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Customer Effort Score (CES).
Measures how easy it was for a customer to get their issue resolved or complete a task. Research shows reducing effort is the single biggest driver of customer loyalty more powerful than delighting customers.
What is CES
Was it easy?
CES asks: "How easy was it to [resolve your issue / complete your purchase / get help]?" typically answered on a 1–7 scale from "Very Difficult" to "Very Easy".
The research behind CES (Corporate Executive Board, 2010) found that 96% of customers who had a high-effort experience reported being disloyal versus only 9% of those who had a low-effort experience.
CES Formula
CES = Sum of all effort scores ÷ Number of responses
Lower score = less effort = better. Alternatively calculated as % "easy" responses (6–7 on a 7-point scale).
Lower score = less effort = better. Alternatively calculated as % "easy" responses (6–7 on a 7-point scale).
- Best for: Post-service interactions, self-service, onboarding, returns/complaints
- Key insight: Effort predicts disloyalty better than satisfaction alone
- Actionable: Identifies specific friction points in the customer journey
- Pair with: CSAT (what happened) + CES (how hard was it) + NPS (overall loyalty)
The Effortless Experience
The research is clear: customers don't want to be wowed they want their problems solved easily. Companies that reduce effort see significantly lower churn, lower cost-to-serve, and higher repurchase intent.
When to measure CES
After customer service interactions · After self-service attempts · After onboarding · After returns or complaint resolution · After first use of a feature · After any multi-step process
CES vs CSAT vs NPS
CES predicts future loyalty best at the transactional level.
CSAT measures immediate satisfaction at a touchpoint.
NPS measures overall relationship loyalty over time.
Use all three for a complete picture.
Reduce effort. Increase loyalty.
Synopticom measures CES across your key customer journeys and identifies exactly where friction is costing you customers.