Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)
Definition
Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) — Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) measures how satisfied customers are with a specific product, service, or interaction. Respondents rate satisfaction on a short scale — typically 1 to 5 — and CSAT is the percentage giving the top one or two ratings. It captures short-term, transaction-level sentiment.
CSAT is the simplest and most direct customer-experience metric: ask people how satisfied they were, right after an interaction, and report the share who answered positively. Because it is transactional — tied to a specific ticket, purchase, or call — it is the fastest way to see whether a particular process or team is doing right by customers.
That simplicity is also its limit. CSAT captures momentary satisfaction, not long-term loyalty, which is why support teams usually track it alongside longer-horizon metrics like Net Promoter Score and operational ones like First Call Resolution.
How It Is Calculated
Benchmarks
Benchmark ranges below are industry references, not statutory rules — they vary widely by sector and by how each firm measures. Use them as directional context, not a target guaranteed to fit your business.
- Many contact centers target roughly 75–85% top-box CSAT, though a "good" score depends heavily on industry
- For a broad economy-wide benchmark, the ACSI national index stood at 76.9 out of 100 in Q4 2025 (a modeled 0–100 measure, not the same as a top-box CSAT percentage)
- The ACSI has been roughly flat since 2017, easing about 0.5% year over year into Q4 2025
Key Points
- The American Customer Satisfaction Index national score was 76.9 out of 100 in Q4 2025 and has not materially risen since 2017. (ACSI — National Q4 2025, Q4 2025)
- ACSI uses a modeled 0–100 scale built from roughly 200,000 customer interviews a year — a different measure from the simpler top-box CSAT percentage most contact centers report. (ACSI, Q4 2025)
- CSAT is a transactional metric, usually surveyed immediately after an interaction, reporting the share of respondents who chose the top one or two satisfaction ratings (top-box / top-2-box).
- CSAT scales vary (1–3, 1–5, 1–7, 1–10); the 5-point scale is most common, with ratings of 4–5 counted as "satisfied."
CSAT, NPS, and First Call Resolution form the standard support-quality triad, and outsourced-support contracts often bake CSAT targets into the service-level agreement. When you hire customer support agents — in-house or via a BPO — CSAT is usually the headline number you manage them against.
Related Terms
Net Promoter Score (NPS) gauges customer loyalty using one question — how likely are you to recommend us — on a 0-to-10 scale. Respondents are grouped into promoters (9–10), passives (7–8), and detractors (0–6). NPS equals the percentage of promoters minus the percentage of detractors, ranging from −100 to +100.
First Call Resolution (FCR)First Call Resolution (FCR) is a contact-center metric measuring the percentage of customer issues resolved during the initial interaction, with no callback, transfer, or follow-up required. It is a leading indicator of customer satisfaction and operating efficiency, since repeat contacts raise cost and erode loyalty.
Service Level AgreementA Service Level Agreement is a formal contract between a service provider and client that defines measurable performance standards, response times, quality benchmarks, and penalty clauses for outsourced work. In remote staffing, SLAs typically specify uptime targets, response and resolution windows, and quality metrics. SLA breaches trigger contractual fee reductions.