The Customer Effort Score (CES) is a customer satisfaction measure that tracks how much effort a customer has to put into getting something done, such as solving a problem, answering a question or completing a purchase. The lower the effort, the more likely a customer is to remain loyal. This makes CES one of the most predictive customer retention metrics you can use as an organization. In this article, we answer the most frequently asked questions about CES, from how to measure it to when it’s less appropriate, so you can get started right away. Want to know in advance how modern CX solutions help with this? You can read about that below.
How is the Customer Effort Score measured?
The Customer Effort Score is measured by asking customers one focused question immediately after an interaction: “How easy was it to solve your problem?” or similar wording. Customers answer on a scale, usually from 1 to 7, where a low score means a lot of effort and a high score means little effort.
The most commonly used question wording in Dutch is, “The company made it easy for me to solve my problem.” Customers then indicate the extent to which they agree. Some organizations use a 5-point scale or a simple 3-point smiley variety, depending on the channel and target audience.
You calculate the score itself by comparing the percentage of customers reporting low difficulty (the positive scores) to the percentage reporting high difficulty. As with the Net Promoter Score, you subtract the negative group from the positive group. The time of measurement is crucial: always send the CES question immediately after the interaction, such as after a phone call, a chat conversation or the closing of a support ticket. If you wait too long, the accuracy decreases quickly.
What is the difference between CES, NPS and CSAT?
CES, NPS and CSAT each measure a different aspect of the customer relationship. The Customer Effort Score measures effort in a specific interaction, the Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures overall loyalty and willingness to recommend, and the Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) measures satisfaction with a specific experience or product.
When do you use which metric?
CES is best suited immediately after a service contact, such as a phone call or complaint. It answers the question: was this easy? NPS you measure periodically to understand how customers feel about your brand over the long term. CSAT you use when you want to know if a customer was satisfied with a specific moment, such as a delivery or onboarding.
How do they complement each other?
The three metrics are complementary. NPS tells you the big story, CSAT provides feedback on specific touchpoints, and CES exposes where customers experience friction in the process. Organizations that use all three get a much more complete picture of the customer journey than relying on just one metric.
Why does CES predict customer turnover better than other metrics?
CES predicts customer turnover better than NPS or CSAT because high effort is a direct reason for quitting a service. Customers rarely leave a company because they were not surprised once, but rather because they had to work too hard time and time again to be helped.
Research by CEB (now Gartner) already showed that reducing customer effort is a stronger predictor of loyalty than creating a “wow moment.” Customers who need little effort are significantly more likely to be loyal than customers who are regularly frustrated by complex processes, long wait times or having to repeat their story with each channel choice.
This ties in with a recognizable pattern in customer contact: a customer who is transferred three times before reaching the right department, or who has to explain his problem again through another channel, experiences high effort. This frustration accumulates and significantly increases the likelihood of churn, even if the final solution was correct.
What is a good Customer Effort Score?
A good CES depends on the scale you use, but as a rule of thumb, the higher the percentage of customers who say they experienced little difficulty, the better. On a 7-point scale, scores of 5 or higher are generally considered positive. A net CES of above 0 is a baseline standard; organizations that excel in customer contact aim for a positive score of +30 or higher.
Preferably compare your scores over time and by channel, not just to an industry average. A score that improves month over month is a stronger indicator of progress than an absolute number. Also note outliers by contact type: perhaps your CES for telephone contact is excellent, but for e-mail or chat is structurally low. Those differences will tell you exactly where you need to improve.
How do you use CES data to improve customer contact?
Use CES data to identify and target specific bottlenecks in the customer contact process. Segment scores by channel, by contact reason and by team to see where the most friction occurs, and use those insights to prioritize process improvements.
Practical steps to translate CES data into action:
- Analyze low scores by contact reason: Which questions or problems structurally cause high effort? These are candidates for better self-service or smarter routing.
- Link CES to channel data: If customers report low effort via chat but high effort via phone, you know where the priority lies.
- Share insights with employees: Agents who see which interactions are perceived as difficult can adjust their approach and address processes internally.
- Monitor trends after changes: Are you implementing a new IVR menu or chatbot? Use CES to measure whether customer effort actually decreases.
- Combine with qualitative feedback: Add an open-ended follow-up question to the CES measurement so customers can explain what caused the trouble.
By structurally linking CES to your contact center technology and reporting processes, it transforms from a stand-alone measurement into a steering tool for continuous improvement.
When is the Customer Effort Score less appropriate?
The Customer Effort Score is less suitable when you want to measure the overall customer relationship, understand brand perception, or collect feedback on a product rather than a service interaction. CES is strong at the transactional level, but weak as a strategic relationship barometer.
Concrete situations where CES does not work as well:
- Complex B2B relationships: In long-term collaborations with multiple contacts, CES measures only a small piece of the relationship.
- Proactive communication: If you as an organization take the initiative, as in a status update or proactive notification, there is no effort from the customer to measure.
- Product evaluations: CES says nothing about the quality of a product or service itself, only the ease of interaction around it.
- First contact moments without difficulty: In an onboarding or informational interview, “difficulty” is not a relevant dimension; satisfaction or expectation management are then better angles.
In those cases, supplement CES with NPS or CSAT, or deliberately choose another metric that better suits the purpose of the measurement.
How Pegamento helps lower customer effort
You don’t achieve a low CES just by measuring, but by structurally eliminating the underlying causes of high customer engagement. That’s exactly where we help. We combine omnichannel contact center technology, smart routing and Agentic AI into a coherent whole so that customers get to the right person or answer faster without unnecessary detours.
What we specifically address:
- Smart routing: Customers get directly to the right department or employee, without transferring or repeating.
- Omnichannel overview: Phone, chat, WhatsApp and email in one platform, so employees always see the full context and customers don’t have to retell their story.
- Agentic AI assistants: Our self-thinking AI assistants not only take instructions, but act independently and take the initiative on frequently asked questions and repetitive processes, allowing specialists to focus on more complex issues.
- Insight and reporting: Centralized dashboards that show why customers contact you and where the friction is, so you link CES data directly to improvement actions.
Everything under one roof, from implementation to management and support, without silos or complex vendor coordination. Want to discover how we make your customer contact easier for both customers and employees? Get in touch and we’d love to think with you.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I perform CES measurements to collect reliable data?
The frequency of CES measurements depends on the volume of your customer interactions. With high contact volume, you will have enough data to see reliable trends within just a few weeks; with lower volumes, monthly analysis is more realistic. What's important is that you measure each relevant interaction consistently, not randomly, so you don't get a distorted view of specific channels or contact reasons.
What is a good response rate for a CES survey and how do I improve it?
A response rate of 20-30% is usually considered acceptable for transactional customer satisfaction measurements, but higher rates obviously give more reliable data. You improve the response rate by keeping the survey as short as possible (one key question plus an open-ended follow-up question, if necessary), sending the request immediately after the interaction, and choosing the channel that resonates with the customer, such as SMS after a phone call or an in-chat pop-up after a chat conversation. Avoid long introductions or multiple questions at once, as this significantly lowers the likelihood of completion.
Can I also use CES for internal processes or only for customer contact?
CES is primarily designed for customer-facing interactions, but the principle, measuring effort to get something done, is also applicable to internal service processes, such as IT help desks or HR services to employees. You then measure the effort an employee has to make to get a question answered or complete a process. This provides valuable insights into internal bottlenecks and can improve employee satisfaction and productivity.
What common mistakes should I avoid when implementing CES?
The most common mistake is sending the CES question too late: if you wait longer than an hour after the interaction, the accuracy of the reminder and thus the reliability of the score drops. Other pitfalls include measuring without segmentation (so you don't know which channel or contact reason affects the score), lacking an open-ended follow-up question so you don't know what caused the effort, and collecting data without having an internal process to actually act on it. CES is only valuable when it is linked to concrete improvement actions.
How do I involve my customer service team in improving CES scores?
Share CES results actively and transparently with your employees, not just as management reporting but as a direct feedback tool at the team level. Show agents which interaction types are perceived as laborious and discuss together what the root causes are, such as unclear procedures, missing authority or faulty systems. Employees who understand how their actions affect the customer effort are more motivated to suggest improvements and identify internally where processes get stuck.
Is CES also suitable for e-commerce and self-service environments, or only for live customer contact?
On the contrary, CES is also very suitable for self-service environments, such as a knowledge base, an FAQ page or an ordering process. You can ask, after a search or viewing a help article, "Did this page help you solve your question?" or "How easy was it to place your order? Low scores in self-service channels indicate gaps in your content, unclear navigation or an overly complex checkout process, and these are valuable signals for improving the digital customer journey without an employee involved.
How long does it take for CES improvements to have a visible effect on customer retention?
The lead time varies by type of improvement: a process change such as better routing or a clearer IVR structure can lead to measurably lower CES scores within just a few weeks. The effect on customer retention and churn is a slower process and typically becomes apparent over a period of three to six months, depending on your customer contract cycle and the severity of the original bottlenecks. Therefore, monitor both short-term CES trends and longer-term retention rates to capture the full impact of your improvements.
