Timing Your CSAT Surveys: What You Need to Know
Discover how you can effectively time your CSAT surveys to reach your customer base at the right time and increase survey response rates.
You’ve crafted the perfect survey with the right number of questions and targeted the right audience, but you still haven't received enough responses. What could be the reason?
One word: timing.
The phrase “timing is everything” especially rings true when sending out CSAT surveys. Businesses must identify the right moment to send customer surveys to rectify any grievances as soon as possible.
This post will explain how to time your CSAT surveys and get an optimal customer satisfaction score.
Why Timing Your Customer Surveys is Important
The timing of sending out a survey can mean the difference between it sitting in the inbox forever or grabbing your customer's attention and making them respond instantly. Here's an example:
Imagine you recently stayed at a hotel and had a negative experience with the check-in process. If the hotel sends you a survey a week later, your memory of the specifics will have faded. You might vaguely recall that something wasn't quite right, but without the immediacy of the experience, you're less likely to provide relevant feedback.
Similarly, if the hotel had sent the survey right after your check-in, you could give specific details about what went wrong, such as a long wait time at the reception desk or poor customer service.
Timely feedback would allow the hotel to address your concerns promptly and ensure they meet customer expectations in the future. It also ensures greater accuracy in customer satisfaction metrics and offers clarity on the current level of customer satisfaction.
According to Nielson, businesses prioritizing customer experience tend to outperform competitors by 20% to 80% in revenue growth. However, this success depends on collecting timely and actionable feedback for every individual customer experience.
Here are 4 reasons why timing your CSAT surveys is crucial:
Freshness of Experience: Sending your CSAT surveys shortly after a customer interaction ensures that their experience with your product or service is still fresh in their minds.
For example, After a customer reaches out to the support team with a technical issue they experienced or a question regarding a new feature, the company sends them a CSAT survey immediately after the support conversation is closed. This ensures that the customer support experience and the product is still fresh in their mind.
Relevance of Feedback: Gartner found that 94% of consumers view brands more favorably and purchase again if they invite and accept feedback from customers. By asking for feedback at the right moment, businesses demonstrate their commitment to continuous improvement.
Avoiding Survey Fatigue: Bombarding customers with surveys at inappropriate times can lead to survey fatigue, where response rates decline and the quality of feedback diminishes. Shopify reports that 40% of customers ignore surveys that arrive too frequently or seem irrelevant.
Opportunity for Recovery: Gartner notes that resolving complaints can increase customer loyalty, with 70% of complaining customers willing to do business with a company again if their concerns are resolved on time.
A well-timed survey also increases the likelihood of capturing authentic customer sentiments, thereby having the right data to reduce the number of dissatisfied customers.
When to Send CSAT Survey to Customers
Creating a strategy on when to send your survey invitations can significantly impact the effectiveness of your CSAT Surveys. According to a study by Zendesk, the best time window for sending out invitations is between 1 and 4 a.m. Surprisingly, this timing is beneficial since your email is less likely to get lost in the many messages consumers receive throughout the day. By arriving in their inbox as soon as they wake up, your survey invitation stands a better chance of being noticed and acted upon quickly.
Based on Target Audience
Determining the optimal timing for sending out your customer satisfaction surveys heavily depends on your industry and the specific demographics you serve. You must ensure proper customer segmentation and send surveys based on customer segment.
For instance, if your target demographic comprises accountants, it's advisable to avoid sending feedback surveys during March and April, the peak months for tax-related activities when accountants are overwhelmed with their workload.
Day of the Week
Checkmarket found that the survey duration significantly impacts the ideal weekday for sending it. Short surveys were most effective when initiated on Tuesdays, while long surveys performed better on Wednesdays or Fridays.
This finding also supports the notion that customer attention spans vary daily, affecting their ability to complete surveys. Similarly, it's advisable to refrain from surveying customers over the weekend to avoid disrupting their leisure time.
Furthermore, the survey's timing is determined by its length and the nature of the audience. For example, B2B audiences are recommended to be contacted during the mornings before noon or between 3 PM and 6 PM. These time slots are identified as periods when businesses are typically less occupied, allowing employees more availability to engage with and complete surveys.
According to industry benchmarks, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday emerge as the most promising days for survey distribution, while Friday mornings also present an opportunity.
Hour of the Day
According to MailChimp, sending emails on weekdays rather than weekends gets better results. Specifically, any weekday is suitable, with a slight preference for Thursday.
How Often Should You Survey Customers with CSAT?
Understanding the ideal frequency of CSAT surveys is essential for businesses across various industries to analyze levels of satisfaction and identify loyal customers. Here’s how often you should ideally send CSAT Surveys:
After each customer service interaction
You can evaluate the effectiveness of the support channel and the representatives to address any immediate concerns the customers might have after each customer service interaction, improving customer experience.
When a customer contacts the service department to resolve an issue with their product, you can design a survey with a rating scale that evaluates the effectiveness of the support channel. You can ask simple questions like - "How satisfied are you with the assistance provided by our customer support representative today?"
After each renewal
You can survey each subscription or plan renewal to understand why customers decide to continue their subscription or service, providing insights into retention strategies. For example, when a customer renews their annual subscription to a software service, you can ask questions like: "What influenced your decision to renew your subscription with us?"
After a major product update
You can also assess the impact of changes in your product, such as bug fixes or new product features that will further guide product research and development. It lets you get deeper customer insights and immediately respond to negative feedback.
Regular follow-ups every 6-12 months
You can also track long-term trends in your CSAT scores to identify improvements or areas for enhancement over time. For instance, if you continually observe poor customer effort scores, you can ideate ways to reduce survey response time.
Quick tips on running a successful CSAT survey
Design an appealing CSAT survey form: Customize your Customer Satisfaction Survey with your brand's colors, ensure it's compatible with mobile devices, and experiment with various formats to make it more intuitive and engaging (e.g., you can use widgets, modals, banners, email template surveys).
Pose relevant rating queries: Gather insights on different aspects of your business by asking relevant questions.
For instance, inquire about support satisfaction after a customer service session or assess satisfaction with the onboarding process following a sign-up. HubSpot leverages surveys to enhance its products at the individual level, making it easy for customers to provide feedback with just a single question. This setup creates a mutually beneficial scenario for both parties involved.
Incorporate a follow-up question designed to elicit a response: Consider using a binary (yes or no) query, a 5-point scale, or a multiple-choice question,
Use multiple channels to send surveys: Reach out to customers through various communication channels to maximize survey visibility and accessibility. Consider sending personalized email sequences with a survey link.
You can also send your customer base an SMS inviting them to participate by providing a link to the survey. Posting a survey link on your company's social media profiles on Instagram, Twitter, etc, encourages your followers to share their feedback. You can also display a pop-up survey prompt when customers visit your website, allowing them to provide real-time feedback.
Lastly, If you have a mobile app, send a push notification prompting users to complete a survey directly within the app.
Craft a compelling Invitation: Crafting an engaging survey invitation to encourage accurate responses from your target audience, which helps generate more valuable customer feedback.
You can summarize the survey's purpose and explain why the recipient has been chosen to participate. You can also provide a realistic estimate of the time required to complete the survey.
Let’s look at how Airbnb does it. They strategically chose an attention-grabbing brand color for the button, enticing users to engage. Adding a call-to-action button to your survey invitation emails can significantly enhance click-through rates.
By incorporating these components into your survey invitation, you can increase the likelihood of receiving positive responses and valuable insights from your audience.
💡Also read In-App Survey Questions: 65+ Examples and Templates to Use
How To Calculate A CSAT Score
What is a good CSAT score?
The industry standard for a good CSAT score is between 70% and 80%. While there's no universal benchmark, many companies aim for scores above 80% to indicate higher satisfaction levels.
How do you collect CSAT scores?
Sending surveys that receive no responses is like planting seeds in barren soil and expecting a bountiful harvest. Let's examine four effective methods on how you can collect your CSAT scores.
1. Email surveys
You can send out an email containing a survey after a customer interaction or transaction asking for their satisfaction score. For example, you might include a question like, "How satisfied are you with your recent experience?" followed by a 0-10 scale or multiple-choice questions.
2. Post-chat surveys
If you're providing customer service through a live chat feature on your website or app, you can ask users to rate their satisfaction after the chat session ends. For instance, a simple pop-up could appear with a question like, "How satisfied are you with the assistance you received today?" and a number of response options.
3. In-app surveys
You can integrate surveys directly into the app experience if you have a mobile app. This could involve displaying a survey prompt at specific touch points during the user journey, such as after completing a task or making a purchase. For example, you might ask users to rate their satisfaction with the app's performance or a recent update or you can implement a post-purchase or post-service survey to capitalize on this moment.
💡With 1Flow, you can launch effective in-app surveys to collect actionable customer feedback when customers are browsing your website or interacting with your mobile app to improve overall customer satisfaction.
4. Follow-up calls
For more personalized feedback, you can conduct follow-up calls with your customers after they have completed their interaction or purchase. For instance, a representative might ask, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied are you with your recent purchase/service?"
Building a CSAT survey that gets results
1. The shorter, the better
Lengthy surveys can limit the number of responses you receive on your customer satisfaction surveys. A recent survey conducted by HubSpot found that the optimal survey duration is 10 to 14 minutes, with respondents generally willing to engage with 7 to 10 survey questions.
2. Ask simple questions
Avoid including complex questions or industry jargon that can confuse respondents and lead to inaccurate or incomplete feedback. Keep your survey questions clear, concise, and easy to understand. Additionally, minimize the number of questions to prevent any fatigue while simultaneously ensuring a higher completion rate.
3. Let customers stay neutral
Not every experience will elicit strong positive or negative emotions, and forcing respondents to choose between extreme options can result in skewed data. If you want to gauge customer satisfaction levels accurately, let customers provide a neutral response, such as "Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied." This allows your customers to provide honest feedback without feeling pressured to exaggerate their sentiments.
Use 1flow to elevate your CSAT surveys and response rates
If you want to successfully send out your customer feedback surveys at the right time and have more satisfied customers, you need the right CSAT tool to get the job done.
1flow allows you to set triggers on when you want to display and send out surveys to your target audience.
With 1flow's advanced features and intuitive platform, you can personalize your surveys, making them more engaging and relevant to your target audience.
You can customize survey forms with your brand's colors and logos, ensuring a cohesive brand experience for respondents.
1flow offers various survey distribution options, including email, SMS, and web-based surveys, allowing you to reach customers through multiple stages of the customer journey.
By leveraging 1flow's capabilities, you can streamline the survey process, gather valuable customer feedback, and ultimately offer positive experiences and reduce customer churn.
Sign up for a free trial today.
You’ve crafted the perfect survey with the right number of questions and targeted the right audience, but you still haven't received enough responses. What could be the reason?
One word: timing.
The phrase “timing is everything” especially rings true when sending out CSAT surveys. Businesses must identify the right moment to send customer surveys to rectify any grievances as soon as possible.
This post will explain how to time your CSAT surveys and get an optimal customer satisfaction score.
Why Timing Your Customer Surveys is Important
The timing of sending out a survey can mean the difference between it sitting in the inbox forever or grabbing your customer's attention and making them respond instantly. Here's an example:
Imagine you recently stayed at a hotel and had a negative experience with the check-in process. If the hotel sends you a survey a week later, your memory of the specifics will have faded. You might vaguely recall that something wasn't quite right, but without the immediacy of the experience, you're less likely to provide relevant feedback.
Similarly, if the hotel had sent the survey right after your check-in, you could give specific details about what went wrong, such as a long wait time at the reception desk or poor customer service.
Timely feedback would allow the hotel to address your concerns promptly and ensure they meet customer expectations in the future. It also ensures greater accuracy in customer satisfaction metrics and offers clarity on the current level of customer satisfaction.
According to Nielson, businesses prioritizing customer experience tend to outperform competitors by 20% to 80% in revenue growth. However, this success depends on collecting timely and actionable feedback for every individual customer experience.
Here are 4 reasons why timing your CSAT surveys is crucial:
Freshness of Experience: Sending your CSAT surveys shortly after a customer interaction ensures that their experience with your product or service is still fresh in their minds.
For example, After a customer reaches out to the support team with a technical issue they experienced or a question regarding a new feature, the company sends them a CSAT survey immediately after the support conversation is closed. This ensures that the customer support experience and the product is still fresh in their mind.
Relevance of Feedback: Gartner found that 94% of consumers view brands more favorably and purchase again if they invite and accept feedback from customers. By asking for feedback at the right moment, businesses demonstrate their commitment to continuous improvement.
Avoiding Survey Fatigue: Bombarding customers with surveys at inappropriate times can lead to survey fatigue, where response rates decline and the quality of feedback diminishes. Shopify reports that 40% of customers ignore surveys that arrive too frequently or seem irrelevant.
Opportunity for Recovery: Gartner notes that resolving complaints can increase customer loyalty, with 70% of complaining customers willing to do business with a company again if their concerns are resolved on time.
A well-timed survey also increases the likelihood of capturing authentic customer sentiments, thereby having the right data to reduce the number of dissatisfied customers.
When to Send CSAT Survey to Customers
Creating a strategy on when to send your survey invitations can significantly impact the effectiveness of your CSAT Surveys. According to a study by Zendesk, the best time window for sending out invitations is between 1 and 4 a.m. Surprisingly, this timing is beneficial since your email is less likely to get lost in the many messages consumers receive throughout the day. By arriving in their inbox as soon as they wake up, your survey invitation stands a better chance of being noticed and acted upon quickly.
Based on Target Audience
Determining the optimal timing for sending out your customer satisfaction surveys heavily depends on your industry and the specific demographics you serve. You must ensure proper customer segmentation and send surveys based on customer segment.
For instance, if your target demographic comprises accountants, it's advisable to avoid sending feedback surveys during March and April, the peak months for tax-related activities when accountants are overwhelmed with their workload.
Day of the Week
Checkmarket found that the survey duration significantly impacts the ideal weekday for sending it. Short surveys were most effective when initiated on Tuesdays, while long surveys performed better on Wednesdays or Fridays.
This finding also supports the notion that customer attention spans vary daily, affecting their ability to complete surveys. Similarly, it's advisable to refrain from surveying customers over the weekend to avoid disrupting their leisure time.
Furthermore, the survey's timing is determined by its length and the nature of the audience. For example, B2B audiences are recommended to be contacted during the mornings before noon or between 3 PM and 6 PM. These time slots are identified as periods when businesses are typically less occupied, allowing employees more availability to engage with and complete surveys.
According to industry benchmarks, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday emerge as the most promising days for survey distribution, while Friday mornings also present an opportunity.
Hour of the Day
According to MailChimp, sending emails on weekdays rather than weekends gets better results. Specifically, any weekday is suitable, with a slight preference for Thursday.
How Often Should You Survey Customers with CSAT?
Understanding the ideal frequency of CSAT surveys is essential for businesses across various industries to analyze levels of satisfaction and identify loyal customers. Here’s how often you should ideally send CSAT Surveys:
After each customer service interaction
You can evaluate the effectiveness of the support channel and the representatives to address any immediate concerns the customers might have after each customer service interaction, improving customer experience.
When a customer contacts the service department to resolve an issue with their product, you can design a survey with a rating scale that evaluates the effectiveness of the support channel. You can ask simple questions like - "How satisfied are you with the assistance provided by our customer support representative today?"
After each renewal
You can survey each subscription or plan renewal to understand why customers decide to continue their subscription or service, providing insights into retention strategies. For example, when a customer renews their annual subscription to a software service, you can ask questions like: "What influenced your decision to renew your subscription with us?"
After a major product update
You can also assess the impact of changes in your product, such as bug fixes or new product features that will further guide product research and development. It lets you get deeper customer insights and immediately respond to negative feedback.
Regular follow-ups every 6-12 months
You can also track long-term trends in your CSAT scores to identify improvements or areas for enhancement over time. For instance, if you continually observe poor customer effort scores, you can ideate ways to reduce survey response time.
Quick tips on running a successful CSAT survey
Design an appealing CSAT survey form: Customize your Customer Satisfaction Survey with your brand's colors, ensure it's compatible with mobile devices, and experiment with various formats to make it more intuitive and engaging (e.g., you can use widgets, modals, banners, email template surveys).
Pose relevant rating queries: Gather insights on different aspects of your business by asking relevant questions.
For instance, inquire about support satisfaction after a customer service session or assess satisfaction with the onboarding process following a sign-up. HubSpot leverages surveys to enhance its products at the individual level, making it easy for customers to provide feedback with just a single question. This setup creates a mutually beneficial scenario for both parties involved.
Incorporate a follow-up question designed to elicit a response: Consider using a binary (yes or no) query, a 5-point scale, or a multiple-choice question,
Use multiple channels to send surveys: Reach out to customers through various communication channels to maximize survey visibility and accessibility. Consider sending personalized email sequences with a survey link.
You can also send your customer base an SMS inviting them to participate by providing a link to the survey. Posting a survey link on your company's social media profiles on Instagram, Twitter, etc, encourages your followers to share their feedback. You can also display a pop-up survey prompt when customers visit your website, allowing them to provide real-time feedback.
Lastly, If you have a mobile app, send a push notification prompting users to complete a survey directly within the app.
Craft a compelling Invitation: Crafting an engaging survey invitation to encourage accurate responses from your target audience, which helps generate more valuable customer feedback.
You can summarize the survey's purpose and explain why the recipient has been chosen to participate. You can also provide a realistic estimate of the time required to complete the survey.
Let’s look at how Airbnb does it. They strategically chose an attention-grabbing brand color for the button, enticing users to engage. Adding a call-to-action button to your survey invitation emails can significantly enhance click-through rates.
By incorporating these components into your survey invitation, you can increase the likelihood of receiving positive responses and valuable insights from your audience.
💡Also read In-App Survey Questions: 65+ Examples and Templates to Use
How To Calculate A CSAT Score
What is a good CSAT score?
The industry standard for a good CSAT score is between 70% and 80%. While there's no universal benchmark, many companies aim for scores above 80% to indicate higher satisfaction levels.
How do you collect CSAT scores?
Sending surveys that receive no responses is like planting seeds in barren soil and expecting a bountiful harvest. Let's examine four effective methods on how you can collect your CSAT scores.
1. Email surveys
You can send out an email containing a survey after a customer interaction or transaction asking for their satisfaction score. For example, you might include a question like, "How satisfied are you with your recent experience?" followed by a 0-10 scale or multiple-choice questions.
2. Post-chat surveys
If you're providing customer service through a live chat feature on your website or app, you can ask users to rate their satisfaction after the chat session ends. For instance, a simple pop-up could appear with a question like, "How satisfied are you with the assistance you received today?" and a number of response options.
3. In-app surveys
You can integrate surveys directly into the app experience if you have a mobile app. This could involve displaying a survey prompt at specific touch points during the user journey, such as after completing a task or making a purchase. For example, you might ask users to rate their satisfaction with the app's performance or a recent update or you can implement a post-purchase or post-service survey to capitalize on this moment.
💡With 1Flow, you can launch effective in-app surveys to collect actionable customer feedback when customers are browsing your website or interacting with your mobile app to improve overall customer satisfaction.
4. Follow-up calls
For more personalized feedback, you can conduct follow-up calls with your customers after they have completed their interaction or purchase. For instance, a representative might ask, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied are you with your recent purchase/service?"
Building a CSAT survey that gets results
1. The shorter, the better
Lengthy surveys can limit the number of responses you receive on your customer satisfaction surveys. A recent survey conducted by HubSpot found that the optimal survey duration is 10 to 14 minutes, with respondents generally willing to engage with 7 to 10 survey questions.
2. Ask simple questions
Avoid including complex questions or industry jargon that can confuse respondents and lead to inaccurate or incomplete feedback. Keep your survey questions clear, concise, and easy to understand. Additionally, minimize the number of questions to prevent any fatigue while simultaneously ensuring a higher completion rate.
3. Let customers stay neutral
Not every experience will elicit strong positive or negative emotions, and forcing respondents to choose between extreme options can result in skewed data. If you want to gauge customer satisfaction levels accurately, let customers provide a neutral response, such as "Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied." This allows your customers to provide honest feedback without feeling pressured to exaggerate their sentiments.
Use 1flow to elevate your CSAT surveys and response rates
If you want to successfully send out your customer feedback surveys at the right time and have more satisfied customers, you need the right CSAT tool to get the job done.
1flow allows you to set triggers on when you want to display and send out surveys to your target audience.
With 1flow's advanced features and intuitive platform, you can personalize your surveys, making them more engaging and relevant to your target audience.
You can customize survey forms with your brand's colors and logos, ensuring a cohesive brand experience for respondents.
1flow offers various survey distribution options, including email, SMS, and web-based surveys, allowing you to reach customers through multiple stages of the customer journey.
By leveraging 1flow's capabilities, you can streamline the survey process, gather valuable customer feedback, and ultimately offer positive experiences and reduce customer churn.
Sign up for a free trial today.
You’ve crafted the perfect survey with the right number of questions and targeted the right audience, but you still haven't received enough responses. What could be the reason?
One word: timing.
The phrase “timing is everything” especially rings true when sending out CSAT surveys. Businesses must identify the right moment to send customer surveys to rectify any grievances as soon as possible.
This post will explain how to time your CSAT surveys and get an optimal customer satisfaction score.
Why Timing Your Customer Surveys is Important
The timing of sending out a survey can mean the difference between it sitting in the inbox forever or grabbing your customer's attention and making them respond instantly. Here's an example:
Imagine you recently stayed at a hotel and had a negative experience with the check-in process. If the hotel sends you a survey a week later, your memory of the specifics will have faded. You might vaguely recall that something wasn't quite right, but without the immediacy of the experience, you're less likely to provide relevant feedback.
Similarly, if the hotel had sent the survey right after your check-in, you could give specific details about what went wrong, such as a long wait time at the reception desk or poor customer service.
Timely feedback would allow the hotel to address your concerns promptly and ensure they meet customer expectations in the future. It also ensures greater accuracy in customer satisfaction metrics and offers clarity on the current level of customer satisfaction.
According to Nielson, businesses prioritizing customer experience tend to outperform competitors by 20% to 80% in revenue growth. However, this success depends on collecting timely and actionable feedback for every individual customer experience.
Here are 4 reasons why timing your CSAT surveys is crucial:
Freshness of Experience: Sending your CSAT surveys shortly after a customer interaction ensures that their experience with your product or service is still fresh in their minds.
For example, After a customer reaches out to the support team with a technical issue they experienced or a question regarding a new feature, the company sends them a CSAT survey immediately after the support conversation is closed. This ensures that the customer support experience and the product is still fresh in their mind.
Relevance of Feedback: Gartner found that 94% of consumers view brands more favorably and purchase again if they invite and accept feedback from customers. By asking for feedback at the right moment, businesses demonstrate their commitment to continuous improvement.
Avoiding Survey Fatigue: Bombarding customers with surveys at inappropriate times can lead to survey fatigue, where response rates decline and the quality of feedback diminishes. Shopify reports that 40% of customers ignore surveys that arrive too frequently or seem irrelevant.
Opportunity for Recovery: Gartner notes that resolving complaints can increase customer loyalty, with 70% of complaining customers willing to do business with a company again if their concerns are resolved on time.
A well-timed survey also increases the likelihood of capturing authentic customer sentiments, thereby having the right data to reduce the number of dissatisfied customers.
When to Send CSAT Survey to Customers
Creating a strategy on when to send your survey invitations can significantly impact the effectiveness of your CSAT Surveys. According to a study by Zendesk, the best time window for sending out invitations is between 1 and 4 a.m. Surprisingly, this timing is beneficial since your email is less likely to get lost in the many messages consumers receive throughout the day. By arriving in their inbox as soon as they wake up, your survey invitation stands a better chance of being noticed and acted upon quickly.
Based on Target Audience
Determining the optimal timing for sending out your customer satisfaction surveys heavily depends on your industry and the specific demographics you serve. You must ensure proper customer segmentation and send surveys based on customer segment.
For instance, if your target demographic comprises accountants, it's advisable to avoid sending feedback surveys during March and April, the peak months for tax-related activities when accountants are overwhelmed with their workload.
Day of the Week
Checkmarket found that the survey duration significantly impacts the ideal weekday for sending it. Short surveys were most effective when initiated on Tuesdays, while long surveys performed better on Wednesdays or Fridays.
This finding also supports the notion that customer attention spans vary daily, affecting their ability to complete surveys. Similarly, it's advisable to refrain from surveying customers over the weekend to avoid disrupting their leisure time.
Furthermore, the survey's timing is determined by its length and the nature of the audience. For example, B2B audiences are recommended to be contacted during the mornings before noon or between 3 PM and 6 PM. These time slots are identified as periods when businesses are typically less occupied, allowing employees more availability to engage with and complete surveys.
According to industry benchmarks, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday emerge as the most promising days for survey distribution, while Friday mornings also present an opportunity.
Hour of the Day
According to MailChimp, sending emails on weekdays rather than weekends gets better results. Specifically, any weekday is suitable, with a slight preference for Thursday.
How Often Should You Survey Customers with CSAT?
Understanding the ideal frequency of CSAT surveys is essential for businesses across various industries to analyze levels of satisfaction and identify loyal customers. Here’s how often you should ideally send CSAT Surveys:
After each customer service interaction
You can evaluate the effectiveness of the support channel and the representatives to address any immediate concerns the customers might have after each customer service interaction, improving customer experience.
When a customer contacts the service department to resolve an issue with their product, you can design a survey with a rating scale that evaluates the effectiveness of the support channel. You can ask simple questions like - "How satisfied are you with the assistance provided by our customer support representative today?"
After each renewal
You can survey each subscription or plan renewal to understand why customers decide to continue their subscription or service, providing insights into retention strategies. For example, when a customer renews their annual subscription to a software service, you can ask questions like: "What influenced your decision to renew your subscription with us?"
After a major product update
You can also assess the impact of changes in your product, such as bug fixes or new product features that will further guide product research and development. It lets you get deeper customer insights and immediately respond to negative feedback.
Regular follow-ups every 6-12 months
You can also track long-term trends in your CSAT scores to identify improvements or areas for enhancement over time. For instance, if you continually observe poor customer effort scores, you can ideate ways to reduce survey response time.
Quick tips on running a successful CSAT survey
Design an appealing CSAT survey form: Customize your Customer Satisfaction Survey with your brand's colors, ensure it's compatible with mobile devices, and experiment with various formats to make it more intuitive and engaging (e.g., you can use widgets, modals, banners, email template surveys).
Pose relevant rating queries: Gather insights on different aspects of your business by asking relevant questions.
For instance, inquire about support satisfaction after a customer service session or assess satisfaction with the onboarding process following a sign-up. HubSpot leverages surveys to enhance its products at the individual level, making it easy for customers to provide feedback with just a single question. This setup creates a mutually beneficial scenario for both parties involved.
Incorporate a follow-up question designed to elicit a response: Consider using a binary (yes or no) query, a 5-point scale, or a multiple-choice question,
Use multiple channels to send surveys: Reach out to customers through various communication channels to maximize survey visibility and accessibility. Consider sending personalized email sequences with a survey link.
You can also send your customer base an SMS inviting them to participate by providing a link to the survey. Posting a survey link on your company's social media profiles on Instagram, Twitter, etc, encourages your followers to share their feedback. You can also display a pop-up survey prompt when customers visit your website, allowing them to provide real-time feedback.
Lastly, If you have a mobile app, send a push notification prompting users to complete a survey directly within the app.
Craft a compelling Invitation: Crafting an engaging survey invitation to encourage accurate responses from your target audience, which helps generate more valuable customer feedback.
You can summarize the survey's purpose and explain why the recipient has been chosen to participate. You can also provide a realistic estimate of the time required to complete the survey.
Let’s look at how Airbnb does it. They strategically chose an attention-grabbing brand color for the button, enticing users to engage. Adding a call-to-action button to your survey invitation emails can significantly enhance click-through rates.
By incorporating these components into your survey invitation, you can increase the likelihood of receiving positive responses and valuable insights from your audience.
💡Also read In-App Survey Questions: 65+ Examples and Templates to Use
How To Calculate A CSAT Score
What is a good CSAT score?
The industry standard for a good CSAT score is between 70% and 80%. While there's no universal benchmark, many companies aim for scores above 80% to indicate higher satisfaction levels.
How do you collect CSAT scores?
Sending surveys that receive no responses is like planting seeds in barren soil and expecting a bountiful harvest. Let's examine four effective methods on how you can collect your CSAT scores.
1. Email surveys
You can send out an email containing a survey after a customer interaction or transaction asking for their satisfaction score. For example, you might include a question like, "How satisfied are you with your recent experience?" followed by a 0-10 scale or multiple-choice questions.
2. Post-chat surveys
If you're providing customer service through a live chat feature on your website or app, you can ask users to rate their satisfaction after the chat session ends. For instance, a simple pop-up could appear with a question like, "How satisfied are you with the assistance you received today?" and a number of response options.
3. In-app surveys
You can integrate surveys directly into the app experience if you have a mobile app. This could involve displaying a survey prompt at specific touch points during the user journey, such as after completing a task or making a purchase. For example, you might ask users to rate their satisfaction with the app's performance or a recent update or you can implement a post-purchase or post-service survey to capitalize on this moment.
💡With 1Flow, you can launch effective in-app surveys to collect actionable customer feedback when customers are browsing your website or interacting with your mobile app to improve overall customer satisfaction.
4. Follow-up calls
For more personalized feedback, you can conduct follow-up calls with your customers after they have completed their interaction or purchase. For instance, a representative might ask, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied are you with your recent purchase/service?"
Building a CSAT survey that gets results
1. The shorter, the better
Lengthy surveys can limit the number of responses you receive on your customer satisfaction surveys. A recent survey conducted by HubSpot found that the optimal survey duration is 10 to 14 minutes, with respondents generally willing to engage with 7 to 10 survey questions.
2. Ask simple questions
Avoid including complex questions or industry jargon that can confuse respondents and lead to inaccurate or incomplete feedback. Keep your survey questions clear, concise, and easy to understand. Additionally, minimize the number of questions to prevent any fatigue while simultaneously ensuring a higher completion rate.
3. Let customers stay neutral
Not every experience will elicit strong positive or negative emotions, and forcing respondents to choose between extreme options can result in skewed data. If you want to gauge customer satisfaction levels accurately, let customers provide a neutral response, such as "Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied." This allows your customers to provide honest feedback without feeling pressured to exaggerate their sentiments.
Use 1flow to elevate your CSAT surveys and response rates
If you want to successfully send out your customer feedback surveys at the right time and have more satisfied customers, you need the right CSAT tool to get the job done.
1flow allows you to set triggers on when you want to display and send out surveys to your target audience.
With 1flow's advanced features and intuitive platform, you can personalize your surveys, making them more engaging and relevant to your target audience.
You can customize survey forms with your brand's colors and logos, ensuring a cohesive brand experience for respondents.
1flow offers various survey distribution options, including email, SMS, and web-based surveys, allowing you to reach customers through multiple stages of the customer journey.
By leveraging 1flow's capabilities, you can streamline the survey process, gather valuable customer feedback, and ultimately offer positive experiences and reduce customer churn.
Sign up for a free trial today.
You’ve crafted the perfect survey with the right number of questions and targeted the right audience, but you still haven't received enough responses. What could be the reason?
One word: timing.
The phrase “timing is everything” especially rings true when sending out CSAT surveys. Businesses must identify the right moment to send customer surveys to rectify any grievances as soon as possible.
This post will explain how to time your CSAT surveys and get an optimal customer satisfaction score.
Why Timing Your Customer Surveys is Important
The timing of sending out a survey can mean the difference between it sitting in the inbox forever or grabbing your customer's attention and making them respond instantly. Here's an example:
Imagine you recently stayed at a hotel and had a negative experience with the check-in process. If the hotel sends you a survey a week later, your memory of the specifics will have faded. You might vaguely recall that something wasn't quite right, but without the immediacy of the experience, you're less likely to provide relevant feedback.
Similarly, if the hotel had sent the survey right after your check-in, you could give specific details about what went wrong, such as a long wait time at the reception desk or poor customer service.
Timely feedback would allow the hotel to address your concerns promptly and ensure they meet customer expectations in the future. It also ensures greater accuracy in customer satisfaction metrics and offers clarity on the current level of customer satisfaction.
According to Nielson, businesses prioritizing customer experience tend to outperform competitors by 20% to 80% in revenue growth. However, this success depends on collecting timely and actionable feedback for every individual customer experience.
Here are 4 reasons why timing your CSAT surveys is crucial:
Freshness of Experience: Sending your CSAT surveys shortly after a customer interaction ensures that their experience with your product or service is still fresh in their minds.
For example, After a customer reaches out to the support team with a technical issue they experienced or a question regarding a new feature, the company sends them a CSAT survey immediately after the support conversation is closed. This ensures that the customer support experience and the product is still fresh in their mind.
Relevance of Feedback: Gartner found that 94% of consumers view brands more favorably and purchase again if they invite and accept feedback from customers. By asking for feedback at the right moment, businesses demonstrate their commitment to continuous improvement.
Avoiding Survey Fatigue: Bombarding customers with surveys at inappropriate times can lead to survey fatigue, where response rates decline and the quality of feedback diminishes. Shopify reports that 40% of customers ignore surveys that arrive too frequently or seem irrelevant.
Opportunity for Recovery: Gartner notes that resolving complaints can increase customer loyalty, with 70% of complaining customers willing to do business with a company again if their concerns are resolved on time.
A well-timed survey also increases the likelihood of capturing authentic customer sentiments, thereby having the right data to reduce the number of dissatisfied customers.
When to Send CSAT Survey to Customers
Creating a strategy on when to send your survey invitations can significantly impact the effectiveness of your CSAT Surveys. According to a study by Zendesk, the best time window for sending out invitations is between 1 and 4 a.m. Surprisingly, this timing is beneficial since your email is less likely to get lost in the many messages consumers receive throughout the day. By arriving in their inbox as soon as they wake up, your survey invitation stands a better chance of being noticed and acted upon quickly.
Based on Target Audience
Determining the optimal timing for sending out your customer satisfaction surveys heavily depends on your industry and the specific demographics you serve. You must ensure proper customer segmentation and send surveys based on customer segment.
For instance, if your target demographic comprises accountants, it's advisable to avoid sending feedback surveys during March and April, the peak months for tax-related activities when accountants are overwhelmed with their workload.
Day of the Week
Checkmarket found that the survey duration significantly impacts the ideal weekday for sending it. Short surveys were most effective when initiated on Tuesdays, while long surveys performed better on Wednesdays or Fridays.
This finding also supports the notion that customer attention spans vary daily, affecting their ability to complete surveys. Similarly, it's advisable to refrain from surveying customers over the weekend to avoid disrupting their leisure time.
Furthermore, the survey's timing is determined by its length and the nature of the audience. For example, B2B audiences are recommended to be contacted during the mornings before noon or between 3 PM and 6 PM. These time slots are identified as periods when businesses are typically less occupied, allowing employees more availability to engage with and complete surveys.
According to industry benchmarks, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday emerge as the most promising days for survey distribution, while Friday mornings also present an opportunity.
Hour of the Day
According to MailChimp, sending emails on weekdays rather than weekends gets better results. Specifically, any weekday is suitable, with a slight preference for Thursday.
How Often Should You Survey Customers with CSAT?
Understanding the ideal frequency of CSAT surveys is essential for businesses across various industries to analyze levels of satisfaction and identify loyal customers. Here’s how often you should ideally send CSAT Surveys:
After each customer service interaction
You can evaluate the effectiveness of the support channel and the representatives to address any immediate concerns the customers might have after each customer service interaction, improving customer experience.
When a customer contacts the service department to resolve an issue with their product, you can design a survey with a rating scale that evaluates the effectiveness of the support channel. You can ask simple questions like - "How satisfied are you with the assistance provided by our customer support representative today?"
After each renewal
You can survey each subscription or plan renewal to understand why customers decide to continue their subscription or service, providing insights into retention strategies. For example, when a customer renews their annual subscription to a software service, you can ask questions like: "What influenced your decision to renew your subscription with us?"
After a major product update
You can also assess the impact of changes in your product, such as bug fixes or new product features that will further guide product research and development. It lets you get deeper customer insights and immediately respond to negative feedback.
Regular follow-ups every 6-12 months
You can also track long-term trends in your CSAT scores to identify improvements or areas for enhancement over time. For instance, if you continually observe poor customer effort scores, you can ideate ways to reduce survey response time.
Quick tips on running a successful CSAT survey
Design an appealing CSAT survey form: Customize your Customer Satisfaction Survey with your brand's colors, ensure it's compatible with mobile devices, and experiment with various formats to make it more intuitive and engaging (e.g., you can use widgets, modals, banners, email template surveys).
Pose relevant rating queries: Gather insights on different aspects of your business by asking relevant questions.
For instance, inquire about support satisfaction after a customer service session or assess satisfaction with the onboarding process following a sign-up. HubSpot leverages surveys to enhance its products at the individual level, making it easy for customers to provide feedback with just a single question. This setup creates a mutually beneficial scenario for both parties involved.
Incorporate a follow-up question designed to elicit a response: Consider using a binary (yes or no) query, a 5-point scale, or a multiple-choice question,
Use multiple channels to send surveys: Reach out to customers through various communication channels to maximize survey visibility and accessibility. Consider sending personalized email sequences with a survey link.
You can also send your customer base an SMS inviting them to participate by providing a link to the survey. Posting a survey link on your company's social media profiles on Instagram, Twitter, etc, encourages your followers to share their feedback. You can also display a pop-up survey prompt when customers visit your website, allowing them to provide real-time feedback.
Lastly, If you have a mobile app, send a push notification prompting users to complete a survey directly within the app.
Craft a compelling Invitation: Crafting an engaging survey invitation to encourage accurate responses from your target audience, which helps generate more valuable customer feedback.
You can summarize the survey's purpose and explain why the recipient has been chosen to participate. You can also provide a realistic estimate of the time required to complete the survey.
Let’s look at how Airbnb does it. They strategically chose an attention-grabbing brand color for the button, enticing users to engage. Adding a call-to-action button to your survey invitation emails can significantly enhance click-through rates.
By incorporating these components into your survey invitation, you can increase the likelihood of receiving positive responses and valuable insights from your audience.
💡Also read In-App Survey Questions: 65+ Examples and Templates to Use
How To Calculate A CSAT Score
What is a good CSAT score?
The industry standard for a good CSAT score is between 70% and 80%. While there's no universal benchmark, many companies aim for scores above 80% to indicate higher satisfaction levels.
How do you collect CSAT scores?
Sending surveys that receive no responses is like planting seeds in barren soil and expecting a bountiful harvest. Let's examine four effective methods on how you can collect your CSAT scores.
1. Email surveys
You can send out an email containing a survey after a customer interaction or transaction asking for their satisfaction score. For example, you might include a question like, "How satisfied are you with your recent experience?" followed by a 0-10 scale or multiple-choice questions.
2. Post-chat surveys
If you're providing customer service through a live chat feature on your website or app, you can ask users to rate their satisfaction after the chat session ends. For instance, a simple pop-up could appear with a question like, "How satisfied are you with the assistance you received today?" and a number of response options.
3. In-app surveys
You can integrate surveys directly into the app experience if you have a mobile app. This could involve displaying a survey prompt at specific touch points during the user journey, such as after completing a task or making a purchase. For example, you might ask users to rate their satisfaction with the app's performance or a recent update or you can implement a post-purchase or post-service survey to capitalize on this moment.
💡With 1Flow, you can launch effective in-app surveys to collect actionable customer feedback when customers are browsing your website or interacting with your mobile app to improve overall customer satisfaction.
4. Follow-up calls
For more personalized feedback, you can conduct follow-up calls with your customers after they have completed their interaction or purchase. For instance, a representative might ask, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied are you with your recent purchase/service?"
Building a CSAT survey that gets results
1. The shorter, the better
Lengthy surveys can limit the number of responses you receive on your customer satisfaction surveys. A recent survey conducted by HubSpot found that the optimal survey duration is 10 to 14 minutes, with respondents generally willing to engage with 7 to 10 survey questions.
2. Ask simple questions
Avoid including complex questions or industry jargon that can confuse respondents and lead to inaccurate or incomplete feedback. Keep your survey questions clear, concise, and easy to understand. Additionally, minimize the number of questions to prevent any fatigue while simultaneously ensuring a higher completion rate.
3. Let customers stay neutral
Not every experience will elicit strong positive or negative emotions, and forcing respondents to choose between extreme options can result in skewed data. If you want to gauge customer satisfaction levels accurately, let customers provide a neutral response, such as "Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied." This allows your customers to provide honest feedback without feeling pressured to exaggerate their sentiments.
Use 1flow to elevate your CSAT surveys and response rates
If you want to successfully send out your customer feedback surveys at the right time and have more satisfied customers, you need the right CSAT tool to get the job done.
1flow allows you to set triggers on when you want to display and send out surveys to your target audience.
With 1flow's advanced features and intuitive platform, you can personalize your surveys, making them more engaging and relevant to your target audience.
You can customize survey forms with your brand's colors and logos, ensuring a cohesive brand experience for respondents.
1flow offers various survey distribution options, including email, SMS, and web-based surveys, allowing you to reach customers through multiple stages of the customer journey.
By leveraging 1flow's capabilities, you can streamline the survey process, gather valuable customer feedback, and ultimately offer positive experiences and reduce customer churn.
Sign up for a free trial today.
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