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The differences between customer relationship managers and customer success managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a customer relationship manager, becoming a customer success manager takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, a customer success manager has an average salary of $93,820, which is higher than the $78,814 average annual salary of a customer relationship manager.
The top three skills for a customer relationship manager include customer service, customer relationships and CRM. The most important skills for a customer success manager are client facing, cloud, and account management.
| Customer Relationship Manager | Customer Success Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $78,814 | $93,820 |
| Hourly rate | $37.89 | $45.11 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 77,430 | 95,053 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Average age | 47 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 8 |
A customer relationship manager is in charge of overseeing teams that handle and provide services to a company's key clients. It is their duty to spearhead programs and projects that cater to key clients, ensuring to build positive relationships with them. They must also develop strategies to optimize operations and research new business opportunities. Furthermore, as a customer relationship manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
A customer success manager works to understand repeat customers and prioritize their long-term needs. Primarily, they manage the customer relationship and give them prompt value propositions. They act as mentors to customers by educating them about the sales process and ensure efficient transaction processing. Their tasks include advocating for the company, onboarding customers to the products, follow-up on renewals, and encouraging cross-sells and upsells. Additionally, they build relationships with the customer and the support team as well as advocating customers' needs.
Customer relationship managers and customer success managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Relationship Manager | Customer Success Manager | |
| Average salary | $78,814 | $93,820 |
| Salary range | Between $54,000 And $113,000 | Between $61,000 And $142,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Redwood City, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Amazon | VMware |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a customer relationship manager and a customer success manager in terms of educational background:
| Customer Relationship Manager | Customer Success Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | California State University - Bakersfield | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between customer relationship managers' and customer success managers' demographics:
| Customer Relationship Manager | Customer Success Manager | |
| Average age | 47 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 41.4% Female, 58.6% | Male, 54.9% Female, 45.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 5.2% White, 60.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 4.1% White, 78.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 7% |