What Is Customer Sentiment?

This blog unpacks customer sentiment - what it is, why it matters, and how you can use it to create better experiences and stronger customer relationships. While satisfaction tells you if something works, sentiment reveals how it makes people feel. You’ll learn how to measure sentiment through surveys, social listening and AI tools, and how to use that data to make smarter decisions across marketing, product, and customer experience. From spotting issues early to building loyalty and trust, understanding sentiment gives you the emotional edge in a competitive market.

Covered in this post:

• The difference between customer sentiment and customer satisfaction

• Why positive sentiment leads to loyalty, retention and better word-of-mouth

• How to measure sentiment through surveys, social media and AI-powered tools

• How to use open-text responses to uncover emotional insights

• Ways to analyse sentiment trends and spot areas for improvement

• How to act on feedback to improve products, services and messaging

• Best practices for tracking, responding to and managing sentiment at scale

When customers feel frustrated, it shows. Research reveals that 71% of customers feel frustrated when they do not receive a personalised experience from a business

In this article, we'll explore the concept of customer sentiment to understand why it matters so much and how you can use it to improve your business.

Understanding customer sentiment

Let's start with what we mean by 'sentiment.' Simply put, it's how customers feel about your business.

Measuring feelings might seem tricky. It's not straightforward to measure something as personal as emotion, especially when customers are always changing and growing.

But it's not impossible. Companies have been measuring customer sentiment for years. They use things like customer sentiment surveys and keep an eye on what people say on social media.

In a business context, customer sentiment encompasses the emotions and opinions that customers have about your company, products, or services. It provides insight into how they feel when they interact with your brand.

Most tools group these feelings into three buckets - positive, negative and neutral - so you can see at a glance whether the mood is swinging your way.

The Difference Between Customer Sentiment and Satisfaction

Customer sentiment and satisfaction sound similar but have some key differences.

Customer satisfaction usually measures whether the product does what it is supposed to do. For example, if you buy a toaster, customer satisfaction would measure whether it toasts your bread.

On the other hand, customer sentiment looks at how the customer felt using that product. Did they enjoy using the toaster? Was it easy to use? Did it improve their morning routine?

So, a product that does what it's supposed to but nothing more might have a good satisfaction score but a neutral sentiment.

In contrast, a product that does what it's supposed to and leaves the customer feeling delighted would have a high satisfaction score AND positive customer sentiment. That's what you're aiming for.

Why Customer Sentiment Matters

Now, one customer's feelings toward your brand or product won't matter much. However, customer sentiment is a big part of how all your customers feel and can impact your entire business.

Positive sentiment can make customers stay loyal and even tell others how great you are, reflected in a positive Net Promoter Score (NPS). Negative sentiment can make you lose customers and harm your company's reputation.

For example, let's say you sell a toy that breaks easily. It frustrates parents and makes them think your company doesn't care about quality. They might not buy from you again. Social media amplifies this effect. Negative comments can spread quickly, and you might become known as the brand with faulty toys. That damages your reputation.

Customer loyalty and retention

When customers have positive feelings about your brand, they're more likely to stick around and buy from you instead of your competitors.

Think about it, if you have a favourite coffee shop where the staff are always friendly and remember your usual order, you're probably going to keep going back. You feel good when you're there; that positive sentiment makes you a loyal customer.

The same thing happens with products. If a customer loves using your product and it makes them feel good, they'll want to keep using it. They might even buy other products from your brand because they trust you.

This loyalty matters for businesses. It costs three to six times less to keep an existing customer than to acquire a new one. Research backs this up, making retention a key focus for smart growth.

Using sentiment to shape strategy

Customer sentiment is important for more than just avoiding social media disasters and keeping customers happy. It also shapes your overall strategy, whether you have a formal customer experience management programme or just a loosely defined plan.

For starters, tracking it over time lets you see trends and patterns in how your customers are feeling.

This can help you spot areas for improvement. For example, if last year's sentiment was better but worse after you added a new feature, it could mean that customers don't like the new feature. You might need to change it or get rid of it.

Using customer sentiment in your decisions leads to better strategies that put customers first.

How to measure customer sentiment

To leverage sentiment insights, you first must measure how customers feel. There are several approaches to do this effectively, each suited to different budgets and skill sets.

Surveys and feedback forms

• Design your survey: Decide what you want to measure and use open-ended questions for richer feedback.

• Send to your customers: Use tools like SmartSurvey to distribute your survey quickly and securely.

• Analyse results: Review both scores (quantitative) and written feedback (qualitative) to identify sentiment trends.

Surveys and Feedback Forms

First, the most traditional way of doing things still works well. Customer surveys are useful because they come straight from the source. Your customers tell you how they feel in their own words.

SmartSurvey is a modern tool that lets you create and send surveys easily. It has customisable customer survey templates, shows the results in real-time, and has plenty of other survey features. Our surveys can provide both qualitative and quantitative data. However, for customer sentiment, we recommend using open-ended questions to get more detailed feedback.

This way, people can give you specific examples of how they feel about your product, service or business.

Social media monitoring

Tools like Hootsuite and Sprout Social track brand mentions and reviews across social platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. They help monitor what people are saying about you online.

However, social media comments alone rarely provide a complete emotional perspective. Platforms tend to skew negative, with annoyed customers more likely to post publicly than satisfied ones. Plus, if you're new and don't get many mentions, it might not be the best option for your business just yet.

Customer sentiment analysis software

SmartSurvey's AI-powered SmartAssist transforms how you understand customer feedback by instantly analysing sentiment across all your open-text responses. Our intelligent algorithms don't just scan for obvious emotional keywords – they detect the true feelings behind every comment, even when customers use neutral language like "things are fine" to express underlying dissatisfaction.

Built directly into the platform, our sentiment analysis works the moment feedback arrives, automatically categorising responses as positive, negative, or neutral without any manual intervention. This means you can spot disappointed customers in real-time and address issues while they still matter, rather than discovering problems weeks later through traditional analysis methods.

Analysing customer sentiment data

SmartSurvey's Themantic analysis functionality goes beyond basic sentiment detection, automatically grouping similar responses into meaningful themes while our Text Analysis tools give you complete control for deeper investigation. Whether you're processing hundreds or thousands of responses, our AI delivers instant insights that would typically take weeks of manual analysis – all while maintaining the context and nuance that keyword-based tools often miss.

With live dashboards that update as responses arrive, your team can track sentiment trends, filter by specific emotions, and share branded reports across your organisation. No additional tools required, no delays, no guesswork – just immediate, actionable insights from every piece of customer feedback.

Using sentiment to improve your business

Once you have this information, you must act on it. It's not enough to just know how your customers feel—you need to use that knowledge to improve things.

Identify Areas for Improvement

Review feedback to pinpoint problematic products/services. Pay attention to patterns when analysing customer sentiment. If multiple customers mention the same issue, that's a clear sign of where you need to focus your efforts.

Tailor Marketing Strategies

Understanding customer sentiment can help you speak to your customers in a way that really connects with them.

If you know what your customers like and don't like, you can create marketing messages that hit the right note. You can focus on the things they love about your product and address any concerns they might have.

For instance, if customer sentiment shows people love your product’s eco-friendly side, lean into that. Create ads that spotlight your green credentials, or run an email series explaining the steps you’re taking to protect the planet.

Enhance products and services

Finally, customer sentiment can be an excellent guide for improving your products or services. By listening to how customers feel, you can make changes that will make them happier. That might mean adding new features, changing how something works, or even creating whole new products.

Best practices for tracking sentiment

Before we wrap up, let's look at some best practices for tracking customer sentiment. These tips will help you monitor how your customers are feeling and use that information to improve your business.

• Establish a regular feedback loop with customers: Don't just ask for feedback once and forget about it. Keep checking in with your customers regularly to see how their feelings change over time.

• Integrate sentiment analysis into customer experience (CX) strategies: Make understanding customer sentiment a crucial part of how you design and improve your customer experience.

• Ensure transparency and responsiveness in addressing customer sentiment: When customers share their feelings, good or bad, make sure you respond. Thank them for positive feedback and address negative feedback quickly and honestly.

• Maintain a proactive approach to managing and improving sentiment: Don't wait for problems to pop up. Regularly look at your customer sentiment data and think about ways to make things even better for your customers.

• Set up real-time alerts: Configure your tools to flag sudden dips in sentiment so you can act quickly.

Wrapping Up

Customer sentiment provides invaluable emotional insights to enhance products, services, communications and strategies. By actively listening and responding to feedback, you can consistently exceed expectations rather than just achieving basic satisfaction.

Key Takeaways

Understanding customer sentiment: Customer sentiment refers to the emotions and opinions customers hold about a company, product, or service. It’s more than just satisfaction; it encompasses how customers feel during their interactions with your brand, which can significantly impact their behaviour and loyalty.

Distinguishing sentiment from satisfaction: While customer satisfaction measures whether a product meets expectations, customer sentiment gauges how customers feel about using the product. A product can fulfil its purpose yet evoke neutral or negative sentiments, making it crucial to aim for positive emotional experiences.

Importance of positive sentiment: Positive customer sentiment is vital for building loyalty and retention. Customers with positive emotions towards your brand are more likely to remain loyal, make repeat purchases, and recommend your business to others, which is more cost-effective than acquiring new customers.

Strategic role of sentiment: Tracking customer sentiment over time can reveal trends and areas needing improvement. Integrating sentiment analysis into business strategies allows companies to make informed decisions that prioritise customer happiness and satisfaction, potentially preventing issues before they escalate.

Measuring sentiment: Businesses can measure customer sentiment using various methods, including surveys, social media monitoring, and AI-powered sentiment analysis tools. Each method has its strengths and limitations, with surveys providing direct feedback and AI tools offering scalability.

Actionable insights from sentiment data: Collecting sentiment data is just the first step; the real value lies in using it to drive improvements. Identifying common customer pain points, tailoring marketing strategies, and enhancing products based on sentiment feedback can lead to better customer experiences and stronger brand loyalty.

Best practices for monitoring sentiment: Regularly gathering and responding to customer feedback is essential for maintaining a positive sentiment. Businesses should integrate sentiment analysis into their customer experience strategies, ensure transparency in their responses, and proactively manage sentiment to continually exceed customer expectations.

FAQ

Q: Why does customer sentiment matter to my business?
A: Positive sentiment drives loyalty and growth, while negative sentiment highlights issues that need fixing. Monitoring both helps keep customers satisfied and informed.

Better understand customer sentiment at scale

To discover how your customers truly feel, start having more in-depth conversations. Customer experience platforms like SmartSurvey make it easy to have meaningful dialogues at scale.

Find out more →

About the Author

Alex Morgan, Customer Experience Lead at SmartSurvey. Read more on this page. Alex is also a member of CXPA.