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Find out how the two surveys are best used in different industries and for different goals.

Customer feedback is closely related to brand reputation, customer service, and revenue. It says a lot about your company. Think about how gamers consider a new game; they generally look at reviews and community feedback to make sure developers are listening! Measuring customer sentiment with surveys and other mechanisms is a similar concept and helps you understand where your customers stand and how they’re perceiving your business. 

The two most common metrics related to customer satisfaction are the Net Promoter Score (NPS) and the Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT), and they’re used in most industries. But how do these two tools differ? When should you use each? Find out in this comparative guide.

An overview of the NPS and CSAT

Let’s start by defining each of these customer satisfaction metrics and how they work:

Net promoter score

The NPS is most concerned with understanding customer experience and loyalty, which is represented by how likely a customer is to recommend a business to people close to them. This is the simple question that the NPS asks: “How likely are you to recommend our business to a friend or colleague?”

Respondents answer on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 representing the most likely and 0 not at all likely. The NPS assesses whether or not they’d refer the business or its products to others. This indicates their commitment. 

The group of respondents in the 9 to 10 range are promoters, passives are 7 and 8, and detractors are 0 to 6. Here’s how you use those numbers to calculate your NPS:

(number of promoters - number of detractors) / (number of responses) x 100

You don’t want that NPS to be below 0, and between 30 and 100 is generally considered a high score.

Customer satisfaction score

The CSAT also measures customer sentiment, but it generally measures more immediate customer satisfaction that’s tied to a specific interaction or transaction. This metric is calculated by asking some form of, “How would you rate your overall satisfaction with the products you received?”

Customers answer on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows:

1. 1. Very unsatisfied
   2. Unsatisfied
   3. Neutral
   4. Satisfied
   5. Very satisfied

Once you’ve gathered responses, here’s how the CSAT, which is a percentage, is calculated:

(# of satisfied customers / # of survey responses) x 100 

“Satisfied” customers are those that answer with either a 4 or 5. 

NPS vs. CSAT analysis

These two customer satisfaction metrics have several important differences that impact when and how you’ll deploy each of them in your business. 

First is the focus and scope of the surveys:

• NPS: This survey is more focused on long-term loyalty and whether you’re creating brand advocates. It gives you greater insight into how customers may contribute to brand growth. However, limitations of the NPS are lack of immediate feedback and operational insights, since you’re not always aware of the touchpoint or representative that impacted the score.
• CSAT: The CSAT gives you more of that immediate feedback. You can gather actionable insights into specific service interactions to identify areas that need improvement or staff who need more training. However, the CSAT isn’t always helpful in predicting long-term customer behavior, such as loyalty.

Another area of difference is data collection and interpretation, as each tool uses a different methodology – i.e., different questions – and different scoring systems. One is represented as a number (NPS) and one as a percentage (CSAT). 

Industry-specific NPS and CSAT insights

Because businesses across industries are so different, with varying revenue streams, pain points, and priorities, the NPS and CSAT are applied differently. Here are a few distinctions to keep in mind when doing an NPS and CSAT industry comparison:

Technology sector

A great example of customer feedback metrics in tech is within MSP businesses. These businesses are significantly supported by customer service teams. This means the CSAT is well-implemented after a specific interaction so the customer can comment on interacting with the staff member and getting their issue resolved.

Retail sector

Retail is another industry where customer service reigns, so a similar approach to the above with the CSAT is a must. With NPS, this survey can deliver valuable information about how likely a person is to continue buying products from the brand and their excitement about sharing it with their loved ones.

Healthcare sector

Healthcare is a vast and unique industry, as customers are generally patients seeking care. Both the CSAT and NPS can be valuable in this sector. The CSAT can show healthcare organizations exactly which interactions impact satisfaction, such as patient intake or wait times. The NPS can show these institutions how well a patient would rate their overall experience with and perception of the provider.

Implementing NPS and CSAT in your organization

Both types of surveys may be appropriate for your business at different times and for different functions. If your goal is to measure general customer sentiment about your brand, assessing whether existing customers will return, NPS is best. It helps you come up with ways to boost retention and engagement over time.

If your goal is to assess specific staff members’ performance or understand how a new product is performing, CSAT can give you more immediate, specific information. You can then instantly address a touchpoint problem that is getting in the way of conversion or satisfaction.

Here are a few best practices when implementing these feedback methods:

• Plan in advance for when you want to gather feedback
• Assign roles for creating and tracking surveys
• Use the right tech tools to harness automation and real-time data
• Integrate the results into your decision-making processes
• Combine customer feedback with employee recognition and rewards

One way to easily implement all of these best practices in one place is to work with the Crewhu platform. This tool combines customer service management with employee recognition so you can reward performance while improving customer satisfaction.

Level-up your feedback mechanisms

Both the NPS and CSAT have their place in your business’s feedback strategy. Depending on your industry and your current business goals, each can help you better understand your audiences and find areas of improvement. Selecting the right metric will help you improve your brand reputation, customer service scores, and revenue.

Leverage a tool like Crewhu that helps you gather industry-specific insights and access more robust customer feedback tools. Explore how our platform makes it simple to gather feedback, act on that feedback, and recognize and engage employees.

Get in touch with Crewhu today to set up a demo.