First put forward by an organization called The Corporate Executive Board (CEB) in 2010, the customer effort score has become a stalwart CX metric.
The CEB ran a survey of over 75,000 customers using self-service or speaking to contact center agents. It found that customers wanted to solve their problems quickly and with as little effort as possible - more than they enjoyed moments of "wow". These findings prompted the organization to conjure the customer effort score.
Defining the Customer Effort Score
The Customer effort score (CES) quantifies the ease of doing business with a company.
After the CEB came up with the customer effort score in 2010, it improved upon it in 2013, introducing the CES 2.0. In doing so, it created a CES starter kit that explained how high levels of effort erode customer loyalty. Meanwhile, contrary to popular belief, exceeding customer expectations during an experience improves loyalty only marginally.
These findings suggest that brands must measure effort across their customer journeys - whether in-store, in self-service portals, or on other support channels.
Gartner has since acquired the CEB, and the analyst firm’s research indicates that 94 percent of customers with low-effort interactions are likely to make another purchase. Comparatively, just 4 percent of those experiencing high levels of effort.
Customer Effort Score Formula
Most companies calculate customer effort through surveys. Such a survey includes only the one question:
"On a scale of one to seven - with one being extremely easy and seven extremely difficult - how easy have you found doing business with us?"
However, brands often tailor the question to assess effort at particular journey touchpoints. For example, contact centers may ask: "On a scale of one to seven, how easy did you find it to solve your query today?"
With such a question in mind, companies can calculate customer effort using the formula:
Sometimes, it is also helpful to calculate the number of high-effort interactions and the number of low-effort interactions to spot trends. The formula to calculate the percentage of high-effort customer experiences is:
Similarly, the formula to measure low-effort customer experiences is:
Ideally, companies will record a much higher percentage of low-effort experiences than those that are high-effort, ensuring better levels of customer loyalty.
Finally, instead of measuring effort through a score, companies can look for other indicators that do not require surveying customers. For instance, bounce rates between engagement channels, common complaint reasons, and low first contact resolution (FCR) rates are all sources that help identify unnecessary effort.
How to Calculate Customer Effort
To measure customer effort accurately via a survey, companies must take the following steps:
Step 1. Select the Right Moment to Measure CES
Decide the purpose of the CES. Is it to gauge effort across the entire journey? If so, the best move is perhaps to send the customer an SMS survey soon after their journey finishes.