What Is a Good Customer Effort Score?

Did you know that 86% of customers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience? It's true. Think about it. Customers have so many choices now. If you don't give them a great experience, they'll just go somewhere else. It's that simple.

If you want to reap the benefits of customer loyalty and retention, you need to focus on making it effortless for your customers to do business with you.

That's where the Customer Effort Score (CES) comes in. The CES is a metric that measures how much effort your customers have to put into getting an issue resolved or accomplishing something with your business.

In this blog, we're going to dive into all things CES. We'll explain what it is, how to calculate it, and what makes a good score. Plus, we'll share some tips on how to make your customers' lives easier.

Understanding Customer Effort Score (CES)

At first glance, it may seem odd to quantify something as subjective as "effort." After all, what I might consider challenging could be completely effortless for you. Yet the Customer Effort Score has found a way to accurately measure this slippery concept across large customer groups.

So, what is customer effort score? In short, CES measures how much effort your customers have to expend to get an issue resolved, or purchase from you, or use your products or services, etc.

The score comes from customer satisfaction survey questions like:

• How easy was it to handle your request?
• How much effort did you personally have to put forth to get your issue resolved?

The purpose of the CES is simple: to identify areas of friction in customer interactions so you can eliminate them. Every touchpoint—from checking out on your website to talking to a customer service rep—impacts a customer's overall effort score.

CES vs. other metrics

Before we go further, it's important not to confuse CES with related metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS) or Customer Satisfaction (CSAT). NPS measures customer loyalty, and CSAT measures customer happiness with a product or service. CES homes in on the ease (or difficulty) of customer interactions.

How CES is calculated

If you want to implement CES surveys in your organisation, you'll be glad to know the methodology is simpler than most people think.

Typically, CES surveys ask customers to rate a recent experience on a scale of 1–7 or 1–5, with 1 representing "very difficult" and 7 representing "very easy." Common CES questions include:

• How easy was it to [get an issue resolved, make a purchase, etc.]?
• How much effort did you personally have to put forth to [interact with our company]?

The ratings are then averaged to produce the final Customer Effort Score. For example, if 100 customers took a CES survey and their average rating was 6 out of 7, the final CES would be 6.

SmartSurvey provide a free CES calculator that anyone can use to calculate their score quickly, however you've captured the data. And we also have a pre-built CES survey template to speed up the task of capturing that data in the first place. All of this should leave you free to focus on analysing and applying the data to improve customer experience.

What constitutes a 'good' Customer Effort Score?

When you receive your survey results, you'll probably wonder: What exactly is a "good" CES? Like most things, it depends on factors like your industry and customer demographics. However, a good rule of thumb is to aim for an average CES of at least 5 or 6 on a 7-point scale. Just don't let a perfect 7 go to your head—that likely means customers didn't put in enough effort to rate your business honestly!

On the flip side, consistently scoring less than 5 on the CES scale is worrying. It signals that customers are finding interactions with your business more difficult than they should be. Unhappy customers may spread negative reviews that damage your brand reputation.

For example, an online retailer that scores a 4 out of 7 for CES likely has issues with its website navigation, checkout process, or product selection. Customers are having to put in too much effort to find and purchase items.

Factors influencing a good CES

Figuring out what's causing your CES score to fluctuate can be the hardest part. Many components influence how effortless (or challenging) customers perceive their interactions to be. But most boil down to:

Customer service responsiveness and efficiency

It's inevitable that some customers will have problems with your products or services. You can't control how savvy each individual is. What you can control is how quickly, efficiently, and satisfactorily your team resolves each issue.

Stellar customer service can turn a decent CES into an excellent one. But support has to be truly effortless from the customer's perspective. If they struggle to find your phone number, wait on hold for 30 minutes, or have to explain their problem multiple times, you create a higher-effort (and more frustrating) experience.

Quality of product or service and ease of use

It's common sense that if your product is confusing or doesn't work well, customers are going to have to put in more effort. And that's going to show up in your CES.

For a SaaS company, a low CES often signals that users are having trouble utilising the platform. This could stem from a confusing interface, lacking features, technical glitches, insufficient educational resources, or more.

Making how-to guides, FAQs, webinars, and other self-service resources readily available can greatly reduce customer effort. So can having attentive customer support to assist users when self-service options fall short.

Simplicity of customer interactions

Every touchpoint during the customer journey impacts effort, including:

• Billing: Is it easy for customers to understand their bills and make payments?
• Support: Can customers quickly get help when they need it?
• Website navigation: Can customers find what they're looking for on your site without getting lost?
• Purchase process: Is it smooth and straightforward for customers to buy from you?
• Account management: Can customers easily update their information or change their settings?

If any of these interactions are confusing, inconvenient, or unreliable, customers' perception of effort rises.

The relationship between CES and customer loyalty

At its core, the Customer Effort Score helps predict customer loyalty. According to Gartner, 91% of customers who have an effortless experience will buy from that company again. Plus, easy interactions drive positive word-of-mouth referrals.

The reverse is equally true. Research shows that 96% of dissatisfied customers will leave and not come back. A high-effort experience damages lifetime customer value and advocacy.

Common pitfalls when measuring CES

A few words of caution when integrating CES surveys:

As with any customer survey, be careful not to view CES data in a vacuum or emphasise it too heavily over other metrics. Some industries or products naturally have a higher baseline of effort. Supplement CES insights with related data like NPS, CSAT, churn rate, and lifetime value.

Additionally, don't simply collect CES data—act on it! Survey scores mean little if you don't course-correct based on feedback. Develop an action plan for addressing weak spots and have teams set goals around reducing customer effort quarter-over-quarter.

Best practices for implementing CES surveys

Ready to roll out CES surveys of your own? Here are a few best practices to set you up for success. Note that tools like SmartSurvey can help you with each of these best practices.

• Timing and frequency: Send CES surveys immediately following a customer interaction while details are fresh. Conduct surveys regularly rather than just annually or quarterly.
• Effective design: Frame questions clearly and make scales easy to understand. Consider both general and interaction-specific CES questions.
• Analysis and actions: Don't just monitor overall CES trends—dig into sub-groups, departments, and touchpoints. Identify priority areas for reducing customer effort based on data.
• Integration: Layer CES with other survey types like NPS and CSAT for 360-degree customer insight.

Wrapping up

Let's bring it all together. Measuring your Customer Effort Score is a great way to see how easy (or hard) it is for people to do business with you. And the easier you make things, the happier your customers will be.

Where customers are concerned, there is always room to improve. And if your CES isn't where you want it to be right now, you've got plenty of ways to make things better. Focus on smoothing out those customer interactions, and you'll be on your way to a higher CES in no time.

Key takeaways

Importance of Customer Effort Score: The CES is a critical metric that measures the ease with which customers can resolve issues or accomplish tasks with a business. A lower effort indicates a smoother experience, leading to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Difference from other metrics: CES is distinct from other customer metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS) and Customer Satisfaction (CSAT). While NPS measures customer loyalty and CSAT measures overall happiness, CES specifically focuses on the ease of customer interactions.

Calculation of CES: CES is typically measured through customer surveys where respondents rate their recent experience on a scale, often from 1 to 7. The scores are averaged to produce the final CES, with a higher score indicating less effort required from customers.

What constitutes a 'good' CES: A good CES usually falls within the range of 5 to 6 on a 7-point scale. Scores below 5 suggest customers are facing too much difficulty, potentially leading to dissatisfaction and negative reviews.

Factors influencing CES: Several factors affect CES, including the responsiveness and efficiency of customer service, the quality and usability of products or services, and the simplicity of interactions throughout the customer journey, such as billing, support, and website navigation.

Strategies to improve CES: Businesses can improve their CES by enhancing customer support channels, simplifying processes, proactively communicating to resolve issues, training staff to reduce friction, and leveraging technology to streamline interactions. These efforts can lead to higher customer loyalty and positive word-of-mouth referrals.