The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is an economic indicator that measures the satisfaction of consumers across the U.S. economy. It is produced by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI LLC) based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The ACSI interviews about 350,000 customers annually and asks about their satisfaction with the goods and services they have purchased and consumed. Respondents are screened to ensure inclusion of actual customers of a wide range of business-to-consumer products and services, including durable goods, services, non-durable goods, local government services, federal government services, and so forth. Customer satisfaction (ACSI) scores are released monthly throughout each calendar year. ACSI data is used by researchers,[1] corporations,[2][3] government agencies,[4] market analysts and investors,[5] industry trade associations, and consumers.
A company's ACSI score is derived from three manifest variables (i.e. survey questions) within the ACSI questionnaire, each rated on a 1-10 scale by the respondents interviewed for that company, government agency, or other organization:[7]
More information Manifest Variable ...
Manifest Variable |
1 |
10 |
Overall satisfaction (X1) |
Very dissatisfied |
Very satisfied |
Expectancy disconfirmation (X2) |
Falls short of your expectations |
Exceeds your expectations |
Comparison to an ideal (X3) |
Not very close to the ideal |
Very close to the ideal |
Close
The 0-100 ACSI score is estimated using the mean for each variable from the n responses for that company (X1, X2, X3), along with the weights for each question as calculated within the ACSI structural equation model (W1, W2, W3):
(((X1*W1)+(X2*W2)+(X3*W3))-1)/9*100
In a 2006 paper published in the Journal of Marketing, it was shown that a portfolio of stocks chosen based on their customer satisfaction outperformed the market.[9][10] A 2016 article in the same journal,[11] examining returns from a fund trading exclusively on ACSI data, found that strong satisfaction companies significantly outperformed the S&P 500 (518% to 31%) during the study period (2000-2014).
Research groups, quality associations and universities in several countries are using the ACSI model to create customer satisfaction indices for their own national economies. The list of governments that have adopted the ACSI model include India, Saudi Arabia, Singapore,[6] Dubai, Kuwait, South Africa, Honduras,[12] Puerto Rico,[13] and Colombia.[14] The development of an international system of customer satisfaction measurement founded on a common methodology allows for comprehensive cross-national satisfaction benchmarking.[15]
In addition to ACSI LLC, CFI Group LLC is licensed to apply the methodology for individual companies. ACSI Funds, which manages an exchange-traded fund (ETF), uses ACSI data for trading under the ticker symbol "ACSI".[16]
Luo, Xueming and C.B. Bhattacharya. (2006) "Corporate Social Responsibility, Customer Satisfaction, and Market Value." Journal of Marketing, Vol. 70, 1-18
Fornell, Claes, Roland T. Rust and Marnik Dekimpe. (2010) "The Effect of Customer Satisfaction on Consumer Spending Growth." Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 47, 28-35
Fornell, Claes, et al. (2006), "Customer Satisfaction and Stock Prices: High Returns, Low Risk," Journal of Marketing, Vol. 70, 3-14
Aksoy, Lerzan et al. "The Long Term Stock Market Valuation of Customer Satisfaction," Journal of Marketing, Vol. 72, 105-122
Fornell, Claes, Forrest V. Morgeson III and G. Tomas M. Hult (2016), "Stock Returns on Customer Satisfaction Do Beat the Market: Gauging the Effect of a Marketing Intangible," Journal of Marketing, Vol. 80, 92-107
Morgeson III, F.V. et al. (2011) "An Investigation of the Cross-National Determinants of Customer Satisfaction." Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 39, 198-215
Cowan, Gerrard. "An ETF That Tracks Happy Customers," Wall Street Journal, March 5, 2017.