The short answer
| Aspect | CSAT | NPS |
|---|---|---|
| Question | How satisfied were you with [this] today? | How likely are you to recommend us? |
| What it measures | Satisfaction with one interaction | Willingness to recommend overall |
| Scale | Commonly 1 to 5 | 0 to 10 |
| Calculation | Share of top-two scores, or the average | % promoters minus % detractors |
| Timing | Straight after the interaction | Periodically or at milestones |
| Sensitivity | Reacts quickly to operational changes | Moves more slowly |
| Best use | Managing stores, channels and teams | Tracking the relationship over time |
The CSAT vs NPS question comes down to scope. Customer satisfaction (CSAT) asks how satisfied a customer was with something specific, usually just after it happened. Net Promoter Score (NPS) asks how likely they are to recommend you, which reflects the relationship as a whole. A customer can be satisfied with today's visit and still not recommend you, or the other way round.
CSAT
- Question: "How satisfied were you with [your visit / your order / our support] today?"
- Scale: commonly 1 to 5, sometimes 1 to 7 or 1 to 10.
- Calculation: usually the share of respondents giving the top two scores (4 or 5 on a 5-point scale), or the average score. State which you use.
- When: immediately after an interaction.
NPS
Net Promoter Score asks "How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?" on a scale of 0 to 10. Respondents who answer 9 or 10 are promoters, 7 or 8 passives and 0 to 6 detractors; NPS is the percentage of promoters minus the percentage of detractors, so it ranges from -100 to +100.
The approach was described by Fred Reichheld of Bain & Company in a 2003 Harvard Business Review article, "The One Number You Need to Grow".
How NPS is defined and calculated.
Measuring your Net Promoter Score (Net Promoter System, Bain & Company)Reichheld's original article.
The One Number You Need to Grow, Frederick F. Reichheld (Harvard Business Review, December 2003)Side by side
- What it measures: CSAT, satisfaction with one interaction; NPS, willingness to recommend overall.
- Timing: CSAT, straight after the interaction; NPS, periodically or at milestones.
- Sensitivity: CSAT reacts quickly to operational changes; NPS moves more slowly.
- Use: CSAT to manage stores, channels and teams; NPS to track the relationship and compare over time.
- Weakness: CSAT can be high while loyalty is weak; NPS can move for reasons unrelated to service, such as price changes.
When to use which
- To manage store or support quality week to week: CSAT.
- To track how customers feel about the brand over quarters: NPS.
- To find out why either moved: neither. You need the reasons customers give.
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Both need reasons
A score tells you that something changed, not what. Always add one open question, such as "What is the main reason for your score?", and classify the answers by topic. Then compare what detractors mention with what promoters mention. Public reviews add a second source of reasons that customers give without being asked.
CSAT vs NPS vs CES: which metric to use.
Csat vs nps vs cesReview-based CX metrics: negative share, change and coverage.
Review based cx metrics negative share change coveragePitfalls
- Comparing NPS across industries or countries without context; cultural response styles differ.
- Changing the question wording or scale, which breaks the trend.
- Rewarding staff for scores, which invites gaming such as asking only happy customers.
- Reporting averages without response counts.
- Treating the score as the goal instead of the experience behind it.
Common questions
Can I calculate NPS from a 1 to 5 scale?
Not properly. NPS is defined on 0 to 10 with fixed bands; converting other scales gives a different measure.
Is a CSAT of 80% good?
It depends on how you calculate it, your industry and your history. Compare with your own trend and with similar stores or channels.
Should we run both?
Many brands do: CSAT after interactions, NPS a few times a year. Keep them clearly separate in reporting.
Which predicts revenue better?
Results vary by business. Test it against your own retention and repeat-purchase data rather than relying on general claims.
Doing this with Falcon
Falcon adds the review-based measures to your CX metrics: for every theme and store, the volume of mentions, negative share, its change month to month and the number of reviews behind it, from Google Maps reviews of your stores and Google Play reviews of your app. Every number opens the reviews that explain it, which survey scores alone cannot do.