, and revenue.

Crewhu helps you gather and use these important insights. Our platform combines customer service management with employee recognition, so you can put all that feedback to work within your teams. 

Find out more about how Crewhu can improve your feedback management processes today. Book a demo with our crew to get started.