QPractice question
Which of the following best describes Customer Effort Score (CES)?
  1. A.The total profit a firm expects from a customer relationship over its lifetime — the metric that determines how much can be spent on acquisition.
  2. B.The two simplest attribution models — credit to the first or last touchpoint — each systematically biased.
  3. C.A measure of how much effort the customer had to expend to complete a task — predicts loyalty better than NPS in service contexts. ✓
  4. D.A measure of how much effort the customer had to expend to complete a task — predicts loyalty better than NPS in service contexts.
Why this answer:

Customer Effort Score (CES) is a measure of how much effort the customer had to expend to complete a task — predicts loyalty better than NPS in service contexts. The other options describe related but distinct concepts in Digital & Analytics — see the deep-dive guide for the full distinction.

How to think about questions like this

Reducing effort drives loyalty more than delighting customers. Questions like this test whether you can distinguish Customer Effort Score (CES) from neighboring concepts. The most common trap is choosing a closely-related concept that sounds similar but applies in a different context.

When you see a definition question on an exam, do two things: (1) translate the question into your own words, then (2) generate the answer in your own words before reading the options. This avoids the cognitive bias of recognizing a familiar phrase as correct just because it is familiar.

Editor's note Want a deeper walkthrough? Our editors recommend pairing this with Customer Effort Score (CES) for a worked example you can adapt to your assignment.