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12.2. Creating Surveys

How to Create a Customer Survey

HelpSpot's native customer surveys let you measure customer satisfaction by sending a short, single-question survey to customers after their request is closed. Responses are captured in HelpSpot and can be reviewed through the Survey Responses and Trends reports.

This guide walks you through creating a survey from start to finish.

Before You Begin

You will need one of the following to access survey administration:

• An admin account, or
• A user assigned to a permission group that has Manage Surveys enabled

If you don't see the Surveys link in the admin menu, ask your HelpSpot administrator to grant the Manage Surveys permission to your permission group.

Step 1: Open the Survey Admin Page

1. Log in to HelpSpot as an admin.
2. Click Admin in the top navigation.
3. In the left sidebar, click Surveys.

You'll land on the Customer Satisfaction Surveys list, which shows each survey's scoring type and response count.

Step 2: Start a New Survey

Click the Create Survey button in the top-right corner of the list. This opens the Create Survey form.

Step 3: Fill in the Basic Details

Complete the required fields:

• Survey Name — An internal name used to identify the survey in HelpSpot (e.g., "Post-Resolution CSAT"). Customers do not see this.
• Survey Title (optional) — The heading customers see at the top of the survey page.
• Question — The question the customer answers. Up to 500 characters. Example: "How would you rate the support you received?"

Step 4: Choose a Scoring Type

Select how customers will answer. Each survey has exactly one question, and the scoring type determines the response format:

Scoring Type	Scale	Response Buckets	Headline Metric
CSAT (1–5)	1–5	Dissatisfied (1–3) / Satisfied (4–5)	CSAT Score (%)
Customer Loyalty (0–10)	0–10	Detractors (0–6) / Passives (7–8) / Promoters (9–10)	Loyalty Score (−100 to 100)
Thumbs Up/Down	Binary (0 or 1)	Thumbs Down / Thumbs Up	Positive Rate (%)

How each score is calculated

HelpSpot computes one headline number per survey and shows it on the Customer Surveys reports. Each scoring type uses a different formula:

CSAT Score

The percentage of responses that scored 4 or 5 out of 5. Responses of 1, 2, or 3 count against the score; the individual distribution among them does not affect the number.

CSAT Score = (count of responses with score ≥ 4 / total responses) × 100

Displayed as a percentage from 0% to 100%. A typical "good" CSAT score sits in the 80–90% range.

Example: 100 responses — 70 were 5s, 15 were 4s, 10 were 3s, 5 were 1s. CSAT Score = (70 + 15) / 100 × 100 = 85%.

Loyalty Score

The percentage of Promoters (scored 9 or 10) minus the percentage of Detractors (scored 0 through 6). Passives (7–8) are counted in the total but do not directly raise or lower the score.

Loyalty Score = ((Promoters − Detractors) / total responses) × 100

Displayed as a single number from −100 to 100. Unlike CSAT and Positive Rate, this value can be negative when Detractors outnumber Promoters.

Example: 100 responses — 50 Promoters, 20 Passives, 30 Detractors. Loyalty Score = (50 − 30) / 100 × 100 = 20.

Positive Rate

The percentage of responses that were Thumbs Up.

Positive Rate = (count of thumbs-up responses / total responses) × 100

Displayed as a percentage from 0% to 100%.

Example: 80 thumbs up and 20 thumbs down out of 100 responses. Positive Rate = 80 / 100 × 100 = 80%.

Calculation rules that apply to all scoring types

• Each score is rounded to one decimal place.
• If a survey has no responses in the selected date range, the score is displayed as “—” rather than zero.
• chart, so the chart and the headline always agree.
• Customer comments do not affect the score — scoring is based solely on the numeric response.

Step 5: Customize Feedback Messages

For each score bucket (for example, Satisfied and Dissatisfied under CSAT), you can edit the message the customer sees after submitting their response. Default messages are prefilled, so you can leave these as-is or tailor them to your brand voice.

Check the Show Comment Box checkbox if you want customers to be able to leave a free-text comment along with their score. Comments appear on the Survey Responses report.

Step 6: Apply Branding

Make the survey page match your brand:

• Survey Title — Optional heading shown to the customer above the question.
• Logo — Upload a JPG, PNG, GIF, or SVG (max 2 MB). Displayed at the top of the survey page.
• Primary Color — Used for buttons and accent elements. Default is #3B82F6.
• Background Color — The survey page background. Default is #F9FAFB.
• Use color gradient for score buttons — For CSAT and Customer Loyalty, enable this to show a red-to-green gradient across the response buttons.

A live Preview at the bottom of the form updates as you change the question, colors, and gradient option so you can see what the customer will see before you save.

Step 7: Save the Survey

Click the Create Survey button at the bottom of the form. HelpSpot saves the survey and returns you to the Surveys list with a success message.

Step 8: Set Up Delivery (Automation Rule)

Immediately after saving, HelpSpot shows a "Send this survey automatically?" dialog offering to create an automation rule that emails the survey to customers after their request is closed.

You have two options:

1. Create Automation Rule — HelpSpot generates a default rule that triggers 2–3 days after a request is closed and emails the customer a link to the survey. You can fine-tune the conditions (category, mailbox, wait time, email template) afterward under Admin → Triggers & Rules → Automation Rules.
2. Not Now — Skip the default and create your own rule later. Use the template tag {{ $survey_<ID> }} in the email body, replacing <ID> with the survey's numeric ID, to insert the survey link.

Step 9: Activate the Survey

Back on the Surveys list, make sure the new survey's status is Active. Use the Activate / Deactivate toggle to control whether the automation rule sends it. Deactivating a survey stops new sends but preserves existing responses.

Viewing Survey Results

To review responses, click the response count next to any survey on the Surveys list, or go to Reports → Customer Surveys → Survey Responses.

The Survey Responses report lists every submission with its date, the originating request, the customer, the assigned agent, the color-coded score, the rating label (for example Satisfied or Dissatisfied), and any comment the customer left. Use the filter bar at the bottom to change the date range or switch between surveys, and use Export CSV to download the data.