How to Become a Customer Success Manager

What Is Customer Success Management?

Customer success management means ensuring customers get value from what they have bought. That sounds simple, but in practice, it covers a lot of ground. You onboard new customers, walking them through setup and first steps so they do not get stuck. You monitor how they are using the product, looking for signs of trouble or underuse. You run scheduled check-ins, sometimes called quarterly business reviews, to understand their goals and whether the product is helping them get there. When something goes wrong, you coordinate with support and product teams to fix it. When things go well, you look for opportunities to expand the relationship, whether that means upselling features or simply making sure the customer renews. A lot of the job is pattern recognition: spotting which accounts are at risk of leaving before they actually do. The tools of the trade include CRM platforms such as Salesforce or HubSpot, customer success platforms such as Gainsight or ChurnZero, and plenty of spreadsheets plus dashboards. But the real skill is knowing how to listen, ask the right questions, and translate between what customers need and what your company can deliver.

Why Does Customer Success Matter?

The economics are straightforward: it costs far more to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one. Research regularly shows that most customer churn is preventable if problems are caught and resolved early. Yet many companies still lose customers not because the product failed, but because nobody was paying attention. Customer success exists to close that gap. When done well, it reduces churn, increases revenue through renewals and expansions, and generates the kind of word-of-mouth referrals that marketing teams dream about. It also feeds important insights back to product teams, helping shape what gets built next. For subscription-based businesses, especially, customer success is not an optional feature; it is directly tied to revenue. A customer who stays for three years is worth multiples more than one who leaves after six months. That is why the function has grown from a niche role at a handful of SaaS companies to a standard department at businesses across sectors.

Is Customer Success a Good Career?

It is one of the newer career paths in business, but the fundamentals are solid. Here is why it is worth considering.

• Growing demand. The global customer success platforms market was valued at roughly $1.86 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach over $9 billion by 2032. As more companies move to subscription and SaaS models, the need for people who can manage customer relationships post-sale continues to grow. Customer success is no longer limited to tech; financial services, healthcare, education, and media companies are also hiring for these roles.
• Competitive pay. In the UK, entry-level customer success roles typically start around £25,000 to £34,000. Mid-level CSMs earn between £42,000 and £52,000, and experienced professionals can reach £56,000 to £75,000 or more. London roles pay a premium, with averages around £52,000. Senior and enterprise-focused positions at larger companies or those with US parent companies can push well beyond £80,000.
• Remote work is the norm. Customer success work happens on a computer: video calls, CRM updates, email follow-ups, and data analysis. The vast majority of CSM roles offer hybrid or entirely remote arrangements, especially in the tech sector. If location flexibility matters to you, this is one of the better options.
• Varied backgrounds welcome. Unlike some careers that require a specific degree or qualification, customer success draws people from all sorts of backgrounds. Former account managers, sales reps, support agents, teachers, and project managers all bring transferable skills. What matters most is your ability to build relationships, solve problems, and understand how businesses work.
• Clear progression. Most people start as a Customer Success Associate and work their way up to CSM, then to Senior CSM, Team Lead, Head of Customer Success, and eventually to VP or Chief Customer Officer. There are also plenty of ways to branch out, such as product management, sales leadership, consulting, or operations. The experience you gain in customer success, like working with people, analysing data, and managing stakeholders, translates well to just about any business role.
• The work keeps getting interesting. No two customers have the same problems. One week, you might be troubleshooting a technical integration, the next, you are presenting a business review to a C-suite executive. AI and automation are changing the role, with greater emphasis centred on strategic thinking and less on manual tasks. If you enjoy variety and learning, you will not run out of new challenges.

How Do I Become a Customer Success Manager? A Step-by-Step Guide

There is no single qualification that unlocks this career. What employers want is evidence that you understand customers, can work with data, and know how to keep relationships on track. Here is how to build that evidence.

1. 1
   Understand what the role actually involves. Before committing, make sure you know what you are getting into. Customer success is not customer support (resolving tickets) or account management (closing renewals), though it overlaps with both. CSMs focus on the full post-sale journey: onboarding, adoption, retention, and expansion. Read job descriptions on job boards to see what companies are looking for. Follow communities like the Customer Success Collective or r/CustomerSuccess on Reddit to hear from people doing the job. The better you understand the role, the easier it is to position yourself for it.
2. 2
   Get experience in a customer-facing role. Most customer success managers don’t begin their careers with that title. The majority come from roles such as customer support, sales, account management, or any job where they’ve spent time talking to customers, solving problems, and building relationships. If you’re not in a role that puts you in front of customers, that’s where to start. The important thing is to learn to work with different people, figure out what they need, and communicate clearly, even when things get stressful.
3. 3
   Learn the tools of the trade. Customer success runs on specific software, and knowing your way around it gives you an advantage. CRM platforms such as Salesforce and HubSpot are used almost everywhere; get comfortable navigating them, logging activities, and pulling reports. Customer success software like Gainsight, ChurnZero, and Vitally is more specialised but increasingly common at SaaS companies. Most offer free trials or demo environments. Learn the basics of data analysis too: you do not need to be a data scientist, but you should be able to read a dashboard, interpret usage metrics, and spot trends in customer behaviour.
4. 4
   Develop the right skills. Customer success is about communication, problem-solving, and business sense. You’ll need soft skills such as listening well, showing empathy, and handling tough conversations. For example, you’ll often need to tell someone their feature request isn’t possible or help a customer see why they need to do things differently. You’ll also need some hard skills: managing projects, handling data, and knowing enough about the product to talk with customers. If you’re missing anything on this list, it’s worth working on it. Try reading about consultative selling, take a project management course, or practice making dashboards in Google Sheets.
5. 5
   Consider a degree, but know it is not required. A degree in business, marketing, communications, or a related field can help your CV stand out, particularly at larger companies with formal hiring processes. However, customer success is one of those fields where experience and demonstrable skills often matter more than qualifications. Plenty of successful CSMs hold degrees in unrelated subjects or have no degree at all. If you already have a degree, great; use it. If you do not, focus your energy on building experience and skills instead. Employers care far more about whether you can do the job than where you studied.
6. 6
   Pick up a certification. Certifications alone won’t get you hired, but they do show that you’re committed and help you pick up new skills in an organised way. The Certified Customer Success Manager (CCSM) from SuccessCOACHING is a popular choice, offering options from beginner to advanced. The Customer Success Collective also offers a hands-on certification covering onboarding, key metrics, and customer retention strategies. You’ll also find useful credentials from Cisco, Salesforce, and HubSpot in customer relationship management and data analysis. Choose the one that matches your experience and the job you want. There’s no need to collect all of them; one or two good ones are all you need.
7. 7
   Build a track record you can talk about. In interviews, you will be asked to prove you have done this work before. Start collecting evidence now. If you are in a support role, track cases where you turned an unhappy customer into a loyal one. If you are in sales, document how you maintained relationships beyond the close. If you volunteer or freelance, note any client retention results. Even personal projects count: if you helped a community organisation keep its members engaged, that is a transferable story. The goal is to have concrete examples of you identifying customer needs, proactively solving problems, and driving discernible outcomes.
8. 8
   Start applying. If you are new to customer success, look for titles like Customer Success Associate, Customer Success Coordinator, or Junior CSM. These are the entry points. If you have a few years of relevant experience in adjacent roles, you can aim for CSM positions directly. Tailor your CV to each role: highlight customer-facing experience, any metrics you improved, and tools you have used. In your cover letter, show that you understand what customer success is (not just customer support) and why you want to do it. Apply broadly. The first role is the hardest to get, but once you are in, the career opens up quickly.

Resources and Further Reading

• Customer Success Collective – One of the largest communities for customer success professionals. They publish reports, run events, and offer a certification programme covering onboarding, metrics, churn management, and expansion. Good for networking and keeping up with field trends.
• SuccessCOACHING (CCSM Certification) – Offers the Certified Customer Success Manager programme across five levels, starting from foundational to advanced. Trusted by CSMs at major companies worldwide. CPD-accredited and practical in focus. A good option if you want structured training.
• Salesforce Sales Operations Professional Certificate – You’ll learn the basics of CRM, how to build reports and dashboards, and understand the sales cycle. Since Salesforce is everywhere in customer success, being comfortable with it can really boost your job prospects.
• HubSpot Academy – You’ll find free courses on inbound marketing, using CRMs, and customer service. The Inbound Marketing Certification is especially useful for CSMs as it teaches you how to bring in customers, keep them engaged, and retain them, all of which are core parts of the customer success lifecycle.
• Gainsight Pulse Library – Gainsight hosts the biggest customer success conference and shares free talks, frameworks, and playbooks. It’s a great way to see how experienced CS organisations work and learn proven strategies in the real world.
• CustomerSuccessU – A not-for-profit offers free and affordable certifications in customer success and customer service. Good for beginners who want credentials without a big financial commitment. Their Certified Customer Success Manager programme is accessible and very well-structured.
• r/CustomerSuccess – People share career advice, talk about tools, and ask questions about getting started in customer success in this Reddit group. You’ll find real talk about the job, tips on which companies are good to work for and how to handle salary negotiations.
• The Customer Success Café – This newsletter is packed with practical tips on career growth, salary trends, and customer success strategy. If you want to figure out pay in the UK, their salary guide breaks it down clearly.