Customer Effort Score (CES)
3 min read
Definition
Customer Effort Score (CES) measures how much effort a customer has to exert to get an issue resolved, a request fulfilled, or a task completed. Research by the Corporate Executive Board (now Gartner) found that reducing customer effort is a stronger predictor of loyalty than delighting customers.
How It Works
“How easy was it to [complete task]?”
1
Very Low Effort2
Low Effort3
Moderate4
High Effort5
Very High EffortLower scores mean less effort, which correlates with higher satisfaction and loyalty. CES surveys are typically triggered right after a customer completes an interaction.
How to Calculate CES
CES = Sum of All Scores / Number of Responses
On a 1-5 scale, a CES below 2.0 is excellent, 2.0-3.0 is acceptable, and above 3.0 signals friction that needs attention.
Why It Matters for Forms and Surveys
- Measure form UX directly: use CES to find out if your forms feel easy or frustrating.
- Pinpoint friction: high CES after checkout forms, onboarding flows, or support forms tells you exactly where to optimize.
- Predict churn: customers who report high effort are 96% more likely to be disloyal.
- Complement NPS and CSAT: CES measures the "how" while NPS/CSAT measure the "what."
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