Top Customer Survey Types Explained

Customer surveys are one of the simplest, most effective ways to listen to your users. In today’s customer-centric world, companies can no longer afford to make assumptions about what their audience wants. The secret to delivering better experiences, products, and services? Ask the right questions—and act on the answers.

According to Microsoft’s Global State of Customer Service report, 90% of consumers consider customer service important in their choice of and loyalty to a brand. And a study by HubSpot revealed that 42% of companies don’t survey their customers or collect feedback—a massive missed opportunity.

But it’s not just about asking for feedback. It’s about asking specific, actionable questions that provide clear, easy-to-interpret insights. That’s where knowing the types of customer surveys—and when to use them—makes all the difference.

In this article, we’ll explore the most popular types of customer surveys, their goals, how to use them effectively, and how tools like the Likert Scale Template can help you analyze results and make smarter decisions.

Why Use Customer Surveys?

Before diving into types, it’s worth clarifying what customer surveys help you achieve. At their best, customer surveys allow you to:

• Measure customer satisfaction and loyalty
  
  
• Identify friction points in the customer journey
  
  
• Test new product ideas or updates
  
  
• Prioritize feature development
  
  
• Monitor brand perception over time
  
  
• Discover unmet needs and expectations
  
  

Surveys put the voice of the customer at the heart of decision-making. But depending on what you're trying to learn, the format and structure of the survey matter just as much as the questions themselves.

1. Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Surveys

What they’re for:
CSAT surveys measure how satisfied customers are with a specific interaction, experience, or product.

When to use them:
Send these surveys right after key interactions—like a support call, a purchase, or an onboarding process.

Typical question:
“How satisfied were you with your experience today?”

Answer format:
Often a 1 to 5 scale (e.g., Very Unsatisfied to Very Satisfied). This is where Likert scales shine—offering gradation that gives more nuanced insights than simple Yes/No answers.

Pro tip:
Combine CSAT data with contextual questions to understand what’s driving satisfaction (or dissatisfaction).

2. Net Promoter Score (NPS) Surveys

What they’re for:
NPS measures overall customer loyalty by asking how likely a customer is to recommend your company to others.

When to use them:
Use NPS quarterly or bi-annually to track shifts in brand sentiment. It’s a good pulse check over time.

Typical question:
“On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?”

How it’s calculated:

• 9–10: Promoters
  
  
• 7–8: Passives
  
  
• 0–6: Detractors
  NPS = % Promoters - % Detractors
  
  

Pro tip:
Follow up with a “Why?” question for deeper insight.

3. Customer Effort Score (CES) Surveys

What they’re for:
CES surveys assess how easy it was for customers to complete a task—like finding information or resolving a problem.

When to use them:
Immediately after customer service interactions or after customers complete a task on your website or app.

Typical question:
“How easy was it to solve your issue today?”

Answer format:
Likert scale (1 = Very Difficult, 5 = Very Easy)

Why it matters:
Research shows that 96% of customers who had a high-effort experience become more disloyal. Reducing effort increases loyalty.

4. Product Feedback Surveys

What they’re for:
These surveys help you understand what users think about specific features, updates, or the overall product experience.

When to use them:
After product launches, major updates, or during beta testing.

Typical questions:
“How useful is this feature to you?”
“How intuitive was this update?”

Answer format:
Often a Likert scale (e.g., Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree), allowing you to quantify perception over time.

Pro tip:
Use the Likert Scale Template to track sentiment and identify trends in feature satisfaction across user types.

5. Onboarding and New User Surveys

What they’re for:
Gauge how new customers feel about their first experience with your brand or product.

When to use them:
Within the first few days or weeks of customer onboarding.

Typical questions:
“How clear was the onboarding process?”
“Did you experience any confusion or frustration?”

Answer format:
Mix of Likert scale and open-ended responses.

Why it matters:
First impressions count. According to Wyzowl, 86% of people say they’d stay loyal to a business that provides a great onboarding experience.

6. Feature Request and Prioritization Surveys

What they’re for:
Understand what your users want you to build next—and how important it is to them.

When to use them:
Before roadmap planning, sprint prioritization, or product expansions.

Typical question:
“How important is this feature to your workflow?”

Answer format:
Likert scales make it easy to distinguish between “Nice to have” and “Must have.”

Pro tip:
Segment responses by customer type or industry to tailor development priorities more effectively.

7. Exit or Churn Surveys

What they’re for:
Learn why customers are leaving or canceling so you can prevent future churn.

When to use them:
Right after a customer downgrades, cancels, or stops using your service.

Typical question:
“What was the main reason for your decision to leave?”

Answer format:
Multiple choice with optional free-text fields or Likert scale follow-ups.

Why it matters:
Churn is inevitable, but understanding it helps you improve retention and refine messaging.

8. Market Research and Brand Perception Surveys

What they’re for:
Gather insights on how your brand is viewed in the market—by both customers and prospects.

When to use them:
Before launching a campaign or rebranding, or annually to track brand health.

Typical questions:
“How familiar are you with [Brand Name]?”
“What words would you associate with our brand?”

Answer format:
Likert scales help identify brand associations and trust levels.

Pro tip:
Pair this with competitive benchmarking to see how you compare.

Why Use the Likert Scale Template?

Many of the surveys above use Likert scales because they allow respondents to express not just binary opinions, but degrees of agreement, satisfaction, or likelihood. This subtlety leads to better analysis and more actionable insights.

Our Likert Scale Template on the Conference Room platform makes it easy to:

• Design clear, professional surveys
  
  
• Customize scales from 3-point to 7-point
  
  
• Collect and visualize results
  
  
• Share feedback with teams in one click
  
  
• Track trends over time
  
  

Whether you're measuring satisfaction, loyalty, or usability, the template simplifies your feedback process and helps you spot patterns quickly.

Final Thoughts

Great companies don’t guess what customers want—they ask. And by using the right type of survey at the right time, you create a consistent feedback loop that powers innovation, improves retention, and builds trust.

Whether you’re launching a new product, testing a feature, or improving support, customer surveys are your best ally. And with the Likert Scale Template, you don’t just collect opinions—you turn them into action.

Start listening. Start improving. Start using surveys that actually work.