What Is CSAT? How to Measure and Improve Customer Satisfaction
What is CSAT (customer satisfaction score)? The formula with an example, CSAT vs. NPS and CES, when to survey, how to ask, and 7 ways to raise your score.
In this article
How do you know whether customers are happy with your support? Guessing isn't enough, and a few thank-you messages don't give you the full picture. CSAT is the simplest metric for answering that question: after each conversation, ask the customer.
This article explains exactly what CSAT is, how it's calculated, how it differs from NPS, and how to improve it.
What is CSAT?
CSAT stands for Customer Satisfaction Score. After a conversation ends, the customer is usually asked one simple question — "How satisfied were you with this conversation?" — and rates it on a scale, most often from 1 to 5.
How is CSAT calculated?
The most common method counts only "satisfied" answers (4 and 5 on a five-point scale):
CSAT = (number of 4 and 5 ratings ÷ total responses) × 100
Example: if 200 customers answered your survey this month and 164 gave a 4 or 5, your CSAT is 82%.
CSAT vs. NPS vs. CES
| Metric | Question | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| CSAT | "How satisfied were you with this conversation?" | Satisfaction with a specific experience |
| NPS | "How likely are you to recommend us to others?" | Overall loyalty to the brand |
| CES | "How easy was it to get your issue solved?" | How much effort the customer had to make |
To measure support quality after each conversation, CSAT fits best; NPS is better asked every few months about the overall customer experience.
When should you send a CSAT survey?
- Right after the conversation ends, while the experience is still fresh.
- Once per conversation — asking after every message wears customers out.
- After real conversations, not automated messages or spam.
How to write a good CSAT question
- Keep it short: one rating question is enough.
- Add one optional follow-up: for example "What could we have done better?", or a multiple-choice question about the reason for the rating (speed, agent knowledge, tone, problem solved).
- Stay neutral: "Were you happy with our great conversation?" leads the answer; "How satisfied were you?" doesn't.
What's a good CSAT score?
A common rule of thumb is that a CSAT above 80% is strong — but your own trend matters more than any absolute number. Also break CSAT down by channel (website, Telegram), team and request type; an overall average can hide a problem in one area.
7 ways to improve CSAT
- Reply faster. A long wait drags scores down more than anything else. See what counts as a good live chat response time.
- Solve it in one conversation. Every hand-off and "we'll get back to you" raises the chance of dissatisfaction.
- Don't make customers repeat themselves. Read the history and internal notes before replying.
- Make waiting transparent. Showing the customer's place in the queue and an approximate wait removes the feeling of being ignored.
- Follow up. A short message after the fix completes the experience.
- Learn from low scores. Read customers' comments, label the conversations and look for patterns.
- Coach with real examples. Highly rated conversations are the best training material for new agents. For tough situations, see how to handle angry customers.
Setting up CSAT in Hodhod
- Under Settings → Inboxes, open the inbox and go to the "CSAT" tab.
- Enable the survey.
- Optionally add follow-up questions: text or multiple choice, with the option to allow several answers.
- Use the survey rule to decide which conversations get the survey.
- See results under Reports → CSAT: the overall score, the trend and each customer's answers.
The survey is sent only once per conversation. CSAT is one of the 10 customer support KPIs worth tracking. To try Hodhod, request a free demo.
Frequently asked questions
What's a good survey response rate?
It depends on your channel and customers. Short surveys sent right after the conversation get the most answers. If responses are low, shorten the questions first.
Is CSAT or NPS better?
Each has its job. CSAT shows the quality of a specific conversation and gives your support team direct feedback; NPS measures overall loyalty to the brand.
Should agents see their own scores?
Yes, but with context. Look at each agent's score next to the kind of requests they handled — whoever takes the hardest complaints will naturally score lower.
