The Importance of Customer Effort Score (CES) in Customer Experience

In the realm of customer experience (CX), many companies focus on popular KPIs such as Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) and Net Promoter Score (NPS). While these metrics are valuable, the Customer Effort Score (CES) is often overlooked. This is unfortunate because CES measures an essential aspect of the customer experience that can explain issues with customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Why CES Matters

CES gauges the ease with which customers can interact with a business. It is evident that customers prefer dealing with companies that are easy to work with. “Ease” can encompass various factors, including quicker response times, more convenient communication channels, better product activation and faster onboarding, and fewer steps to complete tasks. When customers find it easy to interact with a business, their satisfaction and loyalty are likely to increase.

Benefits of Measuring CES

1. Identifying Pain Points: CES helps identify areas where customers face difficulties. For example, it can reveal issues with a mobile app or online portal, or highlight inefficiencies in the contact center and customer service processes.
2. Improving Customer Experience: By understanding where customers struggle, companies can make targeted improvements to enhance the overall experience. This might involve streamlining processes, enhancing digital interfaces, or providing better support.
3. Segmenting Customers: Proper segmentation of CES results allows companies to see that different types of customers may struggle with different aspects of the product or service. This insight enables businesses to tailor their offerings to better meet the needs of various customer segments.

Measuring CES Effectively

CES is a post-interaction KPI, meaning it is best measured immediately after a customer interaction. The “moment of truth” approach is ideal for this purpose, as it involves collecting feedback on the same channel right after the interaction has occurred. This ensures that the feedback is fresh and accurately reflects the customer’s experience.