Customer Effort Score (CES) is a survey metric that measures how easy it was for a customer to complete a specific task, like resolving a support issue or finishing onboarding.
The standard question is: "How easy was it to [do the thing]?" on a 1-7 scale from Very Difficult to Very Easy.
Why effort matters
Reducing friction builds loyalty more reliably than delighting customers. Customers who have to jump through hoops don't stick around, even if the core product is good. High-effort experiences are a quiet churn driver that NPS often misses.
CES vs NPS
They measure different things.
- NPS is a relationship metric. Send it periodically to understand overall loyalty.
- CES is a transactional metric. Send it right after a specific interaction, like finishing onboarding or closing a support ticket.
Use NPS for general sentiment, CES to find out if a specific workflow is frustrating. CES is especially useful when ease of use is a competitive differentiator.
Set up targeted CES surveys at the right moments with FeatureOS Forms and Surveys.