Industry benchmarks give your CSAT and NPS scores a useful point of reference. You'll see the latest benchmark for your industry beside your own score on survey dashboards and custom dashboards.
Benchmarks are turned on by default and are available on every plan. You can hide them on any dashboard or change the industry your workspace is compared with.
Where you'll see benchmarks
Benchmarks appear in two dashboard widgets:
The Satisfaction score widget shows the industry and benchmark below your score, such as Technology: 92%. NPS benchmarks appear as a number without a percentage sign.
The 90-day moving average chart shows the benchmark as a gray dashed line. Hover over the chart to see the industry and benchmark in the tooltip.
Other widgets don't show benchmarks. Benchmarks aren't available for response rates, sentiment, answers summaries, or agent and team leaderboards.
Where the numbers come from
We calculate one CSAT benchmark and one NPS benchmark for each industry from anonymized ratings collected across Simplesat. Only the numeric ratings are used, never comments or personal information. Every company counts equally, however many responses it collects. Benchmarks are updated once a year, and every workspace in the same industry sees the same figures. For more on how we handle this data, see our privacy policy.
An industry needs at least 5 companies and 50 responses to get its own benchmark. Below that, you'll see the combined figure for all industries instead. It's labeled All Industries on your dashboard. This is more common for NPS because fewer companies run NPS surveys.
Your score follows the date range and filters on your dashboard, but the benchmark stays the same. If you narrow the dashboard to a short period, you're comparing that slice of your own feedback with a full year of benchmark data.
Turn benchmarks on or off
The setting applies to every benchmark-supported widget on that dashboard.
On a survey dashboard:
Open the dashboard and select the Questions tab.
Clear the Show benchmarks checkbox.
Select Save view.
On a custom dashboard:
Open the dashboard and select Dashboard settings.
Clear the Show benchmarks checkbox.
Save the dashboard.
Note: On a survey dashboard, this setting belongs to the saved view. Once you save the view, everyone who opens it sees the same benchmark setting.
Change your benchmark industry
Simplesat initially matches your workspace to the industry selected during signup. The workspace Owner, users with the Admin role, and anyone with a custom role that can manage workspace settings can change it.
Go to Admin → Workspace settings.
Under Benchmarks, choose the closest match for your business from the Industry dropdown.
Select Update settings.
Troubleshooting
I don't see a benchmark on my dashboard
First, check that benchmarks are turned on for the dashboard:
On a survey dashboard, open the Questions tab and check Show benchmarks.
On a custom dashboard, open Dashboard settings and check Show benchmarks.
Next, make sure the widget is showing a CSAT or NPS score. Benchmarks don't appear when a score widget is set to show an average rating.
If both settings look right, contact us and tell us which dashboard and widget you're looking at.
My benchmark says All Industries
Simplesat shows the combined figure for all industries when there isn't enough data to publish a separate benchmark for your industry yet, or when no industry is set for your workspace. That happens if Other was chosen as the industry at signup.
You can check or change your workspace's industry under Admin → Workspace settings. If no industry is selected there, choose one. If another category is a better match for your business, it may have its own benchmark.
The benchmark disappeared when I changed how the score is displayed
Benchmarks are available for CSAT and NPS scores. If you change a score widget to show an average rating, the benchmark disappears because the two figures aren't directly comparable. Switch the widget back to CSAT or NPS to see it again.
My survey uses CES or 5-star ratings
Benchmarks are currently available for CSAT and NPS. If you'd like benchmarks for another metric, contact us and tell us which one would be useful.
FAQ
Can I compare my score with companies of a similar size or in my region?
Benchmarks are currently grouped by industry, not company size or region.
Does the benchmark change when I change the date range or filters?
No. Your score changes with the dashboard's date range and filters, but the benchmark stays the same.
Can I see benchmarks from previous years?
Historical benchmarks aren't available. Dashboards show the latest annual figures.