Jump to
CSAT (Customer Satisfaction) is a metric you can use to measure the level of your customers’ contentment with your products or services.
A typical CSAT survey doesn’t take long to fill out: customers are asked to rank their satisfaction on a numerical scale, and then they can go into more depth via follow-up questions.
High CSAT scores often correlate with customer loyalty, repeat business, and positive word-of-mouth. On the other hand, a low score can be even more valuable: it helps you pinpoint which areas need immediate improvement. By frequently deploying CSAT surveys, you can make customer-oriented decisions and reduce churn.
There are many different tools you can use to collect CSAT data from your customer base. Here are our top picks.
Simplesat offers a convenient way to manage all customer satisfaction data, including CSAT, CES (Customer Effort Score), and NPS (Net Promoter Score) feedback. One of its standout features is the ability to create customized surveys tailored to your specific requirements. Using an intuitive interface and offering various question types, Simplesat makes it easy to design surveys that resonate with your audience. This leads to more engagement from the customer base.
Real-time feedback is another invaluable aspect of Simplesat. By providing immediate insights and analytics, Simplesat enables you to attuned to the customer sentiment and spot emerging trends. Automation is at your disposal for follow-up conversations triggered by survey responses, which lets you address feedback promptly.
For more targeted feedback, Simplesat offers customer segmentation options. You can create personalized surveys that cater to specific customer segments, gathering feedback that aligns with their unique experiences.
Pros 🙌:
- Price (especially for high-volume users)
- Fun designs; multi-question surveys with conditional logic
- Simplified collaboration within teams
- Dozens of integrations (ConnectWise, Zendesk, Autotask, Salesforce, Freshdesk, HubSpot, Intercom, Slack, etc.) and an aggressive feature roadmap
- Responsive, hands-on support
- High customer satisfaction with glowing reviews
Cons 🤔:
Multi-brand options are limited to higher payment tiers
Pricing 💵:
- Standard – $109/m annually – Unlimited surveys & notifications
- Pro – $229/m annually – Custom CSS, multi-brand support, onboarding & setup
- Elite – $459/m annually – Custom email templates, enterprise SSO
- Enterprise – contact Simplesat for pricing – design and code support, dedicated CSM
Simplesat’s Standard package accepts 1000 customer responses per month, and the number grows considerably for each tier.
Offering a wide array of features, including over 50 survey templates and more than 100 survey question types, Qualtrics empowers you to create satisfaction surveys tailored to your specific needs. One of Qualtrics’ core strengths lies in its robust analytics capabilities, which enable you to dissect and analyze survey responses using a diverse range of visual data representations.
Qualtrics offers a wealth of survey design options, which enables you to craft engaging and visually appealing surveys and improve feedback rates.
When it comes to analysis, Qualtrics excels. It provides in-depth analytics and reporting features that include real-time dashboards, data visualization tools, and advanced statistical analysis capabilities. These features are invaluable for extracting meaningful insights from survey responses.
Pros 🙌:
- Survey design flexibility (customization and branding options)
- Advanced question types, branching logic
- In-depth analytics and reporting features
- Impressive visualization options, including 30 graph types
- Multi-channel support
- Integrates with all major platforms
Cons 🤔:
- Support isn’t always helpful
- Clunky collaboration options
- Pricing
Pricing 💵:
Contact Qualtrics for an estimate.
SmileBack is a specialized customer feedback system designed for MSPs. Their suite of tools, including CSAT and NPS surveys, is tailored to boost customer satisfaction and drive business growth. SmileBack lets you collect instant feedback by triggering one-click surveys at the close of each support ticket; this tool also offers real-time reporting that lets you monitor customer sentiment.
With a focus on enhancing customer retention and identifying new opportunities, SmileBack turns customer comments into valuable testimonials and facilitates quick issue resolution through workflow automation. This customer feedback system equips MSPs and helpdesks to not only measure customer satisfaction but also transform it into a catalyst for success.
Pros 🙌:
- User-friendly interface
- High degree of customization
- Automated feedback systemization
- Out-of-the-box filters
- Support well-acquainted with MSP requirements
Cons 🤔:
- Pricing
- Limited integrations
Pricing 💵:
Tiered pricing, starting from $88 (for 1-5 agents).
Zonka Feedback is a versatile multi-channel feedback system equipped with powerful features, including real-time reporting and a collaborative inbox. One of Zonka Feedback’s standout features is its remarkable ability to collect feedback through multiple channels, offering flexibility to businesses.
Whether it’s via email, SMS, tablets, kiosks, or other avenues, this platform ensures that feedback is accessible and actionable from a variety of touchpoints. Considering the wide range of customization options available, you can tailor all your Zonka surveys to your audience.
When it comes to understanding and using the data, Zonka Feedback offers an impressive variety of analytical tools and visualizations. It integrates seamlessly with most CRMs; on higher tiers, you also receive custom integrations.
Pros 🙌:
- Online and offline survey options
- A wide selection of question types and branding options
- Real-time feedback alerts and robust, detailed reporting
- Well-developed automation features to streamline feedback processes, including automated notifications and follow-up actions
- Seamless integrations with CRM systems, helpdesks, and messaging platforms
Cons 🤔:
- Non-intuitive UI
- Customers can’t skip questions on Zonka surveys
Pricing 💵:
Tiered pricing starting at $49 a month.
If you’re looking for a versatile platform for creating polls, quizzes, and surveys, consider SurveyMonkey. With this tool, you can seamlessly distribute your CSAT surveys via email, web links, social media, and chat platforms. Their integration capabilities enable you to automate your workflow by connecting it with third-party applications.
SurveyMonkey’s most notable feature is its expansive selection of survey question types and customization options. This flexibility empowers users to design surveys tailored precisely to their unique needs. For example, you can gain multifaceted feedback data by using a wide range of question types.
The platform provides user-friendly survey design tools, allowing for a great deal of customization when it comes to survey appearance and branding. Robust data analysis and reporting features, such as real-time results, filtering, and exporting options, make it easier to derive meaningful insights from survey responses.
Pros 🙌:
- Wide range of question types: multiple-choice, open-ended, Likert scale, and more
- Surveys can be shared via email, social media, embedded in websites, or through unique survey links
- Robust reporting and data analysis features
- Sophisticated filtering and segmentation options
- Integrates with various third-party tools and applications, enabling seamless data syncing and integration into existing workflows
Cons 🤔:
- Limited functionalities for standard packages
- Pricing tiers are unintuitive
- Learning curve – it takes time to master SurveyMonkey’s advanced features
Pricing 💵:
SurveyMonkey offers individual plans and team plans (starting at 3 people), as well as a custom enterprise option. Prices start at around $35 for the standard package.
Customer Thermometer’s standout feature lies in its customizable and visually appealing survey options. The platform offers a broad array of templates and customization choices.
The survey interface is remarkably user-friendly, making this a good option for international customer bases. Customer Thermometer’s distribution methods include email, website embedding, and various other channels. The platform provides real-time feedback and reporting capabilities, enabling you to keep a close eye on customer satisfaction trends. The automation features and workflow integration help streamline the survey deployment process.
The user guide for Customer Thermometer is excellent, granting users a high level of autonomy in creating their custom surveys (referred to as “thermometers”). Furthermore, the platform’s customer support is impressively responsive, ensuring quick assistance whenever needed.
Pros 🙌:
- User-friendly interface (for both businesses and customers)
- Real-time feedback
- Impressive integration capabilities: Customer Thermometer integrates with popular tools like email clients, helpdesk software, and CRM systems
- Unique and interesting survey designs
- Great for creating low-pressure surveys (leading to increased response rates)
Cons 🤔:
- May not accommodate more complex survey methodologies/question types
- Hidden costs are a possibility
Pricing 💵:
Four pricing tiers, starting at $29/month (for 50 customer responses).
One of Survicate’s most prominent features is its remarkable versatility in creating and deploying surveys across various channels. Whether it’s through websites, mobile apps, or email, Survicate offers a user-friendly survey builder with an extensive array of question types and customization options.
Real-time reporting is another significant advantage, offering immediate access to survey results and analytics. Survicate offers advanced targeting and segmentation options, which means you can tailor surveys to specific segments or customer groups. This precision in feedback collection ensures that you gather insights that are highly relevant and actionable.
Responsive customer support is another key strength of Survicate. Their support team aims to ensure a smooth and user-friendly experience. The user interface is straightforward, with a short setup process.
Pros 🙌:
- Multichannel survey deployment, including websites, mobile apps, and email.
- Real-time survey results and analytics
- Targeting and segmentation
- Easy to run on Shopify
Cons 🤔:
- Not enough variety in design/aesthetics
- Low number of integrations
Pricing 💵:
Free tier with 25 responses, a business tier and a custom tier.
Checklist for choosing the right CSAT tool
Before you dive into selecting the ideal CSAT tool to boost your customer satisfaction levels, you need a clear roadmap. Your CSAT tool should seamlessly integrate with your overall customer satisfaction strategy and adapt as your business grows.
To help you make the best decision for your business, we’ve outlined a comprehensive checklist categorized into two sections: Must-haves and Nice-to-haves.
CSAT must-haves: Prioritize these essentials ✅
Consider these criteria as the non-negotiable foundation of your CSAT tool selection.
- Fits your budget for ongoing expenses: Ensure that the tool aligns with your financial capabilities, keeping in mind both immediate and long-term costs.
- Supports preferred feedback channels: The tool should accommodate the channels your customers most commonly use for feedback.
- Has sufficient reporting capabilities and data analysis: Robust reporting features and analytics are vital for extracting actionable insights and tracking your progress.
- Mobile accessibility and functionality: All serious CSAT tools function seamlessly on smartphones and tablets. Don’t settle for less.
- Support, help documentation, training resources: Accessible support and training materials are essential for a smooth implementation and troubleshooting. This becomes increasingly vital as your business scales; you’ll want a customer feedback platform that grows with you, offering continuous support to elevate your feedback strategies.
- Compliance with all relevant data privacy regulations: Protect your customers’ data and your reputation by ensuring the tool complies with privacy laws.
- Transparent and fair contract terms: Pay close attention to contract terms, cancellation policies, and data retrieval options to avoid unforeseen issues.
CSAT nice-to-haves: Options for added value 💭
The following features can enhance your CSAT tool’s functionality and user experience. It’s on you to decide which of them to prioritize for your business.
- Quick setup, easy to use without any training: Streamlined setup processes and user-friendly interfaces can save time and resources.
- Surveys can be customized to match your brand: Aesthetic customization options allow you to maintain brand consistency.
- Multi-language functionalities: If you have a global audience, multilingual surveys are a valuable asset.
- Customizable alert and notification features: You can tailor notifications to your team’s workflow and preferences, sharing daily updates from your customer base.
- Team collaboration features: Some CSAT tools offer options that facilitate teamwork, including task assignment and progress tracking.
- Trial periods or freemium offers: You can evaluate a CSAT tool’s suitability with minimal financial risk through trial periods or freemium options.
- Positive feedback from other users: Why not seek out reviews and testimonials from peers who have found success with the tool?
👀 Use these two checklists to methodically assess CSAT tools, aligning them with your unique business needs and customer satisfaction objectives.
Remember: your choice should resonate with both your present and future goals, ultimately elevating the customer experience to new heights.
