ISC Paris ISC Paris

Customer Success Manager Career Guide

Customer Success Managers ensure clients achieve value from a company’s products or services throughout the customer lifecycle. They support onboarding, monitor satisfaction, and proactively address challenges to strengthen long-term relationships. Here’s what the role involves and how to prepare for it.

More informations about the Bachelor Digital Marketing and Communication Contact-us

The key points

  • Entry requirements Post-baccalaureate level courses in Communication, Marketing, and Digital Management
  • Average salary Average annual starting salary (between 34,000 and 45,000 euros gross per year)
  • Miniature horloge Duties Develop customers by prospecting - Listen to customers - Strengthen customer loyalty
  • Miniature discussion Skills Listening skills - Communication skills - Marketing skills - Public relations skills - Data analysis skills
  • Miniature sacoche Career progression Key account manager - Customer relations manager - Sales director
  • Pictogramme campus ISC Paris courses Bachelor Digital Marketing & Communication - Master Digital Marketing & Communication - MSc Responsible Communication & Marketing

What does a Customer Success Manager do?

The Customer Success Manager, also known as CSM or account manager, is the link between a customer and a company.

Their role is to support the customer throughout their purchasing journey. This support covers all stages of the sales funnel:

  • Prospecting to find new customers;
  • Converting prospects into customers in order to increase sales;
  • Building customer loyalty to increase brand awareness and the likelihood of additional purchases.

To carry out their mission, customer success managers adopt a customer-centric approach. They understand their customers’ needs, motivations and obstacles in order to offer them a tailored solution and win them over.

This role is currently in high demand among tech companies and start-ups. These companies want to establish a strong relationship between the customer and the brand, despite the digitalisation of exchanges and products.

That’s why the CSM helps customers to understand the value of the product or service on offer and to use it effectively, while personalizing the customer relationship.

What does the job of Customer Success Manager involve?

How to become a customer success manager?

To become a customer success manager, you generally need a five-year master´s degree  from a business school. This can be in marketing, business or communications. It should be noted that recruiters value proficiency in English.

After completing their secondary education, students can pursue a three-year bachelor’s degree. Here are some recommended programmes:

  • Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and Digital Communication
  • Bachelor’s Degree in International Business (taught in English)
  • Professional Bachelor’s Degree in International Trade

Several master’s degrees then provide access to the profession, including:

Trainings to become a Customer Success Manager proposed by ISC Paris

STUDY AT ISC PARIS…
with a Bachelor in Digital Marketing and Communication
STUDY AT ISC PARIS…
with a Master in Digital Marketing and Communication
STUDY AT ISC PARIS…
with MSc Responsible Communication and Marketing

The main skills of a Customer Success Manager

1) Strong sales skills: despite appearances, the CSM is a salesperson at heart. They have a thorough understanding of the ins and outs of sales and negotiation. They know how to listen actively to understand customers and do not hesitate to use sales techniques to convert customers and make additional sales.

2) Proficiency in CRM tools: in order to carry out their daily tasks, they are comfortable using various digital tools, including CRM software. They know how to set up effective dashboards. Office tools also hold no secrets for them.

3) Marketing knowledge: the customer success manager knows and masters the fundamentals of marketing. This enables them to identify the right levers to activate at the right time and to define, in collaboration with the marketing team, the relevant KPIs to track during prospecting or loyalty campaigns.

What soft skills do you need to be a Customer Success Manager?

  • Listening skills
  • Analytical and synthesis skills
  • Interpersonal skills
  • Communication skills
  • Intellectual curiosity
  • Anticipation skills
  • Leadership
  • Managerial skills

What are the career opportunities for a CSM?

At the crossroads of sales, marketing, customer relations and sales, this profession offers many career opportunities. Each CSM can choose to move into management or executive positions according to their preferences.

Here are a few examples of career paths they can pursue after a few years in the role:

HOW MUCH DOES A CUSTOMER SUCCESS MANAGER EARN?
What is the salary of a junior customer success manager?
The salary of a customer success manager at the start of their career (1 to 3 years’ experience) is between €34,000 and €45,000 gross per year. This equates to a gross monthly salary of €2,800 to €3,750, or approximately €2,200 to €2,900 net per month.
In addition, there is a variable component (performance bonuses, 13th month, etc.) amounting to €5,000 per year.
The starting salary for this profession is quite attractive, although junior CSMs usually start in related roles, such as sales assistant, in order to gain experience.
There is also a difference between salaries offered in the Paris region and those in other regions of France. Paris-based companies tend to pay entry-level customer success managers up to 20% more than elsewhere in the country, even with the same level of experience.
HOW MUCH DOES A CUSTOMER SUCCESS MANAGER EARN?
What is the salary of a senior customer success manager?
A senior customer success manager with more than five years of experience earns an average of between €50,000 and €80,000 gross per year.
Their monthly income is therefore between €4,150 and €6,650 gross, or approximately €3,200 to €5,100 net per month.
The variable portion of their salary averages €8,000 per year (performance bonuses, 13th or 14th month, etc.).
The estimated range is wide, given that their remuneration varies according to their experience. Here are the average salaries per year of experience according to Glassdoor:
4 to 6 years of experience: €40,000 to €56,000/year
7 to 9 years: €45,000 to €65,000/year
10 to 14 years: €50,000 to €70,000/year
15 years and above: up to €83,000/year