Customer satisfaction (CSAT) is a metric that measures how satisfied customers are with your product, service, or a specific interaction, usually by asking them to rate it on a scale. The CSAT score is the percentage of respondents who give a satisfied rating, and it is one of the simplest, fastest ways to track customer experience. SegmentOS includes a Customer Satisfaction template that measures CSAT across key touchpoints and includes a loyalty score.
What CSAT is and how it's calculated
CSAT asks a direct question such as "How satisfied are you with X?" on a rating scale, most often 1 to 5. To calculate the score, count the respondents who chose the top satisfied options (the top two boxes on a 5-point scale, for example 4 and 5), divide by the total number of responses, and multiply by 100.
CSAT score = (satisfied responses / total responses) x 100
Worked example
If 400 customers answer and 320 rate you 4 or 5 out of 5, your CSAT is 320 / 400 x 100 = 80%. A score of 75 to 85% is a common healthy benchmark, though it varies widely by industry, so track your own trend rather than chasing an absolute number.
Sample CSAT questions
A good CSAT survey pairs the headline score with a few touchpoint and follow-up questions:
- Overall: "Overall, how satisfied are you with [brand]?" (1 to 5)
- Quality: "How satisfied are you with the quality of our products or services?"
- Value: "How satisfied are you with our value for money?"
- Support: "How satisfied are you with our customer service?"
- Loyalty: "How likely are you to recommend [brand]?" and "How likely are you to keep using [brand]?"
- Open-ended: "What is the one thing we could do to improve your experience?"
The SegmentOS Customer Satisfaction template includes all of these and adds a recommendation (NPS-style) question for a loyalty read.
CSAT vs NPS
CSAT and NPS answer different questions. CSAT captures satisfaction with a product, service, or moment right now. NPS (Net Promoter Score) measures long-term loyalty by asking how likely someone is to recommend you, on a 0 to 10 scale. CSAT is best for specific touchpoints; NPS is best for overall relationship health. Many teams track both, which is why the SegmentOS template includes a recommendation question alongside the satisfaction ratings. To dig into loyalty specifically, see calculate loyalty score.
When to use it and timing
Send CSAT right after a meaningful interaction while the experience is fresh: after a purchase, a support ticket, onboarding, or a product trial. For relationship-wide satisfaction, run it on a regular cadence such as quarterly. A typical sample is 200 or more responses for a stable score, though transactional CSAT can run continuously on every interaction. Keep it short; long surveys lower response rates and bias who replies. CSAT is not the tool for finding the acceptable price of a product or testing a new idea; use the Van Westendorp pricing study or concept testing guide for those.
How to run this in SegmentOS
- Start a new study and choose the Customer Satisfaction template.
- Enter your business or product name. The template builds the overall satisfaction rating, touchpoint ratings (quality, value, service), a recommendation question, and an open-ended improvement question.
- Review the nine questions in the survey builder, adjusting touchpoints or scales with the question types that fit.
- Send it to your customer list shortly after the relevant interaction, or set it to run on a quarterly cadence.
- When responses arrive, calculate CSAT from the top-box ratings and use segmenting your results to compare satisfaction across customer groups or tenure.
For how to launch any template, see Using templates and survey best practices.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate a CSAT score?
Divide the number of satisfied responses (the top boxes, such as 4 and 5 on a 5-point scale) by the total number of responses and multiply by 100. For example, 320 satisfied out of 400 responses is a CSAT of 80%.
What is a good CSAT score?
A score of roughly 75 to 85% is a common healthy benchmark, but it varies a lot by industry. The trend over time matters more than the absolute number, so compare against your own past scores.
When should I send a CSAT survey?
Send it right after a meaningful interaction, such as a purchase, support contact, or onboarding, while the experience is fresh. For overall relationship satisfaction, run it on a regular cadence like quarterly.
What is the difference between CSAT and NPS?
CSAT measures satisfaction with a product, service, or specific moment, usually on a 1 to 5 scale. NPS measures long-term loyalty by asking how likely someone is to recommend you on a 0 to 10 scale. The SegmentOS template includes both.
Does SegmentOS have a CSAT template?
Yes. The Customer Satisfaction template measures CSAT across quality, value, and service touchpoints and includes a loyalty score. It is a free template with nine questions and about a five-minute completion time.