Difference between customer satisfaction and customer experience

Customer satisfaction is a point-in-time measurement, while customer experience encompasses the entire customer journey and is crucial for building loyalty and driving growth.

Cathy

26 November 2025 •

2 min

Customer satisfaction and customer experience are two closely related concepts that are often confused or misunderstood. However, it’s important to understand them well in order to leverage these key elements for a company’s growth strategy.

What is customer satisfaction?

Customer satisfaction refers to the level of contentment of a group of customers with a product or service at a specific moment in time. It is measurable through satisfaction surveys, which collect feedback from customers using a few questions.

While a vital tool, the satisfaction survey requires careful implementation and adherence to best practices to maximize response rates.

The result of these surveys is measured using the CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score), which represents the customer’s satisfaction score. This score measures overall satisfaction, and then on various specific criteria, such as how a customer rates the in-store greeting, the speed of product delivery, etc.

Limitations of measuring satisfaction

Customer satisfaction provides valuable insights but is incomplete:

It only reflects customer satisfaction at a specific moment, usually after a particular interaction. As such, this indicator may be misaligned with consumers’ expectations, which change rapidly.
It does not offer real visibility regarding customer loyalty or attachment to the brand.

The relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty is not linear: instances of satisfied customers defecting from a brand are not uncommon.

Customer satisfaction doesn’t accurately reflect customers’ perception of the brand or predict their future behavior.

To build and maintain a true relationship of trust with customers, you need to go beyond satisfaction and consider all interactions with the brand: this is customer experience.

From customer satisfaction to customer experience

Customer experience (CX) refers to the sum of all customer interactions at each touchpoint with the brand. It is experienced throughout the purchasing journey and reflects the overall experience the customer has, which should ideally be smooth, consistent, and offer memorable moments.

The concept of customer experience encompasses everything that affects the customer’s perception and emotions toward the brand. It thus incorporates the emotional component, which plays a key role in attachment and brand loyalty.
A solid customer experience strategy can increase attachment to your brand, improve customer loyalty, and boost your revenue.

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is the most widely used tool for measuring customer experience, as it determines how likely a customer is to recommend your products and services to others.

In short, while customer satisfaction offers a snapshot of customer contentment at a specific point in time, customer experience provides a holistic view of the customer’s entire journey with your brand. Focusing solely on satisfaction can be limiting, as it doesn’t always translate to loyalty or predict future behavior.

That’s where our customer experience solution comes in. Discover Vocaza Journey and cultivate stronger relationships, foster lasting loyalty, and ultimately drive sustainable growth.