presents

2015

Customer Success
Salary Survey &
State of the Profession Report
2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction

Executive Summary

Meet the Survey Participants

Customer Success Salary Survey Results

8
9

Compensation Structure
Bonus Components

10

Commission Components

11

Annual Compensation Distribution

Annual Compensation Distribution: Year-Over-Year Comparison

12

Median Annual Compensation: By Job Title

13

Annual Compensation Distribution: By Job Title

14
15

Average Annual Compensation By Job Title: Year-Over-Year Comparison

State of the Customer Success Profession

Where Does Customer Success Reside In Your Company?

17

Customer Success Maturity

18

What Was Your Previous Background?

19

Customer Success Team Growth And Turnover

20

Top Goals Of Customer Success Teams

21

Challenges Of Customer Success Teams

23

Systems Used By Customer Success Teams

24

2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

INTRODUCTION

The 2015 edition of the Customer Success Salary

Survey & State of the Profession Report surveyed
748 respondents to understand Customer Success
compensation trends, the growth and maturity of the
role, as well as its goals and challenges.
This years survey saw a 300% increase in the
number of respondents, attesting to the rapid growth
of the profession.

2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SALARY SURVEY

Compensation structure
A large majority (almost 75%) of Customer Success professionals
receive variable compensation in addition to a base salary. Bonuses
are almost five times as common as commissions.

Compensation by Title
Median compensation ranges are as follows:
$150-175K for VP of Customer Success
$125-150K for Director of Customer Success
$75-100K for Customer Success Manager

Trend From Previous Year

Compared to last years salary data, compensation is more uniformly
distributed this year indicating hiring across all levels (i.e. companies
growing out teams as well as leadership for Customer Success).

2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY STATE OF THE PROFESSION

Reporting Structure
More than one-third of Customer Success teams report directly to the
CEO, a significant increase from 15% last year. Being part of a larger
Services/Support organization is the next most common structure.

Customer Success Maturity

Data continues to show that Customer Success as a profession is still
in its early days.
- 75% of companies have had Customer Success for 0-3 years
- 60% of professionals have been in Customer Success for 0-3 years
- 95% of professionals have previously worked in other roles

Goals and Challenges

Product adoption and churn reduction are top goals for Customer Success
teams. Upsells still remains a lower priority. Operational issues are now a
bigger challenge for Customer Success teams compared to organizational
obstacles such as executive buy-in and definition of role.
2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

MEET THE SURVEY PARTICIPANTS

BY JOB TITLE

BY SIZE OF CUSTOMER
SUCCESS TEAM

2%
11%

16%
32%

36%

34%

35%
34%

CHIEF CUSTOMER OFFICER / VP OF CUSTOMER SUCCESS

0-5 TEAM MEMBERS

DIRECTOR OF CUSTOMER SUCCESS

6-25 TEAM MEMBERS

CUSTOMER SUCCESS MANAGER

CUSTOMER SUCCESS ENGINEER

>25 TEAM MEMBERS

OTHER ROLES *
* Includes CEO, COO, Sales, Support, Operations

2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

CUSTOMER SUCCESS SALARY

SURVEY RESULTS

2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

COMPENSATION STRUCTURE
BASE SALARY + BONUS + COMMISSON

9%

BASE SALARY + COMMISSON

26%

11%

54%

BASE SALARY ONLY

BASE SALARY + BONUS

Of the survey participants, 26% earn only a base salary. A majority receive other incentives, with bonuses
being the most common form of variable compensation (earned by over 60% of all survey participants).
Commissions are less common for Customer Success teams with only 20% earning commissions based on
meeting revenue goals.

2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

BONUS COMPONENTS

57%

TEAM/COMPANY PERFORMANCE

23%

RENEWALS GOAL

14%

UPSELL GOAL

10%

NET PROMOTER SCORE (NPS)

ONBOARDING/TRAINING
CASE STUDIES
OTHER

6%
4%
9%

Customer Success teams earn bonuses based on a wide range of criteria. Overall team and company
performance is the primary driver of bonuses followed by attainment of renewal and upsell goals. For a
smaller percentage of customer success professionals, bonuses also depend on MBOs such as
onboarding, training, and case studies.

2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

COMMISSION COMPONENTS

57%

COMMISSION ON RENEWALS + UPSELLS

COMMISSION ON UPSELLS

COMMISSION ON RENEWALS

23%

20%

For a majority of Customer Success professionals who earn commissions, both renewals and upsells
are part of the commission structure.

2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

10

ANNUAL COMPENSATION DISTRIBUTION

$0 - 50K

$175K+

11%

7%

$150K 175K

17%

13%

13%

20%

$50K - 75K

$75K - 100K

$125K 150K

19%
$100K - 125K
Note: Compensation figures include variable compensation (bonus and/or commissions)

2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

11

ANNUAL COMPENSATION DISTRIBUTION:

YEAR-OVER-YEAR COMPARISON
30%
25%

2015
2014

20%
15%
10%
5%
0%

$0-50K

$50K-75K

$75K-100K

$100K-125K

$125K-150K

$150K-175K

$175K+

Compared to last years salary data, where there was higher concentration in certain tiers,
compensation is more uniformly distributed this year indicating hiring across all levels (i.e. companies
growing out teams as well as leadership for Customer Success).

2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

12

MEDIAN ANNUAL COMPENSATION:

BY JOB TITLE

CCO/VP:

$150K 175K

DIRECTOR:

$125K 150K

MANAGER:

$75K 100K
2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

13

ANNUAL COMPENSATION DISTRIBUTION:

BY JOB TITLE

50%

45%

45%

45%

40%

40%

34%

35%

30%

26%

35%

29%

30%

30%

33%

35%

40%

25%

25%

20%

20%

15%

16%

25%
20%

15%

15%

8% 7%

10%
5%

2% 2% 2%

0%

8%

10%
5%

2%

10% 9%

3%

5%

11%
3% 2%

0%

0%

CHIEF CUSTOMER OFFICER /

VP OF CUSTOMER SUCCESS

10%

9%

DIRECTOR OF
CUSTOMER SUCCESS

CUSTOMER SUCCESS
MANAGER

2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

14

AVERAGE ANNUAL COMPENSATION BY JOB TITLE:

YEAR-OVER-YEAR COMPARISON

$159,168

CCO/VP

$180,427

DIRECTOR

MANAGER

$135,062

2014

$133,606

2015

$94,864
$86,570

2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

15

STATE OF THE CUSTOMER SUCCESS

PROFESSION

2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

WHERE DOES CUSTOMER SUCCESS RESIDE IN

YOUR COMPANY?
34%
28%

15%

11%

8%
3%

REPORTS
DIRECTLY TO CEO

PART OF SERVICES/
SUPPORT
ORGANIZATION

PART OF COO
ORGANIZATION

PART OF SALES

PART OF MARKETING

OTHER

More than one-third of Customer Success teams are now a standalone function reporting directly to the
CEO, a significant increase from last year when this figure was only 15%. The next most common structure
has the Customer Success team being part of a larger post-sales Services/Support organization.

2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

17

CUSTOMER SUCCESS MATURITY

HOW LONG HAS YOUR COMPANY
HAD A CUSTOMER SUCCESS TEAM?

23%

27%

HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU BEEN

IN CUSTOMER SUCCESS?

15%
<1 YEAR

39%

1-3 YEARS
3 YEARS+
50%

46%

Of all the respondents, more than 75% of the companies have had Customer Success teams for 3
years or less, and more than 60% of professionals have been in Customer Success roles for 3 years
or less, an indication that Customer Success as a profession is still in its early days.

2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

18

WHAT WAS YOUR PREVIOUS BACKGROUND?

8%

2% 1%

9%

ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT

20%

SUPPORT/SERVICES
SALES
CUSTOMER SUCCESS
MARKETING

8%

PRODUCT/ENGINEERING

5%

24%
23%

FINANCE
CONSULTING
OTHER

95% of the respondents have come to Customer Success from other fields and backgrounds,
reinforcing that Customer Success as a profession is very young. Only 5% of the respondents view
their background as being in Customer Success.

2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

19

CUSTOMER SUCCESS TEAM GROWTH AND TURNOVER

HOW MUCH HAS YOUR TEAM GROWN
IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS

23%

HOW MUCH TURNOVER HAS YOUR

TEAM SEEN IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS

12%

5%

2%
34%

13%
37%

14%

22%

38%
NO GROWTH
26-50%
100%+

1-25%
51-100%

NO TURNOVER
11-25%
51%

1-10%
26-50%

Customer Success teams are growing rapidly. Three-fourths have expanded stang by more than 25%, with
approximately one-third of these having more than doubled in the last year. At the same time, turnover
numbers indicate a fair degree of employee churn and movement as companies expand their teams and look
for people with prior Customer Success experience in this emerging profession.

2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

20

TOP GOALS OF CUSTOMER SUCCESS TEAMS

57%

Product Adoption

55%

Churn Reduction

47%

Onboarding

42%

Customer Advocacy

39%

Customer Support

20%

Upsell
See next page for the relative priority of each goal for Customer Success teams.

2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

21

TOP GOALS OF CUSTOMER SUCCESS TEAMS

PRODUCT ADOPTION

57%

CHURN REDUCTION

55%

ONBOARDING

35%

42%

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

41%

39%

20%

MEDIUM

29%

36%
LOW

10%

13%

2%

15%

4%

16%

27%

37%
HIGH

15%

30%

47%

CUSTOMER ADVOCACY

UPSELLS

18%

2%

5%

7%

NOT A PRIORITY

Product adoption and churn reduction are top goals for Customer Success teams. Upsells still remains a
lower priority compared to churn reduction.

2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

22

CHALLENGES OF CUSTOMER SUCCESS TEAMS

REACTIVE APPROACH TO
CUSTOMERS

30%
27%

TIME MANAGEMENT AND FOCUS

VISIBILITY INTO CUSTOMERS

23%

SCALING THE TEAM

22%

CLARITY OF ROLE AND GOALS

EXECUTIVE SUPPORT

47%

18%

32%

34%

38%
36%

36%
HIGH

MEDIUM

2%

38%
32%

4%
21%

38%
LOW

2%
7%

37%

29%

10%

21%

17%

NOT A CHALLENGE

Operational issues including a reactive approach to customers, time management and focus, and
scaling the team are bigger challenges for Customer Success today compared to broader
organizational obstacles such as executive buy-in and definition of team role.

2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

23

SYSTEMS USED BY CUSTOMER SUCCESS TEAMS

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM)

74%

HELPDESK

50%

EMAIL AUTOMATION

41%

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
CUSTOMER SUCCESS PLATFORM
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

29%

25%

22%

CRM followed by helpdesk remain the systems most widely used by Customer Success teams. Only
25% are using a Customer Success platform.

2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

24

ABOUT TOTANGO
Totango is the leader in customer success
management. We help businesses take a data-driven
approach to reducing churn, driving customer adoption
and advocacy, and maximizing lifetime revenue.
Totango monitors customer behavior along with data
from CRM, billing, and other enterprise systems to
generate insights on customer health and engagement.
The company's platform combines big data analytics
with powerful segmentation and predictive tools to help
companies pinpoint customers who need attention, spot
opportunities for upsell, and then manage the
touchpoints with customers to drive productivity and
scale for customer success teams.
You can find more customer success resources at:
www.totango.com/resources

info@totango.com

1-800-634-1990

www.totango.com

2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |

25

2015 Customer Success Salary Survey & State of the Profession Report |