Client experience is a top business priority and a critical component of ensuring a business stays competitive. Keeping client’s needs at the forefront of all decisions helps ensure everyone in the organization is working in a way that aligns with the goal of providing an optimal client experience — and ensuring that customers come back over and over again.

At our company, our Happy Client Methodology (HCM) blends purpose and passion to reinforce our mission: "To make our clients smile every day through exceptional client experience." 

We created this model based on our extensive experience working with companies, deep research into customer experience best practices, and a passion for continuous improvement. And what we’ve come to see is that, in a client-centric culture like ours, tracking client service Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is essential. 

Client service KPIs data helps us understand what is working well and where we need to refocus our efforts to improve. It’s also important to have clarity around which customer service performance metrics are relevant to achieving our business goals. This way, we can prioritize capturing and analyzing the data that will be most helpful in driving the type of changes that lead to measurable results.

Following are the key happy client KPIs we strive to achieve and measure:

Customer Satisfaction Score 

A Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) is just that: a calculation to determine how satisfied customers are. A quick and simple question that is answered using a numerical scale, a CSAT can be used to measure the effectiveness of a single interaction, and it can also be tracked throughout a customer’s lifecycle. Businesses calculate their overall CSAT by dividing the positive responses by total responses and then multiplying that by 100 to learn the percentage of satisfied customers. 

Net Promoter Score 

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is one of the most commonly used client service KPIs. It measures loyalty by having clients answer a single question, “How likely are you, on a scale of 0-10, to recommend our business (or product or service) to others?” 

Based on the number selected, clients are then categorized as either promoters, passives, and detractors. Promoters being the most loyal (and most likely to recommend), detractors the least loyal, and passives having a neutral stance. The score is then calculated by subtracting the percentage of clients that are detractors from the percentage that are promoters.

Response Time 

Response time refers to the amount of time (minutes, hours, or days) to respond to a customer inquiry, request, or issue. An average response time is derived by taking all of the responses within a given period and dividing by the total resolutions. A lower number, or faster response time, is typically associated with higher satisfaction.

However, it’s important to realize what is considered to be a satisfactory response time varies by channel. A study by Statistica shows that 62% of customers consider it fine to receive an email response within 24 hours, but 77% expect instant response when on live chat. It’s a good idea to factor these differences in when evaluating the data and setting response time goals. 

Average Resolution Time

The Average Resolution Time (ART) is a measurement of how long it takes to solve a client’s issue from start to finish. While the length of time will vary based on the complexity of the issue, in general, lower resolution times are a better indicator of success, as they indicate quicker overall resolutions.

First Contact Resolution 

First Contact Resolution (FCR) refers to the percentage of client interactions that are solved at the first point of contact about an issue. When evaluating phone calls or live chats, this means that the client has reached resolution before ending the initial phone call or chat session. By tracking how many interactions a client has relating to a single issue, the first contact resolution number shows how many clients have to interact with someone more than once in order to get resolution on an inquiry or issue.  

Number of Issues 

The Number of Issues is an important KPI to track because it gives us insight into the total volume of issues received within a given time period and allows us to spot trends over time. This client service metric helps us anticipate client needs and make adjustments to staffing and training plans as needed.

Active Issues

Active Issues refer to customer engagement moments that are currently open. The number of active or open issues at a company is a KPI of client needs that’s useful for making real-time decisions about staffing and identifying trends in customer behavior.

Resolved Issues

Resolved Issues refers to the number of issues that were received and resolved within a given period of time. This KPI can be used to track data on a company, team, and individual level so that we can see the overall performance of our customer experience agents.

Customer Retention Rate

Customer retention rate is the percentage of existing customers who remain loyal within a specified time frame. When calculating new customers gained are removed from the equation in order to determine how existing customers at the start  still remain at the end of the time period.

Customer retention is essential to the long-term success of any business. It costs less to keep existing clients than to bring in new ones, as happy clients are more likely to provide referral. In addition, a Harvard Business School study shows that increasing customer retention by just 5% can increase profits by as little as 25%, and up to an astounding 95%.

Employee Satisfaction

Employee satisfaction has a significant influence on happy client KPIs. When employee satisfaction is high, there is a higher level of engagement and increased motivation, which translates into better client service. Simply put, satisfied employees lead to satisfied clients, and no one has to break the budget to get results in this area.

At our company, we make it a point to continually monitor and measure employee satisfaction using a combination of surveys, performance reviews, self-evaluations, and regular 1:1 meetings,  ensuring our happy client KPI metrics are performing well.

Overall, we’ve found these KPIs to be a powerful way to gain insight into the client experience and make sure it’s a good one. Armed with these metrics, we can make informed, smart decisions that ensure you have an optimal client experience. Because when you’re happy, it leads to a truly win-win scenario where both of our businesses thrive.  

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