Measuring What Matters
The 4 metrics that reveal what customers really think — and which one to start with for YOUR business
After this module, you'll be able to:
- Understand 4 key customer satisfaction metrics
- Know which metric to use for different situations
- Calculate and interpret scores correctly
- Get templates to start measuring this week
Why Metrics Matter
A coffee roaster in Portland had 200 customer reviews. Their average score was 4.2/5. One metric, no insights.
Then they tagged every negative review by topic. Pattern emerged: 47 people complained about shipping time. Nobody mentioned coffee quality.
They changed shippers. Complaints dropped 60% in 30 days.
Same data. Better metrics. Different business outcome.
Metrics Give You Permission to Act
You can't fix everything. You have limited time, limited budget, limited energy. Metrics show you what ACTUALLY matters to customers — not your guess, not your intuition, but their actual words organized into patterns.
The Problem Without Metrics
Without measurement, you're operating blind:
- • You think customers care about X
- • They're actually upset about Y
- • You spend money improving X
- • Y still drives them away
This happens constantly. Businesses invest thousands fixing the wrong problems while the real issues fester.
The ROI of Measurement
Companies that measure customer satisfaction systematically see:
Source: Aberdeen Group Research
This isn't busy work. Metrics directly connect to revenue and retention.
In the next 20 minutes, you'll learn which ones matter most for YOUR business.
Net Promoter Score (NPS): Will They Recommend You?
What It Measures
Overall customer loyalty. Would they recommend your business to someone else? It's the simplest, most predictive metric for long-term growth.
The Question
"How likely are you to recommend [Your Company] to a friend or colleague?"
The Scale (0-10)
Detractors
Unhappy, may damage reputation
Passives
Satisfied but vulnerable
Promoters
Loyal advocates
(Passives are counted but not included in the formula)
What's a Good Score?
| Score | Rating | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| >70 | Excellent | World-class (Apple, Costco territory) |
| 50-70 | Great | Strong loyalty, customers advocate for you |
| 30-50 | Good | Solid foundation, room for improvement |
| 0-30 | Needs Work | More passives than promoters |
| <0 | Critical | More unhappy customers than happy ones |
What NPS Tells You
- ✓ Overall customer loyalty
- ✓ Likelihood of referrals
- ✓ Long-term relationship health
- ✓ Leading indicator of growth
What NPS Doesn't Tell You
- ✗ Why they feel that way
- ✗ What specifically to fix
- ✗ Immediate action items
Pro Tip
The follow-up question is where the gold is. The number tells you WHAT. The reason tells you WHY. Always ask both: "What's the main reason for your score?"
Try the Calculation
Enter your survey numbers
Your biggest fans
Satisfied but not enthusiastic
At risk of leaving or complaining
Don't have survey data yet? Complete this module and come back after your first survey.
Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT): How Happy Are They?
What It Measures
Satisfaction with a SPECIFIC interaction or transaction. Not overall loyalty (that's NPS) — this is about the moment: Was THIS experience good?
The Question
"How satisfied were you with [specific interaction]?"
• "How satisfied were you with your support experience today?"
• "How satisfied were you with your recent purchase?"
• "How satisfied were you with your delivery?"
The Scale (1-5)
Very Dissatisfied
Dissatisfied
Neutral
Satisfied
Very Satisfied
How to Calculate
Example
100 customers rate support: 75 give 4 or 5
CSAT = 75%
What's a Good Score?
>85%
Excellent
Customers consistently happy
75-85%
Good
Solid performance
70-75%
Acceptable
Room for improvement
<70%
Needs Attention
Immediate attention required
NPS vs. CSAT: Know the Difference
| NPS | CSAT |
|---|---|
| Overall relationship | Specific moment |
| "Would you recommend us?" | "How was THIS experience?" |
| Measured quarterly | Measured after each interaction |
| Predicts long-term loyalty | Shows quality of touchpoints |
What CSAT Tells You
- ✓ How well you delivered on expectations
- ✓ Quality of individual touchpoints
- ✓ Which interactions need improvement
What CSAT Doesn't Tell You
- ✗ Long-term loyalty
- ✗ Overall relationship health
- ✗ Likelihood to recommend
When to Use CSAT
After support ticket resolved
After purchase completed
After service appointment
After onboarding completed
After any key interaction
Best Practice
CSAT after EVERY touchpoint = survey fatigue. Focus on your critical moments. For most businesses, that's 2-3 key interactions:
- After first purchase (did we deliver?)
- After support (did we help?)
- After major milestones (are they succeeding?)
Customer Effort Score (CES): Make It Easy
What It Measures
How easy or difficult it was for the customer to accomplish something. Research shows: HIGH EFFORT = HIGH CHURN.
Key Research Insight
Harvard Business Review found that high-effort experiences are the #1 driver of customer disloyalty — even more than poor product quality or service failures.
The easier you make things, the more loyal customers become.
The Question
"How easy was it to [complete task]?"
• "How easy was it to complete your purchase?"
• "How easy was it to resolve your issue?"
• "How easy was it to get started with our product?"
The Scale (1-7)
HIGHER is better — we want customers to say "Easy!"
How to Calculate
What's a Good Score?
Why CES Often Delivers Fastest ROI
Reducing effort is usually easier and faster than improving satisfaction. Small friction fixes have immediate impact:
These changes often cost little and improve loyalty significantly.
Real Scenario Examples
E-commerce Checkout
"How easy was it to complete your purchase?"
Customer Support
"How easy was it to resolve your issue?"
Product Onboarding
"How easy was it to get started with us?"
Pro Tip
"If customers love your product but hate your process, they'll leave anyway. CES catches that friction before it drives them away."
Sentiment Analysis: Reading the Mood
What It Measures
The emotional tone behind customer feedback — positive, negative, or neutral. It answers: "Is my customer base happy, frustrated, or indifferent?"
Sources to Analyze
Online reviews
Google, Yelp, industry sites
Social media
Posts and comments
Support tickets
Ticket text content
Survey responses
Open-ended answers
Email feedback
Direct messages
Chat transcripts
Live chat logs
Two Methods
Method 1: Manual Tagging
Read feedback yourself and tag as Positive, Negative, or Neutral
Method 2: AI/Automated Tools
Software analyzes text automatically
The Three Categories
POSITIVE
Sentiment: Happy, satisfied, enthusiastic
Keywords: "love," "great," "excellent," "amazing," "would recommend"
Example: "Best product I've ever bought. Customer service was phenomenal!"
NEGATIVE
Sentiment: Unhappy, frustrated, angry
Keywords: "terrible," "hate," "disappointed," "broken," "waste of money"
Example: "Ordered 2 weeks ago, still waiting. Support ignored my emails."
NEUTRAL
Sentiment: Factual, no strong emotion
Keywords: "okay," "fine," "average," "as expected"
Example: "It does what it says. Nothing special, nothing wrong."
Real Business Example
A bakery in Portland tracked review sentiment monthly.
Finding:
- • Croissants: 100% positive ("flaky," "best in town")
- • Coffee: 70% negative ("weak," "bland," "tastes instant")
Action: Switched to a local specialty roaster, promoted new brew on social media.
Result: Repeat visits up 20% in 3 months.
The information was ALREADY in their reviews. They just needed to organize it to see it.
DIY Sentiment Analysis (Start Today)
Simple process anyone can do TODAY:
Tools to Try (Beginner-Friendly)
You DON'T need expensive software to start:
Google Sheets (Free)
Create tracker, tag manually, use COUNTIF()
Sprout Social (Free tier)
Monitor social mentions, basic sentiment
MonkeyLearn (Free tier)
Paste text, get sentiment tags
Common Mistake
"Tracking sentiment without asking WHY. If 30% of your feedback is negative, you need to know specifically what the complaints are."
'Negative sentiment' is data. 'Customers complain about shipping time' is insight.
Which Metric Should YOU Use?
Quick Decision Guide
| If You Want to Know... | Use This | How Often |
|---|---|---|
| Are customers loyal? Will they recommend us? | NPS | Quarterly |
| How satisfied were they with THIS interaction? | CSAT | After each event |
| Was it hard or easy to accomplish their goal? | CES | After tasks |
| What's the overall emotional mood? | Sentiment | Continuous |
Recommendations by Business Stage
LAUNCH STAGE
(Years 1-2)CSAT (easiest, most actionable)
Sentiment monitoring (free, passive)
You're optimizing first interactions. CSAT tells you if they're working. Sentiment catches problems early with zero effort.
GROWTH STAGE
(Years 3-5)Keep CSAT + Sentiment
NPS (track loyalty quarterly)
Now you care about repeat customers and referrals. NPS shows if satisfied customers are becoming advocates.
SCALING STAGE
(Year 5+)Use all four metrics
NPS, CSAT, CES, Sentiment
At scale, you have the data volume and operational complexity to benefit from all four perspectives working together.
The Critical Mistake
"Measuring everything, acting on nothing."
Better to measure ONE thing well and improve it than track 10 metrics and do nothing with any of them.
Start simple. Add metrics as you grow.
Getting Team Alignment on Metrics
Before you pick, ask your team:
Customer Service: "What would help you serve customers better?"
Sales: "What signals whether customers will buy again?"
Product/Operations: "What feedback do you need to improve?"
Pick the metric that answers the most pressing question for your business RIGHT NOW.
The Real Power: Trends, Not Snapshots
The Key Insight
A single data point is nearly useless. Is an NPS of 45 good? Compared to what?
What's valuable is the TREND.
NPS: 35 (Q1) → 40 (Q2) → 45 (Q3)
NPS: 55 (Q1) → 50 (Q2) → 45 (Q3)
Same number. Completely different stories.
Why Trends Matter
Trends answer the questions that matter:
Is what I'm doing working?
Am I getting better or worse?
Do I need to change course?
Did that process change help?
A single number tells you almost nothing. A trend tells you everything.
How to Set Up Trend Tracking
Set Your Baseline
Measure your starting point. Don't worry if it's not good. You now have a baseline. Everything from here is improvement.
Measure Consistently
Same frequency, same method, same question wording. If you change any of these mid-stream, you can't compare.
Track at the Right Intervals
- Short-cycle metrics (CSAT, CES): Monthly
- Long-cycle metrics (NPS): Quarterly
- Sentiment: Continuous (ongoing)
Visualize the Trend
A line chart beats a spreadsheet of numbers. You want to SEE if you're going up or down.
Act on the Trend
- Celebrate (team morale matters)
- Ask: What did we do differently?
- Keep doing that thing
- Don't panic
- Ask: What changed?
- Fix it quickly
- Measure next period to confirm
Seasonal Patterns Note
If your business is seasonal, expect some variation. Summer might have lower scores due to high volume and staffing challenges.
Don't overreact to seasonal dips. Compare year-over-year trends instead.
Your 7-Day Quick Start
No software. No perfect system. Just action.
Complete these 7 steps and you'll have a working VoC measurement system.
List 3 moments when customer feedback would help you MOST:
Congratulations!
You now have a working Voice of Customer measurement system.
More importantly: You've proven to yourself you can do this.
Your Module 3 Toolkit
Download templates to start measuring this week
Survey Question Library
12 pre-written questions organized by metric type (NPS, CSAT, CES)
Feedback Tracker Spreadsheet
Ready-to-use Google Sheet with columns for tracking feedback across channels. Auto-calculates sentiment breakdown.
NPS Calculator Spreadsheet
Drop in your response data. Auto-calculates NPS, segments, and compares to benchmarks.
Close-the-Loop Email Templates
5 email templates for responding to feedback: positive, negative, feature request, resolution follow-up, and 'You Asked, We Delivered' announcements.
7-Day Implementation Checklist
Print this out and check it off as you go. Print-friendly, includes space for notes.
Related Resources
500+ businesses have mastered VoC through this curriculum
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about measuring customer satisfaction