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NPS vs. CSAT vs. CES: Which Metric When

These three metrics get used interchangeably, but they measure genuinely different things.

NPS (Net Promoter Score)

"How likely are you to recommend us?" - measures overall relationship loyalty. Best sent periodically (quarterly) rather than after every interaction, since it's a brand-level metric, not a moment-level one.

CSAT (Customer Satisfaction)

"How satisfied were you with this?" - measures satisfaction with one specific interaction. Send it immediately after a support ticket, purchase, or onboarding step, while the experience is still fresh.

CES (Customer Effort Score)

"How easy was it to get your issue resolved?" - measures friction, not sentiment. Particularly useful for support and self-service flows, where the goal isn't just "were you happy" but "did we make this hard for you." This platform doesn't have a dedicated CES question type, but you can build one with a 1-5 rating question and a scale labeled from "Very difficult" to "Very easy."

Using them together

A mature feedback program typically runs all three at different points: CES right after a support interaction, CSAT after a purchase or milestone, and NPS on a recurring cadence to track the overall relationship. Comparing all three over time tells a more complete story than any single number.

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