How to Measure Customer Satisfaction by WhatsApp (CSAT, NPS)

Sending an email satisfaction survey and expecting the customer to respond to it has become an exercise of faith. Email survey response rates hover between 5% and 15%, which means that the vast majority of your customers will never tell you what they think of your service through that channel. However, when that same question arrives via WhatsApp, response rates can exceed 40%, and in many cases reach as high as 60%.

The reason is simple: WhatsApp is the channel where your customers already are. In Latin America, more than 90% of smartphone users use WhatsApp daily. They don't need to open another app, search for an email among dozens of promotions or remember passwords. The survey arrives directly to the conversation they just had with your company, and responding takes less than 5 seconds.

In this article we explain the main customer satisfaction metrics, how to implement each one through WhatsApp, when to send them, how to design questions correctly and what benchmarks to expect for a messaging service.

Why Measure Customer Satisfaction by WhatsApp?

Before getting into the specific metrics, it is essential to understand why WhatsApp is the ideal channel to collect feedback from your customers.

Significantly higher response rates

While email surveys get between 5% and 15% responses, WhatsApp surveys achieve rates of 40% to 60%. This translates into data that is much more representative of your customers' actual experience, eliminating self-selection bias where only extremely satisfied or extremely dissatisfied customers respond.

Immediacy and context

When the customer receives the survey in the same conversation where he just received support, the context is fresh. He doesn't need to remember what the experience was like three days ago when he finally opens his inbox. This immediacy produces more accurate and actionable responses.

Friction reduction

Answering a number from 1 to 5 on WhatsApp literally takes two seconds. There are no forms to load, pages to wait for, or mandatory fields to complete. This simplicity removes the main barrier to getting feedback: the effort required by the customer.

Real-time data

Unlike regular quarterly or annual surveys, measuring satisfaction via WhatsApp allows you to get real-time data after each interaction. You can identify service issues the same day they occur and act before they become a negative trend.

Satisfaction Metrics Explained: CSAT, NPS and CES

There are three main metrics for measuring customer satisfaction. Each measures a different aspect of the experience and they complement each other.

CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score)

CSAT measures immediate customer satisfaction with a specific interaction. It is the most direct and easiest metric to implement by WhatsApp.

How it works:

• The client is asked how satisfied he/she was with the service received.
• A scale from 1 to 5 is used (where 1 is very dissatisfied and 5 is very satisfied).
• The result is calculated as the percentage of positive responses (4 and 5) over the total number of responses.

CSAT formula:

CSAT = (Responses with 4 or 5 / Total number of responses) x 100

Example in WhatsApp:

"Thank you for contacting us. On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is very dissatisfied and 5 is very satisfied, how would you rate the care you received today?"

When to use it: Immediately after resolving a query or closing a support conversation. It is ideal for measuring the quality of individual interactions.

Benchmark for WhatsApp: A healthy CSAT for WhatsApp care is between 80% and 92%. If your CSAT is below 75%, there are significant issues to address.

NPS (Net Promoter Score)

NPS measures customer loyalty and willingness to recommend your company. It is a more strategic metric that reflects the customer's overall relationship with your brand, not just a single interaction.

How it works:

• The customer is asked how likely they are to recommend your company to a friend or colleague.
• A scale from 0 to 10 is used
• Customers are classified into three groups:
  • Promoters (9-10): Loyal customers who will actively recommend
  • Liabilities (7-8): Satisfied but not enthusiastic
  • Detractors (0-6): Dissatisfied that may generate negative referrals

NPS formula:

NPS = % Promoters - % Detractors

The result is a number between -100 and +100.

Example in WhatsApp:

"From 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend [name of your company] to a friend or colleague (0 = not at all likely, 10 = totally likely)?"

When to use it: Not after every interaction, but periodically (monthly or quarterly) or after important milestones in the customer relationship, such as a completed purchase or the resolution of a complex problem.

Benchmark for WhatsApp: A positive NPS (greater than 0) already indicates that you have more promoters than detractors. For companies with WhatsApp service in Latin America, an NPS between +30 and +60 is considered excellent.

CES (Customer Effort Score)

CES measures how much effort the customer had to make to solve their problem or complete an action. It is an especially telling metric because studies show that reducing customer effort has a greater impact on loyalty than exceeding customer expectations.

How it works:

• The customer is asked how easy it was to solve the problem.
• A scale of 1 to 5 or 1 to 7 (where 1 is very difficult and 5/7 is very easy) is used.
• The result is calculated as the average of all responses.

CES formula:

CES = Sum of all scores / Total number of answers

Example in WhatsApp:

"How easy was it for you to solve your query today? Answer from 1 to 5, where 1 = very difficult and 5 = very easy."

When to use it: After interactions where the customer needed to solve a specific problem: a return, an order change, a technical query. It is especially useful to evaluate self-service processes or automated flows.

Benchmark for WhatsApp: An average CES of 4.0 or higher (on a scale of 5) indicates that your customers find it easy to interact with you. Values below 3.5 indicate friction problems in your process.

How to Implement WhatsApp Satisfaction Surveys

Effective implementation of WhatsApp surveys requires consideration of several factors to maximize response rates and the quality of the data obtained.

Step 1: Define the time of shipment

Timing is critical to get representative responses. These are best practices:

• For CSAT: Send immediately after the agent marks the conversation as resolved, ideally within 2 minutes of closing. Do not wait for hours or days.
• For NPS: Send within 24 to 48 hours after a major interaction, such as a purchase or the resolution of a complex case. This gives the customer time to reflect on the entire experience.
• For CES: Send immediately after the customer completes a specific process, such as a plan change, return or data upgrade.

Step 2: Design the question correctly

The question should be brief, clear and easy to answer. These are the fundamental rules:

• One question at a time. Do not send three metrics in the same message.
• Include the scale clearly. The customer must know exactly which number corresponds to which end.
• Use natural and close language. Avoid technicalities or corporate phrases.
• Provide simple instruction. "Answer with a number from 1 to 5" is sufficient.

Example of a well-designed message:

"Hi! We want to know how your experience was. From 1 to 5, how satisfied were you with today's care?

1 = Very dissatisfied
5 = Very satisfied

Just respond with the number."

Step 3: Configure response collection

The system must be able to interpret the customer's response automatically:

• Recognize numerical responses (1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5)
• Handle responses with additional text ("5, excellent service")
• Send a thank you message after receiving a reply
• Record the score associated with the conversation and the agent who attended the conversation.
• Handle out-of-range responses with a polite message asking for correct formatting

Step 4: Add an optional open-ended question

For low responses (1, 2 or 3 in CSAT), it is valuable to ask why:

"We're sorry to hear that your experience wasn't the best - could you briefly tell us what we could improve?"

This open-ended question provides qualitative context that numbers alone cannot provide. It allows for the identification of specific problems and recurring patterns.

Step 5: Set alerts for low scores

When a customer responds with a low score (1 or 2), the system should immediately alert a supervisor or the quality team. This alert allows:

• Contacting the customer quickly to resolve their dissatisfaction
• Review the original conversation to identify the fault
• Take corrective action before the customer escalates their complaint to social media or review platforms.

Analysis and Interpretation of Results

Collecting data is only the first step. The real value is in how you analyze and interpret the metrics to make concrete decisions.

Segmentation of results

Analyze your metrics segmented by:

• Agent: Identifies who consistently gets better or worse ratings
• Type of consultation: Determines whether certain types of problems generate more dissatisfaction
• Schedule: Evaluates whether the quality of service varies according to time of day
• Response time: Correlates first response time with satisfaction.
• Source channel: Compares satisfaction among customers arriving through different campaigns

Time trends

Monitor your metrics week by week to identify:

• Gradual improvements or deteriorations in satisfaction
• Impact of changes in processes or personnel
• Seasonal patterns (peak seasons tend to generate more pressure and less satisfaction)
• Effectiveness of corrective actions implemented

Correlation with operational metrics

Cross-reference your satisfaction data with operational metrics to find root causes:

• First response time vs. CSAT
• Number of transfers between agents vs.
• Total time to resolution vs. NPS
• Use of automated responses vs. satisfaction

Benchmarks for WhatsApp Support

To contextualize your results, these are the reference benchmarks for companies that provide WhatsApp support in Latin America:

Metrics	Under	Acceptable	Good	Excellent
CSAT	< 70%	70-79%	80-89%	90%+
NPS	< 0	0-29	30-59	60+
CES (scale 5)	< 3.0	3.0-3.9	4.0-4.4	4.5+
Survey response rate	< 20%	20-35%	36-50%	50%+

It is important to note that WhatsApp service generally obtains better satisfaction metrics than other channels such as email or telephone, mainly because of the speed of response and convenience for the customer.

How Aurora Inbox Facilitates Satisfaction Measurement

Aurora Inbox integrates satisfaction measurement directly into the WhatsApp conversation flow, eliminating the need for external tools or manual processes.

Automatic post-conversation surveys

When an agent marks a conversation as resolved in Aurora Inbox, the system can automatically send the configured satisfaction survey. No manual intervention or reminders to the team are required.

Intelligent collection and sorting

The platform interprets the customer's responses automatically, associates them with the corresponding conversation and records them as part of the contact's history. If the customer responds with additional text, the system extracts the numerical score correctly.

Real-time metrics dashboard

Aurora Inbox provides a dashboard where you can visualize your CSAT, NPS and CES metrics in real time, with filters by agent, period, query type and more. This allows you to identify trends and make data-driven decisions without the need to export to spreadsheets.

Dissatisfaction alerts

When a customer gives a low score, Aurora Inbox immediately alerts the team supervisor, enabling quick intervention to win back the customer before dissatisfaction escalates.

Reports for continuous improvement

Periodic satisfaction reports allow you to evaluate your team's performance, identify training needs and measure the impact of the changes you implement in your service processes.

Common Mistakes When Measuring Satisfaction via WhatsApp

Avoid these common mistakes that can skew your results or reduce response rates:

1. Send the survey too late. If you wait more than an hour after closing, the response rate drops significantly and the customer may not remember the details of the interaction.

2. Ask multiple questions in a single message. This confuses the customer and reduces the response rate. One question per message is the rule.

3. Do not act on the results. Measuring without taking corrective action frustrates customers who took the time to respond and will eventually stop responding.

4. Send surveys at every interaction. If a customer contacts your company three times in one week, don't send three surveys. Set a maximum frequency per customer.

5. Ignore open-ended responses. Qualitative comments often contain the most valuable ideas for improving your service.

Frequent questions

What is the best metric to measure satisfaction by WhatsApp: CSAT, NPS or CES?

It depends on your objective. CSAT is ideal for measuring satisfaction with individual support interactions, such as each customer service conversation. NPS is better for measuring overall loyalty to your brand and should be used less frequently. CES is perfect for evaluating specific processes where customer effort is a critical factor. The recommendation is to start with CSAT for its simplicity and add quarterly NPS once you have the process in place.

How often should I send satisfaction surveys via WhatsApp?

For CSAT, you can send it after each resolved support conversation, but set a maximum limit of one survey per customer every 7 days to avoid fatigue. For NPS, once a month or quarter is sufficient. If a customer interacts frequently with your company, prioritize sending the survey after the most significant interactions, not after trivial queries.

What response rate can I expect in WhatsApp surveys?

Response rates for WhatsApp surveys generally range from 35% to 60%, significantly higher than the typical 5-15% for email surveys. The most influential factors are timing (immediately after the interaction achieves better results), the simplicity of the question (a single question with a numerical scale) and the customer's previous relationship with your company. Customers who received good service tend to respond more.

How do I improve my CSAT if it is below 80%?

First, analyze the conversations that received low scores to identify patterns. The most common issues are: first response times longer than 5 minutes, the need for the customer to repeat their issue to multiple agents, lack of first contact resolution, and generic responses that do not address the specific query. Implement training based on these findings, establish clear protocols for the most frequent types of queries, and consider implementing an AI-enabled chatbot to reduce initial wait times.

Is it legal to send satisfaction surveys by WhatsApp?

Yes, as long as the customer initiated the conversation with your company or gave prior consent to receive WhatsApp communications. Surveys sent within the 24-hour WhatsApp Business API window (after the customer wrote to you) do not require additional consent, as they are part of the service conversation initiated by the customer. However, sending surveys outside of this window via message templates does require that the customer has opted-in to receive communications from your company.