--- title: 9 Tips for Customer Success Managers description: The Customer Success Manager role is still a relatively new career field. Here are some of the tops tips for CSMs to be successful in their jobs. image: https://www.iliyanastareva.com/hubfs/customer%20success%20manager%20tips.jpg --- [**](https://www.facebook.com/iliyana.stareva) [**](https://twitter.com/iliyanastareva) [**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/iliyanastareva) [**](http://instagram.com/iliyanastareva) [**](http://www.pinterest.com/iliyanastareva/) [BUY INBOUND PR NOW](https://www.amazon.com/Inbound-PR-Agencys-Transforming-Business/dp/1119462215/) [Iliyana Stareva ](https://www-iliyanastareva-com.sandbox.hs-sites.com) ## Iliyana's Blog ## [9 Tips for Customer Success Managers](https://www.iliyanastareva.com/blog/9-tips-for-customer-success-managers) [fa icon="calendar"] 25-Nov-2020 10:00:00 / by [Iliyana Stareva](https://www.iliyanastareva.com/blog/author/iliyana-stareva) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ![customer success manager tips](https://www.iliyanastareva.com/hs-fs/hubfs/customer%20success%20manager%20tips.jpg?width=700&name=customer%20success%20manager%20tips.jpg)Customer Success is a relatively new field, both from an organisational perspective as in a department and also from a career perspective for individuals.  I've been working in [Customer Success](https://www.iliyanastareva.com/blog/what-customer-success-really-means-15-quotes-from-crowning-the-customer) for quite a few years. Even my early days working in PR agencies and taking care of PR clients should be considered working in Customer Success although I held a different title.  I've also never held a [Customer Success Manager (CSM)](https://www.iliyanastareva.com/blog/3-things-customer-success-managers-need-to-be-effective) title but I've done a similar enough role at scale working through partners to drive success for joint customers.  CSM is an exciting role, one that's gaining more and more popularity. As some would say, it's a sexy role.  If you find yourself just starting with such a role or are interested in pursuing a career as a CSM, this post is for you. I've primarily learned everything I know about Customer Success on the job itself but I want to give you some useful tips on how to be really at it. I found a couple of infographics that provide helpful advice and I want to add some of my points of view on it.  Here we go.  ## 9 Tips for Customer Success Managers ### #1. Know your customer  This is central to the role as you're responsible for the success of your customers. You need to know what matters to them, why they've purchased your product, what do they expect to achieve and what are the problems they want to solve.  ### #2. Train and enable Once you know what your customer wants to achieve, you need to train and enable them to get there with your products and services. Always remember that you know more than your customers. They see you as the subject matter expert so you need to keep your confidence high. ### #3. Define the right engagement strategy Identify the best frequency and channels to stay in touch with your customers. For big customers, that would often be weekly or bi-weekly meetings especially in the beginning which can turn to monthly once your customer ramps up.  ### #4. Tailor your outreach In addition to meetings, what about emails, reporting, data and all other types of information sharing? Discuss what the best vehicles are with your customers as well as frequency. Make sure you always have something new to say vs. just repeat things.   ### #5. Celebrate success with your customers Make sure to regularly report how your customers are doing against their goals and what they're achieving, even the smallest things. This is important not just to them so that they feel accomplished with your products and services but also to you so that you know that you're doing a good job.  ### #6. Listen to your customers Strive to always improve personally but also help your company improve by gathering regular customer feedback about what works and what doesn't and what can be done better.  ### #7. Define the customer journey At the beginning, customers have different needs and knowledge than two years later. Try to define the stages that your customers go through with you and your product and tailor your engagement and knowledge sharing appropriately so that you continue adding value throughout the entire [customer lifecycle](https://www.iliyanastareva.com/blog/customer-experience-and-the-cisco-racetrack) with you.  ### #8. Don't promise something you can't keep  Always make sure that you can keep your word. If there's a problem, explain how you plan on helping them solve it but never promise unless you already have the solution. This will only damage your relationship with the customer. ### #9. Don't forget to draw the line and know when to stop Make sure not to teach your customer to become too reliant on you. They need to learn how to problem-solve themselves so as much you train and enable them, as much as you are there to help, make sure you do it in a way so that they become self-sufficient.   Here are also the infographics so you can check them out. ## The 7 'Musts' In Customer Engagement [Infographic] ![the-7-musts-in-customer-engagement-infographic](https://www.iliyanastareva.com/hs-fs/hubfs/the-7-musts-in-customer-engagement-infographic.png?width=1600&name=the-7-musts-in-customer-engagement-infographic.png) ## Do's and Don'ts of Customer Success [Infographic] ![Dos-and-Donts-of-Customer-Success-Infographic](https://www.iliyanastareva.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Dos-and-Donts-of-Customer-Success-Infographic.png?width=1600&name=Dos-and-Donts-of-Customer-Success-Infographic.png)   What are your top tips for Customer Success Managers?    Topics: [Customer Success](https://www.iliyanastareva.com/blog/topic/customer-success) ![Iliyana Stareva](https://www.iliyanastareva.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Iliyana%20Stareva_3.png?width=100&height=100&name=Iliyana%20Stareva_3.png) #### Written by [Iliyana Stareva](https://www.iliyanastareva.com/blog/author/iliyana-stareva) Iliyana Stareva is a thought leader in Customer Success and AI. She’s the author of Inbound PR, a keynote speaker, and currently leads Customer Health for EMEA at ServiceNow. Iliyana has held global and regional roles at ServiceNow, Cisco, and HubSpot, spanning customer experience, operations, and digital transformation. [[fa icon="linkedin-square"]](https://www.linkedin.com/in/iliyanastareva) [[fa icon="twitter-square"]](https://twitter.com/iliyanastareva) ### Subscribe here! 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