Customer Effort Score (CES)

What is Customer Effort Score (CES)?

Customer Effort Score (CES) measures how much effort a customer has to expend to accomplish a goal with your company—whether that's resolving a support issue, completing onboarding, or using a feature. The less effort required, the more likely customers are to remain loyal.

CES is based on the principle that customers value ease and convenience, and reducing friction drives retention.

How to Measure CES

CES is typically measured with a survey question like:

"On a scale of 1-7, how easy was it to [complete task/resolve issue/get help]?"

Or using an agree/disagree scale:

"[Company] made it easy for me to handle my issue."

Scoring:

• 1-2: Very difficult (high effort)
• 3-5: Moderate effort
• 6-7: Very easy (low effort)

CES vs. NPS vs. CSAT

When to Use CES

• After support interactions
• Post-onboarding completion
• After feature adoption
• Following self-service experiences
• At key journey milestones

Reducing Customer Effort

• Streamline onboarding processes
• Improve self-service resources
• Reduce steps to complete common tasks
• Provide proactive guidance
• Anticipate and prevent issues