CSAT, Net Promoter Score (NPS), and Customer Effort Score (CES) are the main survey metrics marketers use to measure customer satisfaction. They capture different things: satisfaction with an experience, willingness to recommend, and how easy a task was.

What marketing metrics measure customer satisfaction?

The main direct measures are CSAT, NPS, and CES; marketers can pair them with retention, repeat-purchase, and complaint data to see whether reported feelings align with customer behavior. CSAT is most directly about satisfaction, while NPS measures recommendation intent and CES measures ease. Retention and repeat purchases are useful outcome measures, but they do not directly explain how satisfied customers feel. (theacsi.com)

How do CSAT, NPS, and customer effort score differ?

CSAT measures satisfaction with a specific product, interaction, or event; NPS measures stated likelihood to recommend; and CES measures how easy or difficult it was to complete a task. (theacsi.com)

Metric	What it asks or measures	Best suited to
CSAT	How satisfied were you with this experience? Often reported as the share choosing the top responses, though scales and calculations vary.	Checking a defined moment, such as a purchase, delivery, support interaction, or onboarding. (theacsi.com)
NPS	How likely are you to recommend us? On a 0-10 scale, NPS is the percentage of promoters (9-10) minus detractors (0-6); 7-8 responses are passives.	Tracking advocacy and the overall customer relationship. (netpromotersystem.com)
CES	How easy or difficult was it to get something done?	Finding friction in tasks such as checkout, returns, onboarding, or getting help. (qualtrics.com)

These scores answer different questions, so one cannot stand in for the others. NPS is not a direct satisfaction score, and a high CSAT for one interaction does not necessarily mean the customer feels positive about the whole relationship. Keep question wording and scales consistent when comparing results over time. (theacsi.com)

Which customer satisfaction metrics should marketers track?

Choose the metric that fits the decision: use CSAT to assess a specific experience, CES to diagnose friction, and NPS for a broader read on recommendation intent. A team improving checkout or returns may get more actionable feedback from CES; one monitoring post-purchase satisfaction may prefer CSAT. NPS is more useful for relationship-level tracking than for diagnosing a single problem. (theacsi.com)

Start with one or two survey measures rather than treating every score as a priority. Add behavioral measures such as repeat purchases, retention or churn, complaints, and task completion to check whether perceptions correspond with what customers do. Those behaviors add context; they do not prove satisfaction on their own. (theacsi.com)

How can marketers collect data for these metrics?

Ask short questions close to the experience for transactional CSAT and CES, and use periodic surveys for relationship-level NPS. Collect responses through channels customers already use, such as email, SMS, website or app prompts, or phone; use an optional follow-up question to learn why someone gave a score. (theacsi.com)

Combine survey answers with operational data, such as repeat purchase, churn, support resolution, or checkout abandonment, where appropriate. Survey responses show what customers say; behavior shows what they did. Neither gives the full picture alone. (theacsi.com)

For a team that wants to ask its own ecommerce customers, Zigpoll offers post-purchase, exit-intent, on-site, email, and SMS surveys, including CSAT and NPS. It is geared toward Shopify and ecommerce use, so it may not suit organizations seeking a broader research or enterprise feedback program. As checked November 13, 2026, Zigpoll’s Lite plan is free for 50 responses a month; paid plans start at $39 monthly or $29 per month when billed annually. (zigpoll.com)

What Marketing Metrics Measure Customer Satisfaction?