What is a customer success manager?
A customer success manager (CSM) is a professional who is responsible for ensuring that customers are successful in using a company’s products or services. CSMs typically work with customers from the time they sign up for a product or service until they cancel or renew their subscription.
What does a customer success manager do?
The main responsibilities of a CSM include:
Onboarding new customers: CSMs work with new customers to help them get set up with a company’s products or services, including training, answering questions, and troubleshooting any problems.
Providing ongoing support: This may include answering questions, troubleshooting problems, and providing recommendations for how customers can get the most out of a company’s products or services.
Identifying and addressing customer pain points: CSMs work with customers to develop solutions to their problems, or it may involve working with other departments within a company to make changes to products or services.
Upselling and cross-selling: Depending on if your organization has an account management team, or if your sales team is responsible for upselling and cross-selling opportunities, your CRMs might also be responsible for these. This involves identifying customers who are a good fit for other products or services or providing information about other products or services that can help customers get the most out of their current subscription.
Managing customer expectations: Additionally, CSMs help manage customer expectations by setting realistic expectations for what customers can expect from a company’s products or services or communicating with customers about changes to products or services.
How to become a customer success manager?
CSMs typically have a background in sales, customer service, or marketing. They are also typically highly organized and have excellent communication and problem-solving skills. If you are interested in a career as a customer success manager, prepare by:
- Gaining experience in sales, customer service, or marketing.
- Developing your communication, problem-solving, organizational, and customer focus skills.
- Networking with people in the customer success industry.
- Getting certified in customer success.
How much does a customer success manager make? According to data from Glassdoor, Customer Success Managers make an average of $94,158 per year in the U.S., with an average salary of $70,494. The other $24,000 is tied to incentive compensation, which can be set up and tracked in QuotaPath.