CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score)

CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score) is a customer satisfaction metric typically collected through a short rating immediately after a conversation or service interaction. A high CSAT score signals that customers rated their experience with the business as positive.

What is CSAT?

The CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score) is one of the most widely used metrics in customer service. It measures how satisfied a customer was with a specific interaction – such as a completed support conversation, a delivery, or a purchase. Unlike the NPS (Net Promoter Score), which asks about overall likelihood to recommend, CSAT always measures a specific situation.

Typical collection: immediately after a conversation ends, the customer receives a short question – “How satisfied were you with our service?” – with a scale of 1 to 5 or a selection of emoji faces. The CSAT score is calculated as the share of positive ratings (4 or 5 stars) out of all ratings submitted:

CSAT (%) = (number of positive ratings / total ratings) × 100

A score of 80% or above is considered good in most industries. Cross-industry benchmarks vary by sector, typically ranging from around 72% (telecommunications) to 88% (e-commerce).

CSAT in context with other metrics

CSAT only reveals its full value in combination with other service metrics:

  • First Response Time: Teams with a short first response time consistently achieve higher CSAT scores. A reply within one minute in live chat measurably leads to better ratings.
  • First Contact Resolution (FCR): Was the problem resolved in a single conversation? A high FCR rate drives CSAT up.
  • Transfer rate: Frequent transfers between team members frustrate customers and lower CSAT – a sign of underlying process issues.

In a unified inbox, CSAT can be tracked across all channels: WhatsApp conversations may yield different scores than email exchanges – valuable information for channel-specific service optimisation.

Measuring and improving CSAT with SendSeven

SendSeven enables automated CSAT surveys immediately after a conversation closes – across all connected channels (live chat, WhatsApp, email). Ratings appear consolidated in the Analytics Dashboard, segmentable by channel, time period, and team member.

In addition, automated workflows – such as welcome messages for faster first response times or AI-assisted reply suggestions via AI bots – reduce handling time and thereby improve CSAT structurally, not just on a case-by-case basis.