The Truth and Misconceptions About Customer Success Managers

As I sifted through my inbox this morning, a job description for a customer-facing role caught my eye. Out of curiosity, I gave it a quick read. Predictably, it reflected a flawed understanding of the role.

Many roles in the business world suffer from misconceptions (Digital Strategist, Product Manager, Brand Manager, Operating Officer), but perhaps none are as misunderstood, misused, and miscast as the Customer Success Manager.

Companies hire them, and customers rely on them, yet many don’t fully grasp what a CSM is or isn’t. This confusion dilutes their impact and creates friction in achieving the outcomes everyone desires.

A CSM is not a customer support agent, a salesperson, or a project manager. They aren’t there to babysit accounts or put out fires. They’re strategic partners who aim to ensure customers achieve their key performance indicators (KPIs) while using the Company’s products or services. It’s about mutual growth, ensuring the customer thrives so the business thrives.

Download my Customer-Centric, Customer Success Manager Job Description Template.

Misconceptions That Undermine the CSM Role

Misunderstandings around CSMs often come from shoehorning them into roles that don’t align with their purpose. Here’s what they’re not and why.

1. A CSM is Not a Support Agent: Some companies expect their CSMs to respond to every technical issue or minor glitch. This reactive mindset turns them into a glorified help desk. While CSMs should coordinate with support teams when necessary, their role isn’t to fix bugs or solve immediate problems. Occasionally, they can help follow up on an outstanding issue. Their focus is forward-looking, anticipating needs, addressing risks, and enabling success.
2. A CSM is Not a Salesperson: Sales and success often walk hand in hand, but they aren’t the same. Asking a CSM to meet sales quotas undermines their trust with customers. They aren’t there to sell; they’re there to deliver value. They are a “trusted advisor” who can help strategically map what the sales team is pitching against what the customer wants. And yes, this part is hard to accept, in some cases, it is in the Company’s and CSM’s best interest to advise AGAINST a sale. When customers experience that level of trust and value, renewals and upsells happen naturally.
3. A CSM is Not a Project Manager: Complex implementations or integrations often demand skilled project management. However, placing this burden on CSMs distracts from their mission. I’ve also seen job descriptions that suggest that the CSM will facilitate the sales process or product implementation aspects. While they can guide customers through a journey, technical execution belongs to implementation specialists or project managers.
4. A CSM is Not a Trainer: Training can be a part of success, but expecting CSMs to deliver hours of product education for every customer is shortsighted. Another area where this often falls is the concept of “onboarding” new customers. You should have a dedicated process and manager to facilitate onboarding. CSMs should connect customers with resources and best practices, not act as instructors.
5. A CSM is Not a Data Analyst: While CSMs use data to monitor customer health and identify opportunities, they aren’t data engineers or analysts. Hire a customer analyst to provide strategic customer insights. The CSM’s value lies in interpreting and acting on trends, not generating complex dashboards.
6. A CSM is Not an Account Manager: Contracts, renewals, and billing belong to account management. While CSMs can help influence renewals through value delivery, handling financial conversations muddies their role as trusted partners.
7. A CSM is Not a Customer’s Employee: Some customers believe their CSM is there to handle every request, no matter how trivial. However, effective CSMs set boundaries and prioritize strategic work. They don’t become an extension of the customer’s team; they’re collaborators, not assistants.

What a CSM Truly Is

At their core, CSMs are value creators. They focus on outcomes, helping customers achieve their goals and grow their businesses. By aligning with the customers’ KPIs, not just the company’s, CSMs forge meaningful relationships that stand the test of time. Here’s how they do it:

1. Driving Customer Value: Success isn’t just about using a product; it’s about deriving measurable benefits. CSMs dig deep to understand a customer’s goals and map their product’s capabilities to those outcomes. Whether improving operational efficiency or boosting revenue, the CSM ensures the customer sees tangible results.
2. Ensuring Successful Adoption: Adoption is where value begins. A CSM’s role is to remove friction from the customer journey. They champion onboarding, ensure users are engaged, and address potential roadblocks before they become problems. However, recommending alternative products is also part of building solid relationships.
3. Building Meaningful Relationships: True success goes beyond transactions. CSMs build trust by showing they care about the customer’s business as much as their own. They listen, empathize, and act as advocates, ensuring the customer’s voice resonates within their organization.

Prioritizing the Customer’s KPIs

A fatal mistake many businesses make is measuring CSMs against internal KPIs rather than customer-centric ones. Metrics like product usage or renewal rates are lagging indicators of success, not the cause. Instead, CSMs should be evaluated on their ability to help customers hit their targets. When customers achieve their KPIs, the business naturally benefits.

For example:

If a business focuses on the internal KPI of reducing churn, a misaligned CSM might simply monitor renewal rates and product usage without digging deeper. Instead, a great CSM shifts the lens to the customer’s KPIs, such as increasing customer retention. They collaborate to show how the product can directly support this goal by streamlining processes or providing data-driven insights that drive loyalty.

By anchoring their efforts in the customer’s success metrics, CSMs help customers achieve their objectives and indirectly impact internal KPIs like churn reduction as a natural result of value creation.

While I’m at it, if you are B2B, you need to start looking at your customer’s customers. The correct approach to this is B2B2C, where the CSM is focused on the C part of the cycle. If you can help your customers meet their customer’s expectations, they win, and then you win.

Hiring the Right CSMs

Building a strong customer success team starts with hiring the right people. Unfortunately, many job descriptions for CSMs miss the mark. They’re either too vague or burdened with tasks that don’t align with the role’s strategic purpose.

What to Look For

1. Customer-Centric Mindset: The best CSMs measure their success by the customer’s success. They should be deeply motivated to help others achieve their goals.
2. Empathy and Emotional Intelligence: CSMs work closely with people and need exceptional interpersonal skills. They should understand customer pain points and communicate solutions effectively.
3. Proactive Problem-Solving: Success comes from anticipating challenges before they arise. Look for candidates with a proactive mindset and a knack for identifying risks early.
4. Strategic Thinking: Great CSMs connect the dots between customer goals and product capabilities. They should think beyond immediate tasks and focus on long-term outcomes.
5. Collaboration Skills: A CSM acts as a bridge between customers and internal teams. Candidates must thrive in cross-functional environments, balancing the needs of both sides.

Red Flags in Job Descriptions

Job descriptions often reflect misconceptions about the role. Here are red flags to watch out for:

• “Handles customer support requests” signals confusion between success and support roles.
• “Responsible for upsell quotas” – If sales metrics dominate, the Company may not understand the strategic nature of customer success.
• “Manages implementation projects” implies a lack of dedicated implementation resources and a misallocation of the CSM’s time.
• “Must be an expert in [insert technology stack]” – While technical knowledge is helpful, CSMs don’t need to be engineers or architects.
• “Works independently to achieve all customer goals” – Success is a team effort. This language suggests that the Company undervalues collaboration.

A Role That Creates Mutual Success

When companies hire and empower CSMs as strategic partners, they unlock a treasure trove of customer loyalty, retention, and growth. The key is recognizing that CSMs aren’t firefighters putting out immediate flames; they’re architects building the foundation for lasting success.

The future of customer success lies in shifting the focus from transactional tasks to transformational relationships. CSMs aligning with their customers’ KPIs and genuinely caring about driving outcomes become indispensable.

This isn’t just about business; it’s about trust. When customers feel understood, supported, and prioritized, they don’t just stay, they advocate. And advocacy, as any business leader knows, is the most valuable currency.

Struggling to define the CSM role or align it with customer success? Let’s work together to build a strategy that drives real value. Contact me today for a consultation!