52 popular customer satisfaction survey questions by customer journey

A landmark study found that 80% of 362 companies surveyed thought they provided a “superior experience,” but only 8% of their customers agreed. That huge disparity highlights how sorely companies can miss the mark when it comes to understanding their customers’ needs and expectations.

A key way to close that gap and develop solid, lasting relationships with your customers is to ask them for feedback with customer satisfaction surveys. But when do you ask? And what questions should you use?

Enter the customer journey. Since any customer interaction is an opportunity to gather feedback, we’ve broken down the most popular customer satisfaction survey questions by key customer journey touchpoints.

In this post, you’ll learn about what questions to ask at each stage with suggested answer scales to surface the insights you need.

What is a customer satisfaction survey?

A customer satisfaction survey is a questionnaire that measures customer sentiment and helps businesses understand customers’ perspectives on their brand, products, and customer service. Customer satisfaction surveys allow businesses to enhance their products while meeting market demands and better serving customers.

Customer satisfaction survey question types

Before we dive into the actual questions, here’s a quick rundown of the various survey question types we’ll be referencing and some quick best practices.

There are 3 core customer experience survey templates that consist of a single question with an open-ended follow-up: Customer Satisfaction (CSAT), Customer Effort Score (CES), and Net Promoter Score (NPS). In addition to these, alternative rating scales such as 5-star, smiley face surveys, or thumbs up/down surveys can be used as well.

When you design a survey, start with a more general question to capture how customers feel about a particular touchpoint or the overall experience. Templated CSAT, NPS, and CES questions work well as standalone surveys, or as the initial question for a more in-depth survey.

For deeper insights, use our Additional Questions feature to add up to 10 follow-up questions to that initial survey flow. You can design your own rating scales, use multiple choice options, or add more free response questions. Just be sure to follow survey design best practices when gathering, analyzing, and acting on that feedback.

Without further ado, here are the top 52 customer satisfaction question templates for insightful feedback on all the major customer milestones.

Awareness: 4 web survey questions for improving content engagement

Studies have indicated that as many as 88% of consumers research online before making a purchase, which means it’s more important than ever for your web content to make a lasting impression. The more engaging and helpful the experience is, the more likely customers will remember your brand when they go to make a purchase. Using a web-based survey, you can measure how your content is landing with your customers — surveying them directly on your site.

Here’s a breakdown of potential questions to ask in your web intercept survey.

1. CSAT survey: How [satisfied] are you with the content on this website? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Very dissatisfied to Very satisfied
2. 5-star survey: How would you rate the relevance of the [content]? Answer scale: 5-star rating scale
3. Thumbs survey: Did you find [the information] you were looking for? Answer scale: Yes or No
4. CES survey: The website made it easy to find what I was looking for. Answer scale: 1 to 5; Strongly disagree to Strongly agree

Note that CSAT surveys can also be modified to become Smileys or 5-star surveys by switching up the phrasing. For instance, “How would you rate…” with a 5-star rating scale, or “How happy are you…” for a smiley face scale.

Delighted survey templates also append a free-response question so web visitors can expand on why they chose their score.

Distributing your web content satisfaction survey

To get the most actionable, high-quality feedback, make sure you’re only showing your web intercept survey to those who are actually interested in what you have to offer, and not random visitors who may have ended up on your website by accident.

The simplest way to do that is to set the survey to show for those who meet a certain engagement threshold: time spent on site, scroll depth, or number of pages visited. Once a customer has been qualified, show the survey upon website exit so there’s minimal chance of interfering with the visitor’s experience.

When you ask the right questions and show them to users at the right time, you’ll be able to incorporate all that feedback into your process for building a website that can help grow your business.

Consideration: 9 post-demo survey questions to refine the sales process

During the consideration phase, potential customers ask for a product demo or sign up for a free trial to get a better feel for features and pricing plans. Customer survey questions at this step will help you gauge if what you’re marketing is coming across clearly and give you a deeper understanding of customer needs.

Sending the survey post-demo also doubles as an easy way to follow up without being too pushy. Be considerate, and only ask the questions that are most relevant. Avoid asking any questions you should know the answer to from an earlier step in the process (such as title, company size, or sales revenue).

1. CSAT survey question: How satisfied were you with [the demo/the live chat]? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Very dissatisfied to Very satisfied
2. 5-star survey question: How would you rate your experience with [sales rep]? Answer scale: 5-star rating scale
3. Additional question: How well did the [sales rep] understand your needs? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Not well to Very well
4. Additional question: How well did the [demo cover/chat answer] your product questions? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Not well to Very well
5. Additional question: How well did the [demo cover/chat answer] your pricing questions? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Not well to Very well
6. Additional question: Which [feature] are you most interested in? Answer scale: Multiple choice with an “other” option or free response
7. Additional question: What motivated you to sign up for [a demo/trial]? Answer scale: Multiple choice with an “other” option or free response
8. Additional question: How much did the [demo/free trial] change your likelihood to purchase? Answer scale: 5-point scale; Decreased a lot to Increased a lot
9. Additional question: What else can we do to help you make a decision? Answer scale: Free response

Distributing your post-demo satisfaction survey

You’ll want to distribute your survey using a channel your customer expects — an email survey is a safe bet if your prospective customer signed up for a trial or scheduled a call. Send the survey up to 24 hours after the demo, and be sure any follow-up materials the customer requested have been given prior to dispatching the survey.

Purchase: 4 questions to ease the transaction process and understand buyer motivation

Once the customer has decided to do business with you, the last thing you want is for them to drop out due to a frustrating purchase process. This point is also when you can dig a bit deeper into what sold them on your product or service.

Understanding why people purchase can help make it easier for customers to repurchase down the line. After all, there’s a 60% to 70% chance that your existing customers will purchase from you again.

1. CES survey: [Website/Person/Company] made it easy for me to purchase [product/service]. Answer scale: 5-point scale; Strongly disagree to Strongly agree
2. Additional question: What made you decide to go with us instead of a competitor? Answer scale: Multiple choice with an “other” option or free response. Potential options could be Product features, Price, Quality of customer service, User experience, Warranty, etc.
3. Additional question: What other products would you consider buying? Answer scale: Multiple choice with an “other” option or free response.
4. Additional question: Were there any issues that could have prevented you from buying? Answer scale: Free response

Distributing your purchase experience customer survey

For an online purchase experience, a web intercept survey or email survey should do the trick. Send the survey immediately upon completion of the transaction for fresh, honest feedback.

Onboarding: 5 customer survey questions for improving product adoption

Once someone has purchased your product, the customer experience focus shifts towards customer retention. Now that your prospects are paying customers, their very first real interaction with your product will occur during their onboarding experience. To ensure they can feel the value of your service right off the bat, you want to make sure everything goes off without a hitch.

Monitor the onboarding experience with any of the following questions. Just be sure to select the one(s) that make the most sense for your use case:

1. CSAT survey: How satisfied were you with [onboarding/setup]? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Very dissatisfied to Very satisfied
2. CES survey: [Person/Article/Company] made it easy for me to [get started/use the product]. Answer scale: 1 to 5, Strongly disagree to Strongly agree
3. tNPS survey: Based on [onboarding/product setup], how likely are you to recommend [company] to a friend? Answer scale: 0 to 10; Very unlikely to Very likely
4. CSAT survey: How satisfied were you with how quickly [platform was set up/your item(s) were shipped to you]? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Very dissatisfied to Very satisfied
5. Additional question: What can we do to make your onboarding experience better? Answer scale: Free response

Distributing your onboarding experience customer survey

Survey your customers using whichever channel they used to access your onboarding materials. If they were watching web tutorials, use a web intercept survey to assess the quality of your content. For a call, send the survey along with any follow-up materials via email. Link surveys work well if your onboarding flow includes chat assistance.

Product: 11 survey question templates for a stickier product experience

Once folks have had a bit of time to familiarize and really start using your products, understanding how often they use your products and what they like about it will help you evolve with your customers as their needs change.

Surveying them on a regular basis will also help you understand if any new feature launches or process changes are helping or hurting, so you can forge ahead with confidence.

1. tNPS survey: How likely are you to recommend [product/service] to a friend? Answer scale: 0 to 10; Not likely to Very likely
2. tNPS survey: Based on the recent feature update, how likely are you to recommend [product/service] to a friend? Answer scale: 0 to 10; Not likely to Very likely
3. CSAT survey: How satisfied are you with [product/service]? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Very dissatisfied to Very satisfied
4. CES survey: [Product feature] made it easy for me to accomplish [feature goal]. Answer scale: 1 to 5, Strongly disagree to Strongly agree
5. Additional question: How satisfied are you with the quality of the product? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Very dissatisfied to Very satisfied
6. Additional question: How satisfied are you with the value for money of the product? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Very dissatisfied to Very satisfied
7. Additional question: How often do you use products from [company]? Answer scale: Multiple choice with an “other” option. Potential frequency options could be Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Every 2 to 3 months, Every 6 months, etc.
8. Additional question: How likely are you to [repurchase/renew the contract]? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Very unlikely to Very likely
9. Additional question: This [product/service] helps me accomplish my goals. Answer scale: 1 to 5, Strongly disagree to Strongly agree
10. Additional question: What is your favorite product feature? Answer scale: Multiple choice with an “other” option or free response
11. Additional question: What would you improve about the product? Answer scale: Free response

Distributing your customer product satisfaction survey

Email, in-app, or link surveys are all valid ways to ask customers for product feedback. For increased response rates, be sure to test multiple channels. More often than not, capturing feedback from your entire customer base requires more than one.

Also, keep survey timing in mind. Too early, and your customers won’t have anything helpful to say. Too late, and the feedback may be outdated. Give your customers enough time to use your product and see some results before asking for feedback.

Service: 9 customer satisfaction questions for enabling the customer service team

The quality of customer service a company provides can make or break the business. In fact, companies with a stellar service experience stand to make up to 8% more revenue than their competitors. If a customer complaint gets out of control and the conversation moves to social media and online review sites, the result is a reputation management nightmare that can result in lost business.

On the other hand, if the customer support team runs like a well-oiled machine, resolution times and strong CES/CSAT scores become brand differentiators that can help win new clients.

These questions are designed to identify where more training may be necessary, and help the customer support team resolve issues as best as possible.

Potential survey questions for customer service teams:

1. CSAT survey: How satisfied were you with [customer service]? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Very dissatisfied to Very satisfied
2. CES survey: [Person/Support Article/Chatbot] made it easy for me to [handle my issue]. Answer scale: 1 to 5, Strongly disagree to Strongly agree
3. tNPS survey: Based on [your most recent service interaction], how likely are you to recommend [company] to a friend? Answer scale: 0 to 10; Not likely to Very likely
4. Additional question: How knowledgeable was [your customer service agent]? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Not knowledgeable to Very knowledgeable
5. Additional question: How would you rate [your customer service agent’s] ability to resolve your issue? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Not capable to Very capable
6. Additional question: How willing to help was [your customer service agent]? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Not willing to Very willing
7. Additional question: How satisfied are you with the amount of time it took to resolve your issue? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Very dissatisfied to Very satisfied
8. Additional question: How satisfied are you with the resolution of your issue? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Very dissatisfied to Very satisfied
9. Additional question: What could we have done to improve our service? Answer scale: Free response

Distributing your customer service satisfaction survey

For feedback on the customer service process, timing is of the essence. Ask for feedback immediately after the issue is resolved, whether that’s via chat, email, or text.

Another option is to keep a link survey in your customer service agents’ email signature, so customers can volunteer to give feedback whenever an interaction takes place.

Loyalty: 10 brand experience survey question to assess all touchpoints

After the customer has experienced all the major touchpoints your brand has to offer, what’s left is an evaluation of your overall brand experience. This allows you to gauge how loyal your customers are, and whether all those improvements to individual journey phases are moving the needle.

To do this, set up you survey so that you can identify the key drivers of your customer experience.

The key drivers of the customer experience are the touchpoints that have the greatest impact on whether folks will continue doing business with you.

Start your survey with a broad question that covers the entire customer journey:

1. NPS question: How likely are you to recommend [company] to a [friend/colleague]? Answer Scale: 0 to 10, Very unlikely to Very likely

Then, use additional questions to probe into how satisfied that customer is with individual experiences. For instance, you may find that those who had a poor purchase experience would still recommend you to their friends, indicating that the purchase experience is a lower priority and not as much a key driver. The following is a list of common key drivers, which you can adapt to suit your industry:

2. Additional question: How satisfied are you with product quality? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Very dissatisfied to Very satisfied
3. Additional question: How satisfied are you with the value for money of the product? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Very dissatisfied to Very satisfied
4. Additional question: How satisfied are you with the purchase experience? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Very dissatisfied to Very satisfied
5. Additional question: How satisfied are you with [product setup, installation, or onboarding training]? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Very dissatisfied to Very satisfied
6. Additional question: How satisfied are you with customer service? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Very dissatisfied to Very satisfied
7. Additional question: How satisfied are you with the warranty? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Very dissatisfied to Very satisfied

8. Additional question: How satisfied are you with the repair experience? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Very dissatisfied to Very satisfied

In addition to the initial NPS question, you can also try using the following loyalty questions as well:

9. Additional question: What types of issues would prevent you from doing business with us over a long period of time? Answer scale: Multiple choice with an “other” option or free form. Examples of choices could be: Quality of customer service, Quality of products, Product selection, Pricing, Don’t know, Other, Prefer not to say
10. Additional question: How likely are you to switch to another [company, provider, servicer, product]? Answer scale: 1 to 5, Very unlikely to very likely

Distributing your brand loyalty survey

Since a brand loyalty survey evaluates the overall relationship between you and your customer, send the survey out only after ample time to experience your brand has passed. You’ll also want to send these surveys out on a regular cadence to monitor the experience as you implement changes to your business.

Try every 30, 60, or 90 days to start. Similar to the other survey types, test out various distribution channels (email, web, and URL link) to see what works best for your business and your customers.

Final tips on creating customer satisfaction surveys

The customer survey questions above are templated examples that can and should be customized to fit your company. They should also be personalized to your customers as best as possible to set context and increase the likelihood that your customers will respond.

The other thing to keep in mind is that you may not always be able to control who receives your surveys, especially in the case of link URL surveys or web surveys where the user is logged out. In these cases, you can use open-ended Additional Questions to ask those customers to provide their email, product in question, or any other information necessary to identify them and contextualize their feedback.

Are you ready to get started with gathering valuable information from you customers? The process is quicker than it seems, and Delighted can help.

Sign up for a free trial of our experience management software Delighted and send 250 surveys for free. We take the guesswork out of the survey process, so that gathering feedback can be a powerful yet straightforward process.

About Lucia Chung

Lucia is a marketing professional with 10+ years of experience in creating content that educates, inspires, and converts. In her spare time, you’ll find her trying out new recipes, propagating houseplants, and traveling the world.

Lucia is a marketing professional with 10+ years of experience in creating content that educates, inspires, and converts. In her spare time, you’ll find her trying out new recipes, propagating houseplants, and traveling the world. More