Customer Effort Score (CES)
Also known as: CES, Effort Score, Customer Effort
Customer Effort Score (CES) measures how easy it is for customers to get their issues resolved. Research shows that reducing customer effort is one of the strongest predictors of loyalty and repeat business.
Why CES Matters
CES is powerful because:
- Predicts loyalty — Low effort strongly correlates with retention
- Actionable — Clearly indicates where to reduce friction
- Differentiator — Easy experiences stand out in competitive markets
- Revenue impact — High-effort experiences drive churn
The Effort Research
Studies have shown that:
- 96% of high-effort customers become disloyal (vs. 9% of low-effort)
- Reducing effort is more impactful than delighting customers
- Customers remember and avoid high-effort experiences
How to Measure CES
The standard CES question:
“On a scale of 1-7, how easy was it to get your issue resolved?”
Or the statement-based version:
”[Company] made it easy for me to handle my issue.” (Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree)
CES = Average of all responses
Higher scores indicate lower effort (easier experience).
CES Benchmarks
For 1-7 scale:
| CES Score | Assessment |
|---|---|
| > 6 | Excellent |
| 5-6 | Good |
| 4-5 | Average |
| < 4 | High effort, needs improvement |
Sources of Customer Effort
High-effort experiences: - Multiple contacts to resolve one issue - Repeating information to different agents - Channel switching (email to phone to chat) - Complex processes or forms - Long wait times
Low-effort experiences: - First contact resolution - Proactive communication - Self-service options - Seamless handoffs - Knowledgeable agents
Reducing Customer Effort
Strategies for lower-effort support:
- First contact resolution — Solve it the first time
- Omnichannel context — Carry information across channels
- Proactive support — Anticipate and prevent issues
- Self-service — Enable customers to help themselves
- Empowered agents — Let agents fully resolve issues
- Simple processes — Remove unnecessary steps
CES and TicketBoard
TicketBoard tracks metrics that directly impact customer effort:
- Reopen rate (reopens = repeat effort)
- Resolution time (longer = more effort)
- First response time (waiting = effort)
Improving these metrics reduces customer effort.