| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Customer Support |
| Level | Manager |
| Reports to | Head of Customer Success |
| Direct reports | None |
| Experience | 3 to 7 years in customer success or account management |
Customer Success Manager job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Customer Success Manager
Department: Customer Support
Reports to: Head of Customer Success
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Customer Success Manager owns a portfolio of customer accounts and their outcomes. They onboard customers, drive product adoption, protect renewals, and grow accounts through upsell, acting as the customer's trusted point of contact. They keep accounts healthy and expanding rather than just resolving issues. A good Customer Success Manager gets customers to value quickly, spots and saves at-risk accounts, renews and grows their portfolio, and builds relationships strong enough that customers stay and refer others.
Key responsibilities
- Own a portfolio of accounts and their onboarding, adoption, renewal and growth.
- Onboard new customers and guide them to first value quickly.
- Drive product adoption and usage across the accounts in the portfolio.
- Track account health and act early on accounts showing risk of churn.
- Own renewals in the portfolio and forecast them accurately.
- Identify and drive upsell and cross-sell opportunities with the customer.
- Run business reviews that show value delivered and plan the next steps.
- Be the customer's trusted contact and coordinate internal teams for them.
- Capture product feedback and feature requests for the product team.
- Keep account records, health scores and renewal data current in the system.
Requirements
- Graduate, an MBA an advantage
- Experience in customer success or account management
- Comfort with a product and its use cases
- 3 to 7 years in customer success or account management
KRAs and KPIs for a Customer Success Manager
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Retention | Portfolio retention held above the target |
| Renewals | Renewals in the portfolio closed on time above the target |
| Adoption | Product adoption and account health improving across accounts |
| Expansion | Upsell and cross-sell revenue meeting the portfolio target |
| At-risk saves | At-risk accounts identified early and saved at the target rate |
| Advocacy | Reference and referral accounts grown from the portfolio |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: Customer success platform, CRM, Product analytics, MS Excel, Email and video calls.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Senior Customer Success Manager, Head of Customer Success, Account Director
Interview questions for a Customer Success Manager
- How do you onboard a new customer so they reach value quickly?
- How do you spot an account at risk of churn and save it?
- How do you drive product adoption across your portfolio?
- How do you run a business review that shows real value?
- How do you find and close an upsell without pushing the customer?
- How do you forecast renewals in your portfolio?
Managing a Customer Success Manager in ZeniaHR
Hire and manage your customer support team in one place
Post the role, onboard the new hire, and track attendance, leave and KRAs in ZeniaHR. Free for your first 50 employees.
Book a free demoSee pricingFrequently asked questions
What does a Customer Success Manager do?
A Customer Success Manager owns a portfolio of customer accounts and their outcomes. They onboard customers, drive product adoption, protect renewals, and grow accounts through upsell, acting as the customer's trusted contact. They track account health, save at-risk accounts, run business reviews, capture feedback, and keep their portfolio healthy and expanding.
What is the difference between a Customer Success Manager and an Account Manager?
An Account Manager traditionally focuses on the commercial relationship and sales within an account. A Customer Success Manager focuses on the customer's outcomes: adoption, value and health, which in turn protect renewals and enable growth. The roles overlap in subscription businesses, where success managers often own both outcomes and renewals for their portfolio.
What qualifications does a Customer Success Manager need?
A graduate degree is the usual base and an MBA is an advantage. Employers value experience in customer success or account management, the ability to build relationships and drive product adoption, and comfort reading account health and renewal data. Strong communication and a genuine focus on customer outcomes matter most.