How to build a customer satisfaction survey with real-time reports

Measure satisfaction in real time, not after it’s too late

In this guide, you’ll learn how to build a customer satisfaction (CSAT) survey that captures immediate feedback, calculates satisfaction scores, and updates live dashboards automatically. You’ll see how to analyze trends, follow up with unhappy customers, and share insights with your team, all in one place.
📘 Learn more: Create your first form, app, or portal in a flash

Step 1 — Create your CSAT survey form

Start from your workspace and click + New → Form. You can start from scratch or choose the CSAT Survey or Customer Feedback template from the Template gallery.

Or use Magic Create, describe your intent, like:

“A customer satisfaction survey that tracks scores, collects comments, and updates dashboards automatically.”

Why this matters: starting with the right structure ensures consistent data for accurate analysis.
📘 Learn more: How to create a form

Step 2 — Add questions that capture satisfaction clearly

Mix quantitative and qualitative questions to understand both numbers and emotions:

• How satisfied are you with our product/service? (rating or emoji scale)
  
  
• What worked well for you? (long text)
  
  
• What can we improve? (long text)
  
  
• Would you recommend us to others? (Yes/No or NPS scale)
  
  
• Optional: your name or email (for follow-up)
  
  

💡 Tip: Keep it under 6 questions, short surveys increase completion rates and response quality.
📘 Learn more: Form editor and field types

Step 3 — Add automatic CSAT scoring

Turn your rating question into a measurable metric.

Example setup:

• Use a variable field to convert the rating into a numeric score (e.g., Very satisfied = 5, Neutral = 3, Dissatisfied = 1).
  
  
• Create a formula variable to calculate the average CSAT score per response.
  
  
• Use conditional logic to label responses:
  
  
  
  • If score ≥ 4 → Satisfied
    
    
  • If score ≤ 2 → Needs follow-up
    
    

📘 Learn more: How to add and calculate scores using variable fields

Step 4 — Use logic to personalize follow-up questions

Open Settings → Advanced logic and make your survey adapt dynamically:

• If rating ≤ 3 → Show “What could we improve?”
  
  
• If rating ≥ 4 → Show “What did you enjoy most?”
  
  
• If rating ≤ 2 → Tag response as “Critical.”
  
  

Why this matters: targeted follow-ups increase insight depth and keep surveys short for happy customers.
📘 Learn more: How to show or hide multiple fields based on previous answers

Step 5 — Automate notifications and follow-ups

Go to Settings → Advanced logic or Notify tab to create automatic alerts:

• Notify your support team when a low rating is submitted.
  
  
• Send a thank-you email for positive feedback.
  
  
• Auto-assign follow-ups based on rating category.
  
  

💡 Pro tip: personalize replies with field IDs like @name, @score, or @feedback_text.
📘 Learn more: How to create and send custom email templates

Step 6 — Visualize CSAT data instantly

Open your Results → Responses page to see real-time insights.
Add dashboard blocks such as:

• Table view to review feedback and scores.
  
  
• Charts showing average satisfaction by product, team, or time period.
  
  
• Kanban view grouped by status (Satisfied, Neutral, Needs follow-up).
  
  📘 Learn more: How to showcase charts based on form responses

Step 7 — Share real-time dashboards with your team

Build a Customer Insights Portal where managers can monitor results instantly.
From your project, create a Portal and add pages like:

• CSAT Dashboard, includes charts and tables.
  
  
• Customer Comments, filtered for low ratings.
  
  
• Weekly Summary, with average scores by department.
  
  

Restrict access to team members or departments only.
📘 Learn more: How to create a portal and manage users’ access

Step 8 — Analyze patterns with AI

Use AI Analyze to uncover trends automatically:

• Identify top recurring pain points.
  
  
• Summarize open-text feedback.
  
  
• Generate insights like “Satisfaction dropped after version 2.0 release.”
  
  

📘 Learn more: Uncover insights and trends in your data with AI Analyze

Pro tips

• Keep the survey mobile-friendly, most responses come from phones.
  
  
• Schedule monthly summaries using exports or dashboards.
  
  
• Combine this with NPS or product-specific forms for richer insights.
  📘 Learn more: How to create a CSAT survey
  
  

Example scenario

A customer fills your CSAT survey and gives a score of 2. The system tags it as “Critical,” alerts the support team, and sends a personalized email offering help. Meanwhile, the dashboard updates instantly, showing an average satisfaction drop for that week. The team reviews comments in the portal and takes action within hours.
📘 Learn more: Build personalized and time-saving flows with logic, automations, and AI

FAQ

1. Can I calculate average satisfaction automatically?
   Yes, use variable fields or chart aggregations to compute and display average scores in real time.
2. Can I filter feedback by product or region?
   Absolutely. Add dropdown filters and use tables filter by those fields.
3. Can customers see the results?
   You can share a public chart view or create a summary portal for transparency.
   📘 Learn more: How to share your form or app with your team or audience

Your real-time CSAT system is live, start turning feedback into action

You’ve built a customer satisfaction survey that updates live, alerts your team instantly, and reveals actionable insights without manual effort. Keep refining it to spot trends earlier and boost your customer happiness with every response.
📘 Learn more: How to personalize ending pages and email notifications with AI

Last updated October 2025

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