Relationship manager vs customer success manager

The differences between relationship managers and customer success managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a relationship manager and a customer success manager. Additionally, a customer success manager has an average salary of $93,820, which is higher than the $83,761 average annual salary of a relationship manager.

The top three skills for a relationship manager include client relationships, work ethic and strong work ethic. The most important skills for a customer success manager are client facing, cloud, and account management.

Relationship manager vs customer success manager overview

	Relationship Manager	Customer Success Manager
Yearly salary	$83,761	$93,820
Hourly rate	$40.27	$45.11
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	72,920	95,053
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	8	8

What does a relationship manager do?

A relationship manager is responsible for maintaining a positive and professional relationship with customers and business partners, ensuring the highest customer satisfaction and good reputation. Relationship managers advise management on identifying business opportunities by analyzing the current market trends that would help generate revenues and increase its profitability. They connect with the marketing and sales team for product and services innovation, create compelling sales pitches, and develop customer service processes to assist customers with their inquiries and concerns efficiently.

What does a customer success manager do?

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.

Relationship manager vs customer success manager salary

Relationship managers and customer success managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Relationship Manager	Customer Success Manager
Average salary	$83,761	$93,820
Salary range	Between $56,000 And $123,000	Between $61,000 And $142,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Redwood City, CA
Highest paying state	New York	California
Best paying company	Google	VMware
Best paying industry	Finance	Technology

Differences between relationship manager and customer success manager education

There are a few differences between a relationship manager and a customer success manager in terms of educational background:

	Relationship Manager	Customer Success Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Pennsylvania

Relationship manager vs customer success manager demographics

Here are the differences between relationship managers' and customer success managers' demographics:

	Relationship Manager	Customer Success Manager
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 53.5% Female, 46.5%	Male, 54.9% Female, 45.1%
Race ratio	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%	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	7%	7%

Differences between relationship manager and customer success manager duties and responsibilities

Relationship manager example responsibilities.

Manage both general and bankruptcy FHLMC loans.
Demonstrate ability to manage a portfolio with a concentration in loan modifications for HAMP and FNMA.
Lead the district in sales by initiating and document a proactive customer profiling effort and sale calls.
Oversee and manages all incoming and outgoing automate clearing house (ACH) transfer of electronic fund.
Process annuities, insurance policies, office bills, manage correspondence, and maintain require files and accounts.
Manage the west coast territory to research and analyze which healthcare facilities would benefit from the services offer.

Customer success manager example responsibilities.

Help doctors manage their facebook page and website.
Achieve excellent performance results as compared to other Aarons stores.
Help customers establish spend and savings goals and achieve those to get full ROI.
Link QuickBooks system with customer sales database to automate the process of tax administration.
Well verse in leveraging CRM to manage accounts, capture metrics, and implement relevant processes.
Raise RingCentral's NPS score, by creating superb relations with clients that lead to increase survey ratings.

Relationship manager vs customer success manager skills

Common relationship manager skills

Client Relationships, 11%
Work Ethic, 10%
Strong Work Ethic, 10%
Financial Services, 9%
Taking Care, 5%
Customer Service, 5%

Common customer success manager skills

Client Facing, 10%
Cloud, 7%
Account Management, 7%
Customer Relationships, 5%
Saas, 5%
Customer Service, 5%

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Relationship Manager
Relationship Manager vs Customer Success Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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