Customer Effort Score: Why It Matters and How to Measure It

In the ever-evolving world of customer experience and customer satisfaction, the Customer Effort Score (CES) stands out as a vital metric.

Understanding and optimizing CES can lead to higher customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention. According to research, resolving issues quicker will result in more purchases later on.

If you aren’t convinced yet, read more about why the metric is important and how you can effectively measure it.

I’ll also tell how we use CES to ensure customers are happy!

What is Customer Effort Score (CES)?

Customer Effort Score measures how easy it is for customers to interact with your business and resolve their issues.

Unlike other metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS) or Customer Satisfaction (CSAT), CES focuses specifically on the ease of the customer experience.

Why CES Matters

Predicts Customer Loyalty

Studies show that the easier it is for customers to get their issues resolved, the more likely they are to stay loyal to the brand.

In fact, research suggests that they key to boosting loyalty is to minimize customer effort to a minimum.

Reduces Customer Churn

High effort interactions are a significant predictor of customer churn.

Customers who find it hard to get help or solve their problems are more likely to switch to competitors.

Enhances Customer Satisfaction

CES directly correlates with overall customer satisfaction. When customers find it easy to interact with your brand, their satisfaction levels naturally increase.

How to Measure CES

Designing Your CES Survey

1. Keep it Simple: The CES survey typically asks a single question: “How easy was it to resolve your issue today?” Responses are usually recorded on a 5-point or 7-point Likert scale, ranging from “Very Easy” to “Very Difficult.”
2. Timing is Key: Send the CES survey immediately after a customer interaction, whether it’s a customer service call, a product purchase, or a self-service action on your website. This timing ensures you capture the customer’s immediate reaction and accurate feedback.
3. Optimize for Mobile: Ensure your surveys are mobile-friendly since many customer interactions happen on mobile devices. This accessibility can improve response rates and the accuracy of your data.

Analyzing CES Data

1. Calculate the Average Score: Sum all the effort scores and divide by the number of responses. A lower average score indicates lower customer effort and a better customer experience.
2. Identify Pain Points: Look at responses to find common areas where customers report high effort. These insights help pinpoint specific processes or interactions that need improvement.
3. Act on Feedback: Use the data to make informed decisions. If a particular touchpoint consistently receives high effort scores, investigate and address the underlying issues.

Tips for Improving Your CES

1. Streamline Processes: Simplify customer interactions wherever possible. Reduce steps, eliminate unnecessary hurdles, and ensure all customer-facing processes are intuitive.
2. Enhance Self-Service Options: Provide comprehensive self-service tools like FAQs, knowledge bases, and chatbots. These tools empower customers to resolve issues quickly without needing to contact support.
3. Train Customer Service Teams: Ensure your support staff is well-trained and equipped to handle customer inquiries efficiently. A knowledgeable and responsive team can significantly reduce the effort required by customers.
4. Use Automation Wisely: Implement automated systems to handle routine inquiries and follow-ups. Automated surveys, for example, can be sent immediately after a customer interaction to gather timely feedback.

How Trustmary Uses CES Surveys to Enhance Customer Experience

CES Surveys at the End of Each Chat Discussion

At Trustmary, we prioritize making every customer interaction as seamless as possible. To ensure we maintain high standards, we implement Customer Effort Score (CES) surveys at the end of each chat discussion.

These surveys help us gauge how easy it was for customers to get the help they needed. By asking customers to rate their experience immediately after a chat, we capture accurate, real-time feedback that helps us understand their immediate perceptions.

CES Surveys After Kick-Off Meetings

We also use CES surveys following our kick-off meetings with new clients.

This critical touchpoint sets the tone for our future relationship, so understanding how easy and comfortable the process was for our clients is essential.

The feedback from these surveys allows us to refine our onboarding process continually, ensuring that each new client has a positive and effortless start with Trustmary.

Automatic Feedback Integration with Slack

To ensure transparency and a quick response to feedback, all CES survey results are automatically sent to our team’s Slack channels through integration. This setup allows everyone on the team to see customer feedback as it comes in.

When a customer provides high scores or positive comments, the team is notified immediately, fostering a culture of recognition and continuous improvement.

Providing Support for Positive Feedback

Positive feedback is not only a metric for success but also an opportunity to reinforce good practices. When a team member receives commendable feedback, we ensure they get the recognition they deserve.

This support helps maintain high morale and motivates our team to keep delivering top-notch service. Acknowledging and rewarding good performance is key to maintaining a customer-centric culture and ensuring ongoing excellence in customer service.

By leveraging CES surveys at key customer interaction points and integrating feedback into our daily workflow, Trustmary is committed to providing an outstanding and effortless experience for all our customers.

This continuous loop of feedback and improvement helps us stay aligned with our customers’ needs and expectations.

You can also use NPS to measure customer service performance to see how it affects overall customer loyalty.

This is our Trustmary Method in a nutshell:

Create CES Strategy

Customer Effort Score is a powerful metric that can provide deep insights into your customer experience.

By focusing on making interactions easier, you can boost customer satisfaction, loyalty, and overall business success.

Start measuring CES today and use the insights to create a smoother, more enjoyable experience for your customers.

Try the easiest survey tool on the market to measure CES – today!

FAQs on CES