Most distributors track customer satisfaction. Far fewer know which metrics actually predict loyalty, repurchase, and revenue retention.
With dozens of customer experience measures available, CX practitioners in distribution frequently debate which metrics deliver the most actionable insight — and which ones quietly underperform. This guide cuts through the noise.
Distribution Strategy Group’s Customer Satisfaction Metrics: The Essential Four provides a clear-eyed assessment of the four most widely deployed CX metrics in use today: Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT), Customer Effort Score (CES), and Likelihood to Repurchase. Each metric is defined, scaled, and evaluated for strengths and weaknesses — with specific guidance on when and how to deploy each one in a B2B distribution context.
The findings are direct: no single metric captures the full picture. NPS remains the most widely adopted measure (~65% of companies), but it tells you nothing about where friction occurs. CES fills that gap — Gartner research shows 94% of customers who report low-effort interactions intend to repurchase, compared to just 4% of those experiencing high effort. CSAT captures transactional sentiment at specific touchpoints. Likelihood to Repurchase ties the whole picture to revenue retention intent.
The report maps all four metrics across a practical framework — by primary question, measurement level, optimal timing, and best use case — so CX leaders can build a layered measurement program rather than defaulting to a single score.
Download this report to understand what each metric measures, where it belongs in your customer lifecycle, and how to layer them into a CX program that drives continuous improvement.