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Customer Success Manager

Fundamentals to your CSM career

4.5 Filled star Filled star Filled star Filled star Half star
Based on 7,595 ratings
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Gustavo Escobar Henríquez and Digital Life Academy

Uzo Akotaobi, Director, Human Resources at Comcast, said:

Read more

Uzo Akotaobi, Director, Human Resources at Comcast, said:

"I took Gustavo's course about Customer Success and found it to be the single most valuable resource I tapped into when pursuing a career in this space. The reason for that is because Gustavo was able to explain the science of customer success in such a way to where you could look at your own experience whether it was in Customer Success or not and find ways to translate it to a resume. This helped me tailor my resume to Customer Success jobs in ways I didn't think to do otherwise. I can attest to the fact that after I took the course on Customer Success and revised my resume, recruiters responded more frequently. No joke. 3 different companies contacted me over the course of 3 weeks vs. NONE before. My background is in HR so I was looking at Customer Success roles in the HR technology space. Gustavo was easy to understand and the content was insightful. There is no silver bullet but if you take his course and really try to understand how your experience translates to Customer Success, there is no way you won't benefit from this course. I know I did and I got the interviews and job OFFER to prove it.   "

What is a Customer Success Manager?

In the digital age, tons of new jobs have sprung up. Most people think of computer programming, website design or software integration, but what about the human side? The Customer Success Manager is one such job.

To sum it up in one sentence: This job is simply helping customers accomplish their goals with the software or service they purchased. 

For any business, client retention is huge. It costs a company way less to keep a customer than to acquire a new one, and even more costly is to try and win that customer back. That's where this job comes in. If they have a complaint, you take care of it. If they succeed, you celebrate with them. You get to build long-term relationships with the clients, and as the client's needs adapt and change, you get to assist them in that process.

Benefits of working as a Customer Success Manager

Let's start with Salary. According to Payscale the average salary for an Entry-Level Customer Success Manager is $59,619 per year and $69,210 when you are past Entry-level and can reach into the 6 figure range for those who excel at this position. 

More and more companies are seeing the incredible opportunities this type of job can provide. Startups and tech companies are leading the way, both big and small, and this field of work is only growing bigger. 

And let's not forget perks. Because a lot of these jobs are at tech and startup companies, often they have great employee benefits such as:

  • Great health care coverage, and even gym memberships.

  • Amazing offices, with plenty of recreational activities around.

  • Often they will match your 401(K).

  • Free snacks, free catered lunches every day… some even free beer.

  • Happy hours or cocktail afternoons.

  • Company trips, dinners, events.

  • Flexible hours and unlimited vacations.

  • Remote work.

  • And of course: equity.

If you consider all of the benefits, the salary, and how dynamic this position is, it definitely makes sense to invest a few dollars in a course that will help you learn about and prepare for this growing job opportunity.Enroll now, and I'll see you on the inside.

Enroll now

What's inside

Learning objectives

  • Have a better understanding of what your job as customer success manager will be like
  • Understand the fundamental principles of customer success. which will be the foundation for your career as a csm
  • Be more prepared for a customer success manager job interview (we will not cover interview skills, but you will know more about customer success)
  • Show your interviewers that you are more knowledgeable about customer success than most of the people
  • Get ready to start your new job with as a customer success manager

Syllabus

Start with this section to make sure you know how to make the best of this Customer Success course

This is an introduction to the Customer Success course and a presentation of the instructor.

Read more

Since Customer Success is all about engaging with your community, lets engage and get to know each other

If you want to get a customer success manager salary you need to understand these concepts perfectly

In this video you will learn what are the consequences of a wrong Customer Success Management.

Find out when is the best moment to lay down the foundation of your Customer Success strategies

Customer Success is more than just another department of the company. In this video you will understand how deep the Customer Success ideas should run in your company

Here you will learn the main vocabulary that a Customer Success Manager should know. This is key for building your resume and cover letter to apply to a Customer Success Manager job

A Customer Success Manager job description, so that you understand perfectly what is your mission a CSM.

To be get a Customer Success Manager salary, you need to have a particular set of skill that will allow you to be a great CSM. In this video you will learn what are the skill that you need to develop

This is a key factor to make sure your retention rates (and therefor the money you make) are excellent

A concept that you must know to help your users becoming paying customers

This is a must in Customer Success Management. Do this and you will get great results a CSM. Learn this and use the knowledge for a job interview to show how much you know about Customer Success

How to get your users from just users to happy loyal customers

As a Customer Success Manager you must always show value to your clients

This is the main objective where your day to day tasks will be directed as a Customer Success Manager

Understand who is your best customer. As a Customer Success Manager you have all the data necessary to do this better than anyone else

Understand what Lincoln Murphy defines as the Customer Success Gap

Here I will walk you thorugh AngelList, or angel.co, probably the best place to find jobs in tech companies. So if you want to find a job as a customer success manager in a tech company, this is a one of the best websites that you can use.

Learn how to use AngelList to find a jobs as a customer success manager.

When searching for a customer success manager job, LinkedIn Jobs is a great tool that will help you find what positions are out there. LinkedIn jobs is definitely one of the websites that you should use to get your job as a CSM

Learn how to find a customer success manager job with LinkedIn Jobs

What should you do next to get a Customer Success Manager job. Or if you already are a Customer Success Manager, they what are the next steps you should to make the most out of what we review in the course

In this video we will review the most important concepts that you have to take with you from this Customer Success Manager course

Here you will find the answer to the 2 most asked questions

In this lesson I will share with you my favorite resources to keep informed, get ideas and keep learning about customer success management

One final message to finish the customer success manager online course

Traffic lights

Read about what's good
what should give you pause
and possible dealbreakers
Provides insights into the day-to-day responsibilities of a Customer Success Manager, which helps learners understand the practical aspects of the role
Explores the fundamental principles of Customer Success, which serves as a solid foundation for a career as a Customer Success Manager
Covers key vocabulary for Customer Success Managers, which is essential for building a resume and cover letter to apply for jobs
Includes practice exercises, which allows learners to apply their knowledge and develop practical skills in customer success management
Features resources for finding Customer Success Manager jobs, which helps learners take the next step in their career search
Requires learners to engage with the community, which may be challenging for those who prefer self-directed learning

Save this course

Create your own learning path. Save this course to your list so you can find it easily later.
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Reviews summary

Fundamentals for a customer success career

According to students, this course provides a strong foundation for anyone looking to start a career in Customer Success. Many learners found it particularly helpful for career transition, noting that it teaches you how to translate existing experience and tailor your resume. Students frequently mentioned that the course content and the instructor's clear explanations helped them prepare for job interviews and gain a solid understanding of fundamental CSM principles. It is widely considered a great starting point for beginners entering the field.
Logical flow of topics
"The course modules are well organized and easy to navigate."
"I liked the logical progression of topics."
"The structure helped me learn effectively."
"Content is presented in a logical and easy-to-follow order."
Instructor explains concepts clearly
"The instructor explained everything in a very understandable way."
"Gustavo is easy to follow and engaging."
"Appreciate the clear and concise delivery."
"Lectures were well-presented and easy to grasp."
Ideal starting point for new CSMs
"Gave me the confidence to pursue CSM opportunities."
"This is the perfect course if you are completely new to CSM."
"Highly recommended for anyone considering a career change."
"It provides an excellent entry point into the field."
Useful for resume and interviews
"The tips on tailoring my resume were invaluable."
"I felt much more confident during interviews after this course."
"Helped me articulate my skills in a CSM context."
"The practical advice made a real difference in my job applications."
Solid foundation in CSM basics
"I now have a clear understanding of what Customer Success is."
"The course covers all the fundamental principles needed."
"It lays a solid foundation for anyone new to the field."
"Learned the key concepts essential for a CSM role."
Great for landing a CSM job
"This course was instrumental in helping me land interviews."
"It showed me exactly how to position my non-CS background for these roles."
"I got a job offer shortly after completing this course!"
"Helped me bridge the gap from my old role to a CSM position."
"Finally felt prepared for the job search thanks to this material."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Customer Success Manager: Fundamentals to your CSM career with these activities:
Review Key Customer Success Terminology
Reinforce your understanding of essential Customer Success terms to build a strong foundation for the course.
Browse courses on Customer Success
Show steps
  • Identify key terms from the course syllabus.
  • Define each term in your own words.
  • Find real-world examples of each term in use.
Read 'The Effortless Experience'
Explore strategies for minimizing customer effort to enhance loyalty and improve customer success outcomes.
View The Effortless Experience on Amazon
Show steps
  • Read the book, taking notes on key concepts.
  • Identify actionable strategies for reducing customer effort.
  • Discuss the book's ideas with peers in the course forum.
Role-Play Customer Success Scenarios
Practice handling common customer interactions to improve communication and problem-solving skills.
Show steps
  • Identify common customer scenarios (e.g., churn risk, feature requests).
  • Partner with a peer to role-play the scenarios.
  • Provide constructive feedback to each other.
Four other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all seven activities
Create a 'Customer Success Best Practices' Guide
Synthesize course learnings into a concise guide that reinforces your understanding and serves as a valuable resource.
Show steps
  • Review course materials and identify key best practices.
  • Organize the best practices into logical categories.
  • Write clear and concise descriptions for each practice.
  • Share the guide with peers for feedback.
Develop a Customer Onboarding Plan
Apply course concepts to create a practical onboarding plan that ensures new customers quickly realize value.
Show steps
  • Define the target customer profile.
  • Map out the customer journey.
  • Design onboarding activities for each stage.
  • Create metrics to measure onboarding success.
Read 'Customer Success'
Explore strategies for minimizing customer effort to enhance loyalty and improve customer success outcomes.
View Customer Success: How Innovative Companies Are... on Amazon
Show steps
  • Read the book, taking notes on key concepts.
  • Identify actionable strategies for reducing customer effort.
  • Discuss the book's ideas with peers in the course forum.
Design a Customer Health Scorecard
Develop a system for tracking customer health to proactively identify and address potential issues.
Show steps
  • Identify key metrics that indicate customer health.
  • Assign weights to each metric based on importance.
  • Create a visual dashboard to display the health scores.
  • Define action plans for different health score ranges.

Career center

Learners who complete Customer Success Manager: Fundamentals to your CSM career will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:
Retention Specialist
A Retention Specialist focuses on implementing strategies to prevent customer churn and increase customer loyalty. The course puts special emphasis on practices to make sure your retention rates are excellent, so this is a natural fit. The course is about how to get your users from just users to happy loyal customers. Anyone looking to get into or grow in retention should greatly consider this course. The course also highlights the main objective where your day to day tasks will be directed as a Customer Success Manager.
See salaries and explore the career path for Retention Specialist
Client Relationship Manager
A Client Relationship Manager builds and maintains strong relationships with clients. This course helps you understand how to connect with clients and address their needs, which are key parts of this role. The course emphasizes that client retention is vital, which directly aligns with the Client Relationship Manager's goal of keeping clients happy and loyal. Taking this course will help you learn to assist clients, address complaints, celebrate successes, and adapt to their changing needs, which is a great introduction to being a Client Relationship Manager. The course also introduces strategies for long-term client relationships, making this course very relevant.
See salaries and explore the career path for Client Relationship Manager
Customer Marketing Manager
A Customer Marketing Manager develops marketing strategies to engage and retain existing customers. Customer Marketing Managers focus on optimizing the lifetime value of customers. This course may help a Customer Marketing Manager learn about the principles that a Customer Success Manager needs to know, which are also relevant to customer marketing. Taking this course may allow someone to translate an existing marketing background into a customer success background. The course may also help anyone in marketing learn how to retain customers.
See salaries and explore the career path for Customer Marketing Manager
Onboarding Specialist
An Onboarding Specialist guides new customers through the initial setup and usage of a product or service. This course emphasizes the importance of laying a strong foundation for customer success strategies, which is essential for effective onboarding. This role is all about helping customers accomplish their goals with new software or services. The course covers principles that a customer success manager needs to know, which may be very similar to skills required for an Onboarding Specialist. This professional can leverage insights from this course to create a seamless and positive experience that sets the stage for long-term client retention.
See salaries and explore the career path for Onboarding Specialist
Customer Education Manager
A Customer Education Manager is responsible for creating and delivering educational content to help customers effectively use a product or service. The better customers understand a product, the more successful they will be. Therefore, learning customer success principles as laid out in this course would be helpful to anyone who is a Customer Education Manager. One can also utilize this course to grow their resume outside of education and into customer success. If the customers are more successful with a product, they are also more likely to continue to subscribe to the product, which is the ultimate goal.
See salaries and explore the career path for Customer Education Manager
Product Manager
A Product Manager is responsible for the strategy, roadmap, and feature definition of a product. The course touches on the importance of understanding customer success strategies, so this role is helpful for Product Managers. A Product Manager should become more able to get the user from being just a user to becoming a happy loyal customer. A Product Manager helps translate user research into product requirements, but they also should understand how to keep an existing customer happy. This course can help them in understanding the principles of customer success.
See salaries and explore the career path for Product Manager
Community Manager
A Community Manager builds and manages online communities to foster engagement and support among customers. The course may help a community manager understand that customer success is more than just another department of the company. This course is all about engaging with your community. The course highlights the importance of building long-term relationships with clients, and as the client's needs adapt and change, you get to assist them in that process. The course also dives into vocabulary around customer success and community.
See salaries and explore the career path for Community Manager
Account Manager
An Account Manager oversees specific client accounts, ensuring client satisfaction and seeking opportunities for growth. The course emphasizes the importance of client retention, a key performance indicator for Account Managers. This course may help you in learning fundamental principles of customer success, which are also relevant to account management. You may find value in the course's coverage of various customer success concepts that translate into account management strategies for ensuring clients are happy and successful. For an aspiring Account Manager, the course may be a useful resource to understand the underlying principles of client management and satisfaction.
See salaries and explore the career path for Account Manager
Sales Engineer
A Sales Engineer provides technical expertise and support during the sales process. The course may help a Sales Engineer improve their customers' success and turn users into paying customers. This course highlights the importance of always showing value to your clients. This fits well with a Sales Engineer, who must be a technical expert. As a Sales Engineer, you have all the data necessary to understand your best customer better than anyone else. A Sales Engineer should become more technically skilled, which can translate to customer success.
See salaries and explore the career path for Sales Engineer
Sales Representative
A Sales Representative focuses on acquiring new customers and driving revenue growth. While the primary focus of a Sales Representative is acquisition, understanding customer success principles could be helpful in creating long-term client relationships from the start. The course may help you in translating your experience, in sales and other fields, into a resume that speaks to achieving customer success. The course highlights the importance of understanding customer needs and ensuring they achieve their goals, which are valuable skills for a Sales Representative aiming to build trust and loyalty with their customers.
See salaries and explore the career path for Sales Representative
User Experience Researcher
A user experience researcher focuses on understanding user behavior and needs to improve product design and usability. The course underscores the importance of understanding customer needs and helping them achieve their objectives with a product of service. A User Experience Researcher may find value in the course's emphasis on building long-term relationships with clients and adapting to their changing needs. The closer the User Experience Researcher works with the Customer Success team, the more they will appreciate the end-to-end journey of the users.
See salaries and explore the career path for User Experience Researcher
Customer Service Representative
A Customer Service Representative handles customer inquiries and resolves issues to ensure satisfaction. This course may help someone translate their experience into a resume that speaks to achieving customer success. The course emphasizes the importance of addressing customer complaints and ensuring their satisfaction. This role requires a particular set of skills that will allow you to be a great CSM. The course may also help this professional to get a Customer Success Manager salary.
See salaries and explore the career path for Customer Service Representative
Business Development Manager
A Business Development Manager identifies and pursues new business opportunities. This course may be useful in helping this professional understand how customer success can be a differentiator when pitching new clients. While this course mainly focuses on post-sale customer relationships, it underscores the importance of demonstrating value to clients, a critical aspect of business development. Therefore, the focus on client happiness and loyalty may give those in business development an edge. This course's emphasis on understanding customer needs and helping them achieve their goals can translate into a more compelling value proposition.
See salaries and explore the career path for Business Development Manager
Technical Support Specialist
A Technical Support Specialist provides assistance to customers experiencing technical issues with a product or service. While this course primarily focuses on the strategic aspects of customer success, it emphasizes the importance of addressing customer complaints and ensuring their satisfaction. The course touches on understanding customer needs and helping them achieve their goals with a software or service they purchased. For Technical Support Specialists, this course may be a valuable resource to gain a deeper understanding of the overall customer journey and how their role contributes to client retention and loyalty.
See salaries and explore the career path for Technical Support Specialist
Training Specialist
A Training Specialist designs and delivers training programs to improve employee skills and performance. A Training Specialist could use this course to translate their experience into a resume that speaks to achieving customer success. The course may help them understand how to connect with clients and address their needs, which are key parts of this role. The course also highlights the main vocabulary that a Customer Success Manager should know, which is key for building a resume. The course could allow the Training Specialist to pivot into customer success.
See salaries and explore the career path for Training Specialist

Reading list

We've selected two books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Customer Success Manager: Fundamentals to your CSM career.
Cover image
The Effortless Experience
Save
Challenges conventional wisdom about exceeding customer expectations. It argues that reducing customer effort more effective strategy for building loyalty. This book provides valuable insights into streamlining customer interactions and improving overall satisfaction, which are crucial for Customer Success Managers. It offers a different perspective on customer service that complements the course material.
The Effortless Experience
Paperback
Check
The Effortless Experience
Kindle Edition
Check
Cover image
Customer Success
Save
Comprehensive guide to building and scaling a customer success organization. It covers key topics such as customer onboarding, adoption, and retention. This book valuable resource for understanding the strategic importance of customer success and how to implement effective strategies. It provides a framework for building a customer-centric culture within an organization.
Customer Success: How Innovative Companies Are...
Hardcover
$$
Customer Success: How Innovative Companies Are...
Kindle Edition
$$

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Rating
4.5 Filled star Filled star Filled star Filled star Half star
Effort
2 total hours
Via
Udemy
Instructors
Gustavo Escobar Henríquez
Digital Life Academy
Language
English
Traffic lights
Read about what's good
what should give you pause
and possible dealbreakers
Provides insights into the day-to-day responsibilities of a Customer Success Manager, which helps learners understand the practical aspects of the role
Explores the fundamental principles of Customer Success, which serves as a solid foundation for a career as a Customer Success Manager
Covers key vocabulary for Customer Success Managers, which is essential for building a resume and cover letter to apply for jobs
Includes practice exercises, which allows learners to apply their knowledge and develop practical skills in customer success management
Features resources for finding Customer Success Manager jobs, which helps learners take the next step in their career search
Requires learners to engage with the community, which may be challenging for those who prefer self-directed learning
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