Client Success Manager Jobs: Salary, Description & Examples
Updated November 20, 2023
- What Does a Customer Success Manager Do?
- What Is the Average Client Success Manager Salary?
- How Does Experience Boost Customer Success Manager Salary?
- Client Success Manager Salary Examples
- What Are Some Similar Roles?
- How to Earn More as Client Success Manager
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Final Thoughts
What do Client Success Managers do, and what are their salaries?
The role requires an understanding of a company’s client base. It focuses on the management and retention of long-term customers.
Base salaries, on average, are around $60,000 to $70,000 (and range from $50,000 on the low end to about $126,000).
These compare favourably to the national average of around $54,000 per year, as specified by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
This article outlines the role and salary levels for Client Success Managers – the staff that manages long-term relationships with a company’s customers.
Examples of the average salary for Customer Success Manager jobs across different companies are shown, alongside ways to make sure you are earning the most you can in these roles.
Similar roles are also described with further salary examples, and frequently asked questions are answered.
What Does a Customer Success Manager Do?
A customer success manager (CSM) is someone hired to understand your customer base and their satisfaction, as well as focusing on solving your long-term customer needs and providing customer support.
Having a customer-first strategy is key for many businesses in the modern world, so focusing on this with high-value CSM staff is important for company success.
A CSM doesn’t just focus on a sale; they are more like a customer mentor, building an ongoing relationship. The main job of a CSM is to build relationships and support customers.
They have specific tasks they need to do as well, such as advocating for the company they work for, encouraging renewals, upsells and cross-sells, as well as being the voice of the customer internally.
What Is the Average Client Success Manager Salary?
Average client success manager salaries are $70,599 (according to Glassdoor.com) or $61,660/$69,699 if you look at Payscale or Indeed, respectively.
The starting salary estimates for CSMs, according to Glassdoor.com, can start from about $55,000 on the low end of the range.
For the highest salaries in this role, you are looking at around $126,000.
According to Indeed.com, if you have one year’s experience or less, you can expect to earn $57,048. After three to five years, this can rise to $70,144.
You can earn even more if you continue on this career path. You could become a senior CSM or even move up to Director or VP of a company.
As Director of Customer Success, salary expectations could be an average of $158,601, according to Salary.com.
How Does Experience Boost Customer Success Manager Salary?
It’s essential for an aspiring CSM to have experience with account management and customer relationship management.
Familiarity with cloud technology is another hard skill that CSMs are expected to possess.
It’s not only experience that helps. Customer success managers will usually earn more if they have a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or in a related or similar field.
When you begin in the field of Client Success, you may have a title that is not on a ‘manager’ level.
Perhaps you will be described as a Client Success Associate, which is often an entry-level role before graduating to becoming a full CSM.
With more than 10 years of experience, you might work up to a Senior Customer Success Manager salary and earn over $88,637.
Your responsibilities will also increase; you might be put in charge of a whole Customer Success team which consists of CSMs and beginner Customer Success Associates.
Director of Customer Success or VP of Customer Success might be roles that you aspire to as well. It can change from company to company, but usually, these are the people who build and mentor the whole team.
They utilize critical thinking, make serious decisions and base strategy on important metrics and reports.
As you become more senior in Customer Success, you work much less on technical or customer-facing situations; instead, 75% of your role is the management of your internal people.
Client Success Manager Salary Examples
There are two key factors that impact a Manager of Customer Success salary: these are regional and organizational differences.
In the USA, a client success manager’s salary is usually found to be the highest in California and New York.
They are the lowest in the states of Nebraska, Kentucky, and Arkansas, according to Zippia.
The company you work for also makes a huge difference in what you’ll earn as a CSM. Here are some examples of average annual salaries:
- Microsoft Customer Success Manager salary (from Indeed.com) – $154,881
- Salesforce Customer Success Manager salary (from Indeed.com) – $144,318
- Slack Customer Success Manager salary (from Glassdoor.com) – $157,166
- IBM Customer Success Manager salary (from Indeed.com) – $163,292
As mentioned in the previous section, the experience will boost your Customer Success Manager salary.
Building your skill set, having a growth mindset and advocating for yourself will also be important when it comes to annual salary reviews.
What Are Some Similar Roles?
Sometimes companies will use different names for similar roles. A Client Relationship Manager or Customer Success Executive might be in the same job in one company as CSM is at another.
The same goes for roles described as Customer Service Manager or Client Services Manager – and even for an Enterprise Customer Success Manager.
Let’s take each of these in turn and give more detail:
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Client Relationship Managers – With a median pay of $87,368, are responsible for building and maintaining solid relationships with clients - listening to their issues or concerns and resolving them.
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Customer Service Managers – Have an average pay of $64,658, and try to ensure that customers are satisfied during their company interactions, providing high-quality customer service and ensuring that the right company policies are followed.
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Client Services Managers – Earn a median pay of $90,446, have a mid-level management role and work on developing a positive customer experience that fosters relationships to support brand loyalty.
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Customer Success Executive – Customer success executive salary levels average at around $60,631. They troubleshoot client challenges while building relationships with them and advocating for client needs within the company they work for
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Enterprise Customer Success Manager – Salary levels are around $85,264. They are responsible for turning customers into ambassadors, and they lead relationship management, guiding clients from initial onboarding and becoming the main long-term point of contact for them
If you are looking for a more niche role with a higher starting pay, you may want to become a specialist.
Like with all jobs, extra technical knowledge is rewarded, especially at the start of one’s career.
For example, a Customer Success Specialist salary is at the higher end because they are responsible for handling a customer launch lifecycle.
This starts with them sending the customer product credentials, guides, roadmaps, and lots of FAQs – helping customers familiarize themselves with the company and its offerings and perhaps even training them on how to use the product.
Salaries will, of course, go up with title and experience.
As a Director of Client Success, salary expectations can be around the average of $116,303, according to Indeed.com.
How to Earn More as Client Success Manager
Your salary for Customer Success Manager roles will largely depend on your ability to negotiate and what you bring to the table as you begin at a company.
You can build your experience and educational background before applying for roles in CSM, as these help with your earning potential.
The key skills of customer success managers include:
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Customer service skills – In this role, the customer should always be at the forefront of your mind. Their wins are your wins – so you want to really get inside their minds and invest in relationships to be successful in this position
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Analytical skills – The ability to collate and analyze information through surveys, reviews, referrals etc., is crucial for CSMs. They need to organize and share this information with other stakeholders to ensure company decisions always factor into the customer
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Leadership skills – Taking initiative is required to be a good leader - sharing your vision from the front, working well as a manager, or inspiring others to follow are strong leadership qualities and indicators
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Client-facing skills – This refers to how you interact with customers long-term. Most customer success managers have ongoing relationships with their customers, not just solving one issue with one person at a time and moving on to the next. You always need to be looking ahead and advocating for your clients, and being prepared for the next roadblock that comes their way
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Account management – You will have to deal with multiple customers simultaneously, so the ability to manage several accounts is very important. You need to manage your time well and multitask like an expert so that no customer feels neglected. Remember, their wins are your wins
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Software skills (AI, cloud knowledge, specific software) – It’s not just enough to understand what you’re selling because you need to be familiar with the products your customers are regularly using too. If you understand their workflow and the technical aspects as well, then you can help your customers achieve their fullest potential
If you have more niche skills, such as engineering, that can also help you earn more.
For example, a Customer Success Engineer’s salary typically falls between $88,988 and $112,161, according to Salary.com.
All Client Success, Specialist salary ranges are generally higher than those of non-specialists, so it’s worth building your knowledge base.
Consider moving cities also to earn more as a CSM; the highest-earning ones live in San Francisco and New York City. Customer Success, Executive salary levels, can change according to the company you work for too, so it’s not just a geographical change you might consider.
If you aim to further your career, then progressing past CSM salary levels to Senior CSM and then to Director of Customer Success salary levels will appeal to you.
Getting promotions will take strategy and focus, but this is definitely something to aim for.
Frequently Asked Questions
A customer success manager (CSM) is someone hired to understand your customer base and their satisfaction, as well as focusing on solving your long-term customer needs.
A CSM doesn’t just focus on a sale; they are more like a mentor for your customers, building an ongoing relationship.
The main job a CSM has is to build relationships and support customers.
Average client success manager salaries are $70,599 (according to Glassdoor.com) or $69,699/$61,660 according to Payscale or Indeed, respectively.
The starting salaries for CSMs, according to Glassdoor.com, can start from about $55,000 on the low end of the range.
For high-end salaries in this role, you are looking at about $126,000.
Becoming a customer success manager can help to have some educational qualifications (you will usually earn more if you have a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or in a related field).
You will need, more importantly, relevant work experience. Because a CSM is a senior-level position, you will have to work your way up.
Usually, people start in an entry-level position as a customer service representative, become team leaders after some time, and then continue to prove themselves over a period of years before entering the managerial role of CSM.
Any managerial role requires handling team members, which can be stressful - as people are all unique and require nuanced leadership.
CSMs have to be problem solvers and excellent at managing expectations.
There are going to be scenarios where doing this work is hard because you are also dealing with customers on top of the team you are managing, so a CSM needs to be able to manage stress well.
CSMs are in demand because excellent customer service is a huge contributing factor for customer-facing businesses to succeed.
In the modern world, companies clearly see the value in strong customer experience and fostering an on-going and rewarding customer relationship.
It requires a blend of great interpersonal skills and business savvy to be a CSM, and they are well-rewarded, too, as people in these careers are in demand.
A customer success manager is an expert in people-management, works with others and aims to increase a company’s overall revenue.
So any company that has customers would ideally want a CSM who links customers with product success by managing long-term relations and retaining valued custom.
Some examples of companies that hire CSMs are Slack, IBM, Salesforce and Microsoft.
If you are interested in your development and looking to advance your career with a high-paying role, then customer success management is a great path to consider.
Even after you become a CSM, there are lots of options for executive roles in various fields that would allow you to move on to even more lucrative or high-paying jobs.
Customer success managers often work at least 40 hours a week, sometimes more. They work in shifts often, and this is not considered an easy or laid-back job.
CSMs are usually expected to be available through unsociable hours to handle customer issues. But for this strong job commitment, the efforts made are often well rewarded with high salaries.
According to Customer Success Box, the average salary for CSMs has clearly and steadily increased over the last few years.
This upward trend is expected to continue for a while because companies are focusing on retaining their long-term customers.
Organizations are also upselling, cross-selling, expanding product adoption and winning other customer referrals through these strong relationships.
The newer importance of customer outcomes over traditional business outcomes has been highlighted, so companies see that this change in focus requires them to retain the best staff available.
CSMs are highly sought after and respected, so it’s difficult to get a role like this with no experience.
Qualifications like several years of customer service experience, as well as a bachelor’s degree in a relevant subject, are usually expected for customer success management jobs.
You would also likely be required to have some experience with the items and services your company offers before you can properly work with a team you are managing or handle client inquiries.
A great customer success manager should have good communication skills, technical knowledge, and empathetic team management capabilities. Great problem-solving and attention to detail are also helpful in this role.
It’s important for an aspiring CSM to have experience with account management and customer relationship management.
Familiarity with cloud technology is another hard skill that CSMs are expected to have.
A CSM is a senior-level position, so you will have to work your way up. If this is your first job, people often start in an entry-level position as a customer service representative.
After some time, they become team-leader, taking a group of people on the same journey.
If they then continue to prove themselves over a period of years, they can enter the managerial role of CSM.
Usually, it can take five to eight years of working or higher education before landing a CSM role.
Final Thoughts
The role of a customer success manager has become increasingly important in most companies.
CSMs work alongside other departments to ensure that the company’s customers are happy and that problems are fully resolved.
The average Customer Success Manager salary is around the $60k to $70K mark, depending on where you work in the country and for which company.
It can vary somewhat if you are a specialist or an engineer, but you are looking at a total range of between $55,000 on the low end and about $126,000 on the high end.
In summary, the salaries available are on the generous side if you work in CSM.
An average Senior Customer Success Manager salary might appeal to you even more if you are willing to put in the time and work to get a promotion.
If you would like to progress your career, then aiming for a Director of Client Success salary is a big jump, but certainly, one to aspire toward.
