With no one-size-fits all approach to CSAT measurement, we’re shining a spotlight on two fundamental CSAT measurement pitfalls that apply in every sector.
The payoff comes from combining measurement with a mindset shift that champions customer experience.
As we explored in our blog on overlooked customer service metrics, there’s a risk that by under-measuring customer satisfaction (CSAT), businesses leave themselves with no way to assure quality. Likewise, over-focus on measurement can hinder service levels in the long term and cause damage to brand reputation.
CSAT measurement also has an industry specific angle. For our healthcare provider clients, prescription adherence rate was a key CSAT metric—but that means nothing to our high-flying fintech clients.
With no one-size-fits all approach to CSAT measurement, we’re using this blog to shine a spotlight on two fundamental CSAT measurement pitfalls that apply in every sector. We’ve also included practical tips to help your business overcome them, strike the measurement balance, and lay a great foundation for big (and reliable) wins.
Let’s dive in.
Mistake No. 1: Forgetting to combine measurement with mindset
Using a CSAT and Net Promoter score is a great starting point, but scalable wins are created when these core metrics are combined with a mindset that prioritizes customer experience. A CX-led strategy allows you to create customer satisfaction across the whole customer relationship—rather than in only one small area of it.
This means you avoid just ticking the boxes with measurement. Instead you add value at every stage of the customer cycle by measuring what matters and assuring quality in those areas.
To make this happen at a practical level you can:
Make NPS and CSAT a joint goal: If service agents understand why these scores matter, they are empowered to take an active role in improving them. Once this understanding is instilled, NPS and CSAT targets can be integrated into appraisals (and bonus structure).
Get context-rich customer feedback: The best time to seek customer feedback depends on your specific service or product but when the time does come—get as much context as possible. A quick way to do this is using follow up prompts like “Why are you giving this feedback?” and “Are there any other comments you would like to leave?”. It’s vital that you also share this customer feedback regularly with your internal teams to help highlight where the root causes of problems are. Consistent and honest introspection combined with engaged staff allows your approach to customer experience to become a self-improving ecosystem which drives growth.
Proactively assess your product or service: Happy customers are often less motivated to give feedback so it pays to have an internal system for proactive assessment and improvement. You should also consider how changing policies and procedures will affect future interaction.
Mistake No. 2: Underestimating the importance of agent retention
If you fail to make employee satisfaction or agent retention rate a key metric, you’re welcoming in a cold blooded CSAT killer.
Happy employees deliver better customer service—if they’re leaving, chances are they’ve been dragging down your CSAT score with them for a while. The more training and experience agents have, the more they drive your CSAT score. The longer they stay, the more return on training investment you get, the less you spend on talent acquisition and onboarding, and the more you can invest in other CSAT drivers like product improvements.
So how can you keep agents and access these cascading benefits?
Reassess your agent culture: Empower your agents not just as experts in your product or service, but also in customer relationships. Listen to their feedback, and combine robust support and career development structures with trust in their judgement. That means giving them the responsibility and authority to turn problems around themselves (and in their own way).
Give agents the right tools for the job: Look at your workflows and technical provisions for agents through a kind of “Net Easy For Employee” This works wonders for retention.
If your agents have the right systems to access the data they need without juggling multiple platforms, are supported by AI-driven tools, and trust that processes are designed with agent enablement and empowerment in mind—they provide better service. This will boost first call resolution rates, increase CSAT, and build brand reputation.
If you want the full lowdown on retention, we strongly recommend our retention whitepaper.
The payoff? A robust platform to measure CSAT effectively
By combining measurement with a mindset shift that champions customer experience, and by ensuring you can keep your high-value agents—you can get the most out of your metric framework. The potential benefits are so vast, that it pays to make sure you acknowledge (and avoid) these pitfalls as early as possible.
1. Combine measurement with a CX mindset: Make NPS and CSAT a joint goal with your agents, get as much customer feedback context as possible, and proactively work to improve your product or service before customer feedback tells you to.
2. Make agent retention a priority: Measure employee satisfaction and retention, empower your agents as experts, give them responsibility and autonomy, and provide the best tools to do their job.
That’s just a snapshot of our thoughts on effective CSAT measurement.
If you’d like to find out more about how we help businesses achieve the ideal balance, read "The Bible."
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