Should I be a customer success specialist?

First things first, what exactly is "Customer Success"?

Customer Success is when a customer achieves their Desired Outcome through their interactions with a company .

Customer Success is a new term for customer service activities that help a customer thrive when using a product after purchase. With the rise of the Software as a Service (SaaS) business model, it's become an increasingly necessary job.

A customer success specialist helps an organization ensure that customers come back to buy the product year after year.

Short answer: make sure customers are happy with their experience with both the company and the product!

Long answer: complete various tasks on a day-to-day basis, like...

• Onboard and train new customers to help them get up and running with your product or service.

• Partner up with other teams to help answer customer questions and resolve issues.

• Check-in with customers and flag any issues that may arise.

• Constantly ask yourself, was the customer able to achieve the value they sought for when coming on board?

The three major types of pay structure for customer success specialists are:

• Base Only — base salary with no bonus or variable component

• Base + Bonus — base salary with a small bonus structure

• Base + Variable – base salary with a variable component, usually when the role includes sales quotas

Here's what you should expect to make, on average:

In Canada

$42,000 CAD

In the US

$48,000 USD

Short answer:

Everywhere!

Photo by Kevin Bhagat on Unsplash

Long answer:

While the majority of job opportunities are within software companies, Customer Success is not limited to tech. As more people get used to subscription-based relationships with companies, other industries are adopting recurring revenue models:

• Consumer products

• Car companies

• Entertainment

• Furniture

• Transportation

• Food

• …and more!

What steps can you take to land a job as a customer success specialist?