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Winning a new customer can feel like a victory, but it’s only the beginning. Real success lies in turning that initial excitement into a long-term, loyal relationship.
Even the most powerful products won’t deliver lasting value to businesses without the right support. That’s where a customer success manager (CSM) comes in, not just to assist but to guide customers at every stage of their journey.
Customer success managers have just evolved from a support add-on into a core part of business strategy. Today, they play a major role in strengthening connections and driving customer retention.
In this blog, we’ll explore everything you need to know about customer success managers, who they are, the skills they need, and the value they deliver to your business.
Who is a customer success manager?
A customer success manager (CSM), also known as a client success manager, is a strategic professional who steps in after a sale is closed to help customers achieve their goals and continuously gain value from your product or service.
Unlike the support team, which responds to issues after they arise, customer success managers take a proactive approach, anticipating challenges, offering personalized guidance, and keeping customers on track for success.
Often serving as long-term partners, client success managers build strong relationships, promote satisfaction, reduce churn, and identify opportunities for growth throughout the customer journey.
What does a customer success manager do?
Customer success is a proactive strategy focused on helping customers achieve their goals with a product or service.
Customer success managers act as long-term partners who align the product with customers’ objectives and offer ongoing strategic support.
For example, think of a healthcare facility that adopts a new digital system to manage patient records and appointments.
While the software is powerful, the staff may need help unlocking its full potential. A CSM steps in to understand their goals, like quick scheduling or fewer errors, and leads them through setup and training.
Even after launch, the CSM remains involved, ensuring the system evolves with the hospital’s changing needs.
Here are the specific roles a CSM plays:
- Onboards new customers effectively: Customer success managers guide new clients when they first sign up. They provide hands-on customer service training and guidance. According to Customer Success Collective, 91% of companies offer live onboarding sessions led by CSMs that provide tailored, interactive customer support.
- Encourages product adoption: By highlighting key features and sharing best practices, customer success managers ensure clients fully understand the product and know how to use it effectively.
- Monitors customer behavior: Client success managers track usage patterns, engagement levels, and customer satisfaction scores. If they identify signs of friction or low engagement, they step in early to offer support and keep customers on track.
- Manages renewals and retention: Customer success managers maintain regular check-ins and remind customers when their contract renewal dates are approaching to avoid service disruption. This proactive approach is crucial, as the likelihood of selling to an existing customer is 60–70%, compared to just 5–20% for new prospects (Outboundengine).
- Identifies growth opportunities: With a deep understanding of customer needs, customer success managers can recommend valuable upgrades, like premium features or new tools, in a way that feels supportive and aligned with the customer’s goals.
- Acts as the voice of the customer: Due to the close relationship client success managers have with customers, they can share feedback or pain points with product, marketing, and leadership teams for better decisions and outcomes.
- Builds long-term relationships: Client success managers go beyond managing accounts; they become trusted partners. By understanding each customer’s goals, challenges, and milestones, they foster strong, meaningful connections that drive mutual growth.
Does your business need a customer success manager?
Bringing in a customer success manager is a strategic move that can significantly impact customer relationships and long-term growth.
But is it the right step for your business? Here are some factors to consider:
- The cost: Hiring a customer success manager involves investing in tools, training, and time. If your budget is tight, weigh the potential gains in retention, upselling opportunities, and customer satisfaction before committing.
- Customer type and relationship length: B2B companies with long-term contracts or high-value clients benefit more from a customer success manager than B2C businesses focused on quick, transactional sales. The longer and more valuable the relationship is, the more a CSM can contribute.
- Business size and growth rate: Larger or fast-growing companies often face more complex customer needs. A CSM helps keep consistent service and organization. Smaller businesses may not need one unless customer demands are advanced.
- Product update frequency: If your product evolves regularly, customers need help to stay informed and updated. A CSM ensures they understand and adopt new features, reducing confusion and support tickets.
- Product complexity and onboarding needs: Products or services with steep learning curves benefit from customer success managers who guide customers through onboarding and help them continue to see value.
Customer success manager skills
If you’re aiming for a role as a client success manager, it’s not just having the right qualifications, it’s about developing a blend of customer service skills, mindset, and approaches that help clients grow.
Here’s what makes a great customer success manager who can drive customer outcomes and contribute to long-term business success.
Customer-first mindset
Great CSMs always put customers’ success at the center of every decision. They should advocate for the customer internally, align solutions with goals, and go the extra mile to ensure clients feel valued and supported.
When customers know you’re invested in their success, they’re more likely to stay loyal and engaged.
Empathy
A customer success manager who truly understands and cares about customers’ feelings and emotions can build trust and deliver more relevant, personalized customer service.
A study by TalentSmart suggests that emotional intelligence accounts for 58% of job performance, helping customer success professionals understand client needs.
Empathetic CSMs are good at resolving issues with care and creating a positive emotional connection that fosters deeper relationships.
Good communication skills
CSMs spend a lot of time explaining, guiding, and supporting clients. Clear, consistent communication is essential for setting expectations, resolving issues, and building trust.
Client success managers must be able to:
- Explain complex ideas in a simple, easy-to-understand way
- Listen actively and adapt their communication style to different audiences
- Communicate customer concerns well
Being proactive
Proactivite customer service means identifying risks early, offering solutions before they’re needed, and continuously adding value.
You don’t have to wait for problems; you have to anticipate them. This approach ensures customers have a consistent experience and builds confidence in the partnership.
Analytical skills and data-driven decision-making
As a CSM, drawing insights from data is essential for daily decision-making.
In fact, 88% of companies use data to enhance their understanding of each customer, highlighting its growing role in customer success (Invesp).
By tracking key customer service metrics, you can identify trends, anticipate issues, and communicate your findings effectively to the customer success team and other stakeholders.
Strong problem-solving abilities
Every customer is unique, and challenges are inevitable. Great CSMs think critically, stay calm under pressure, and find creative, effective solutions.
This not only resolves issues efficiently but also shows customers they can rely on you.
Deep understanding of the product and industry
To guide customers effectively, client success managers must be product experts.
This includes knowing its features, how the product works, pricing models, integration options, limitations, and how it evolves in the customer’s industry.
Ability to build strong customer relationships
Trust and loyalty are built through consistent, meaningful interactions.
Outstanding customer success managers invest time understanding their customers and following up on commitments to create lasting relationships.
Being able to track customer interactions across various touchpoints, build detailed customer profiles, and research their customers enables CSMs to personalize their approach, anticipate challenges, and deliver value that aligns with each client’s unique needs.
Stay flexible and adaptable
Customer needs, tools, and strategies evolve constantly. Great CSMs embrace change, adjust quickly, and remain open to new ideas.
According to McKinsey, adaptability leads to a 3.3 times increase in innovative behavior and a 2.9 times boost in engagement.
This flexibility enables CSM to meet diverse customer expectations and thrive in a fast-paced environment.
Collaboration skills
Client success managers are the voice of the customer within the company. They have to work closely with sales, support, product, and marketing teams to ensure seamless experience across departments.
Strong collaboration ensures that clients are offered well-thought-out solutions, and customer feedback is heard and acted upon.
Drive business growth with the right customer success manager
Strong customer relationships are the foundation of long-term business growth, and exceptional customer success managers help them flourish.
By staying connected, offering proactive support, aligning with customer goals, and ensuring users get real value from your product, customer success managers turn everyday clients into loyal advocates.
To elevate these outcomes, equip them with powerful tools like BoldDesk, designed to streamline communication, monitor the entire customer journey, and solve issues quickly across channels.
Curious to learn more about BoldDesk? Reach out to our team to see how BoldDesk can enhance your customer success strategy.
Have you worked with or as a customer success manager? We’d love to hear your insights; share them in the comments below.
Related articles
- Customer Success: Why Your Business Needs It
- SaaS Customer Success: 9 Best Practices, Importance, and Tools
- Customer Support vs. Customer Service: Unlocking the Key Differences
FAQs for the customer success manager
Customer support team is reactive, they respond when something goes wrong, resolving technical problems and answering immediate questions.
CSMs, on the other hand, take a proactive approach. They guide clients through onboarding and adoption to ensure they get the most from your product or service while also providing strategies to prevent future issues and achieve long-term goals.
- Product-focused CSMs help customers get maximum value from the product by guiding them through features and usage.
- Process-driven CSMs work to optimize the customer journey, improving workflows and ensuring a seamless experience.
- Sales-focused CSMs support growth by identifying upselling, cross-selling, and renewal opportunities.
Their effectiveness is reflected in how well your customers achieve their goals using your product.
To evaluate your impact, track key customer experience metrics such as net promoter score, customer satisfaction, and customer lifetime value.
To stay responsive, personalized, and consistent throughout the customer journey, customer success managers need the right tools.
Look for a solution that includes help desk ticketing to manage and resolve customer issues efficiently, contact management to organize detailed customer data, and an omnichannel inbox that brings all customer interactions into one place, among others.
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