It's 2024. Today, customer-centricity is more than just a trend; it's a necessity.

To put this into perspective, take a look at these numbers:

• Nearly half of consumers require tailored interactions to build brand trust.
• Two-thirds of clients anticipate issues being solved within 3 hours.
• About four in five executives think customer support should span every platform clients use.
• Companies that prioritize CX make 60% more money than those that don't.

As a customer success manager, you are expected to deliver exceptional services to your user base. Be it via enablement, solving their queries quickly or onboarding them to onto new use cases or features for improved retention and expansion.

However, there's a catch. As more people enter the customer success field, it's getting harder to land a job.

One way to grow your skills and aptitude in this space is through customer success training and certifications – which is becoming increasingly important to career growth and promotion. An annual training subscription, such as Pulse+, offers continuous learning and high-quality content from industry leaders to help you address everyday challenges and understand customer objectives better.

In this blog, we’ve curated the best customer success certifications available to help you thrive as a Customer Success Specialist. Each certification will help you understand the customer’s perspective, manage tasks effectively, and boost retention rates.

What is Customer Success?

Customer success takes a proactive approach to ensure customers achieve their desired outcomes. It’s about guiding customers to find effective use of a product or service, thereby maximizing the value they receive and helping them achieve their desired business outcomes.

It is different to customer support in the sense that customer success teams provide proactive guidance and support, while customer support teams handle reactive inquiries and provide immediate assistance.

The ultimate aim is to foster a positive, long-term relationship, leading to customer retention and growth opportunities for both the customer and the company.

What is a Customer Success Manager Certification?

In recent years, customer success positions have been spotlighted as some of the most rapidly expanding and promising career paths. These roles were featured prominently in prestigious job rankings, sharing space with other highly sought-after professions like data scientists, AI experts, and robotics engineers.

Here's what a recent study by ChurnZero and ESG shows:

• Customer Success (CS) now drives revenue: Half of CS teams handle renewals, directly boosting company earnings. Over 78% report to top executives, showing CS's growing impact on profits.
• CS teams are growing, but slowly: Though 60% of teams and most budgets are expanding, most CS teams (64%) have non-staff budgets below industry standards.
• CS lags in specialized tech: Under half of CS teams use dedicated platforms for client onboarding, retention, and growth. But this may change, as teams plan to adopt tools for smarter, more efficient work.

Given these developments, if you’re considering advancing your career in customer success, you need to stand out.

A Customer Success Manager certification is a professional qualification that provides in-depth training on the strategies, tools, and methodologies essential for various customer service roles. These programs often cover customer success management fundamentals to ensure a strong foundation in the field.

The benefits of gaining a professional certification in customer success are numerous. These include:

1. Skills Enhancement: Learn the necessary skills to build a successful career as a Customer Success Manager.
2. Practical Expertise: Gain hands-on techniques to tackle challenging situations.
3. Role Understanding: Get a comprehensive understanding of a CSM’s responsibilities.
4. Profile Differentiation: Highlight your certification on your resume to set you apart from other candidates.
5. Employability: Demonstrate to potential employers that you possess the skills to excel in complex customer service environments.
6. Professional Development: Show your dedication to professional growth, thus increasing job opportunities.
7. Critical Thinking: Develop critical thinking skills, positioning yourself as a strategic employee, enhancing your chances of promotions and higher remuneration.

By embarking on a customer success certification program, you’ll be able to hone your craft and radically improve key customer success metrics in your current or future role.

Top 10 Customer Success Certifications

Here's a roundup of some of the best customer service certifications to boost your resume and enhance your skills.

1. Certified Customer Success Manager (CCSM) by success coaching

The CCSM certification is perfect for anyone looking to establish or advance their career in customer success management. The program offers extensive training with insights into a CSM’s core competencies.

The four levels of this program focus on engaging, managing and retaining customers, handling multiple customer accounts, developing skills for senior managerial roles, and driving customer account expansion.

Key Topics Covered

• Engaging Customers: Techniques for effectively engaging with customers to build strong relationships.
• Managing and Retaining Customers: Strategies for managing multiple customer accounts and ensuring high retention rates.
• Advanced Managerial Skills: Developing skills necessary for senior managerial roles within customer success.
• Customer Account Expansion: Methods for driving expansion within customer accounts and increasing overall value.
• Customer Success Strategy: Understanding and implementing effective customer success strategies to enhance customer value and loyalty.

2. Inbound Marketing Certification Course by HubSpot Academy

The inbound marketing certification course by HubSpot Academy helps you understand inbound marketing tactics comprehensively. It aids you in identifying new prospects, engaging with them, understanding their needs, and guiding them forward.

Key Topics Covered

• Inbound Marketing Fundamentals: Understanding the core principles of inbound marketing.
• Content Strategy: Creating compelling content that attracts and engages your target audience.
• Social Media Promotion: Leveraging social media platforms to promote your content and reach a wider audience.
• SEO and Blogging: Optimizing your content for search engines and using blogging to drive traffic.
• Email Marketing: Building and executing effective email marketing campaigns.
• Lead Nurturing: Developing strategies to nurture leads through the marketing funnel.
• Marketing Automation: Using automation tools to streamline and enhance your marketing efforts.
• Analytics and Reporting: Measuring the success of your inbound marketing campaigns and making data-driven decisions.

3. Customer Success Training Program by TriTurns

This globally recognized 100% online course offers essential skills to fast-track your customer success career. The program teaches various operational and tactical skills to be effective in your customer success role.

Key Topics Covered

• Customer Engagement Strategies: Techniques for building and maintaining strong customer relationships.
• Customer Retention: Strategies to retain customers and reduce churn.
• Account Management: Best practices for managing customer accounts and ensuring customer satisfaction.
• Customer Success Metrics: Understanding and using key performance indicators to measure success.
• Upselling and Cross-Selling: Techniques to drive additional value from existing customers.
• Effective Communication: Enhancing communication skills to interact with customers efficiently.
• Problem-Solving and Conflict Resolution: Handling customer issues and conflicts in a professional manner.
• Customer Journey Mapping: Creating and analyzing customer journey maps to improve customer experience.
• Customer Education Blueprint: Structured frameworks for enhancing customer success strategies and fostering customer engagement.

4. Customer Success Foundations by Aspireship

Aspireship's program helps individuals from other sectors transition to a rewarding career in tech. This 20-hour course can be completed in four weeks or less.

Key Topics Covered

• Introduction to Customer Success: Understanding the role and importance of customer success in modern business.
• Customer Onboarding: Best practices for effectively onboarding new customers to ensure their success from the start.
• Customer Relationship Management: Techniques for building and maintaining strong, positive relationships with customers.
• Retention Strategies: Methods for keeping customers engaged and reducing churn.
• Success Planning: Creating and executing customer success plans to achieve desired outcomes.
• Communication Skills: Enhancing communication skills to interact effectively with customers.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Using data and analytics to inform customer success strategies.
• Problem-Solving: Addressing and resolving customer issues efficiently and effectively.

5. Certified Customer Success Management Professional (CCSMP) from PracticalCSM

The CCSMP is a practical training program teaching techniques and strategies to improve efficiency and productivity as a CSM. The program is led by experienced customer success professionals who provide real-world insights and practical exercises.

Key Topics Covered

• Customer Success Fundamentals: Understanding the core principles and importance of customer success.
• Customer Onboarding and Engagement: Best practices for onboarding new customers and engaging them effectively.
• Customer Retention Strategies: Techniques to maintain high customer retention rates and minimize churn.
• Account Management: Managing customer accounts to ensure satisfaction and growth.
• Communication and Relationship Building: Developing strong communication skills to build and maintain positive customer relationships.
• Data-Driven Customer Success: Utilizing data and metrics to drive customer success strategies and decision-making.
• Problem-Solving and Conflict Resolution: Addressing and resolving customer issues efficiently and effectively.
• Customer Success Planning: Creating and executing comprehensive customer success plans tailored to individual customer needs.

6. Customer Success Manager Certification from Cisco

Cisco's certification provides a solid framework and core skills to help improve customer relationships and deliver immediate value to them. The Cisco Customer Success Manager (DTCSM) v2.2 course can help you prepare for the certification examination.

Key Topics Covered

• Customer Success Fundamentals: Understanding the foundational concepts and importance of customer success in the technology sector.
• Customer Onboarding and Adoption: Techniques for effectively onboarding customers and driving adoption of Cisco's solutions.
• Customer Lifecycle Management: Managing the entire customer lifecycle from initial engagement to long-term retention.
• Value Realization: Helping customers realize the full value of Cisco's products and services.
• Renewals and Upselling: Strategies for securing renewals and identifying opportunities for upselling and cross-selling.
• Metrics and Reporting: Utilizing data and analytics to measure customer success and inform decision-making.
• Communication and Relationship Building: Developing strong communication skills to build and maintain positive customer relationships.
• Problem-Solving and Conflict Resolution: Addressing and resolving customer issues effectively to maintain satisfaction.
• Customer Usage Data: Understanding and leveraging customer usage data to drive customer success.
• Interpret Customer Usage Data: Techniques for interpreting customer usage data to identify barriers and enhance solution validity.

7. Customer Success Certification from The Success League

The success certification program from The Success League includes 15 online classes taught by experienced customer success managers.

Key Topics Covered

• Foundations of Customer Success: Understanding the core principles and importance of customer success in modern business.
• Customer Onboarding: Best practices for effectively onboarding new customers to ensure a smooth start.
• Engagement and Relationship Building: Techniques for building and maintaining strong, positive relationships with customers.
• Customer Retention Strategies: Methods for keeping customers engaged and reducing churn.
• Success Planning: Creating and executing strategic customer success plans tailored to individual customer needs.
• Metrics and Reporting: Utilizing key performance indicators to measure and demonstrate the impact of customer success efforts.
• Effective Communication: Enhancing communication skills to interact efficiently with customers and internal teams.
• Problem-Solving and Conflict Resolution: Addressing and resolving customer issues proactively and effectively.

8. Success League’s CSM Certification Program

The Customer Success Manager (CSM) Certification by The Success League is a comprehensive program designed to equip professionals with the skills and knowledge needed to excel in customer success management roles. This certification is ideal for individuals seeking to enhance their career prospects in customer success or related fields.

Key Topics Covered

• Foundations of Customer Success: Understanding the core principles and importance of customer success in modern business.
• Customer Lifecycle Management: Managing the entire customer lifecycle from onboarding to renewal.
• Customer Engagement Strategies: Techniques for building and maintaining strong, positive relationships with customers.
• Value Realization: Helping customers achieve their desired outcomes and realize the full value of your products or services.
• Metrics and Reporting: Utilizing key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure and track customer success.
• Renewals and Expansion: Strategies for securing renewals and identifying opportunities for upselling and cross-selling.
• Communication and Collaboration: Enhancing communication skills to effectively interact with customers and internal teams.
• Problem-Solving and Conflict Resolution: Addressing and resolving customer issues efficiently and proactively.

9. PracticalCSM’s Certified Customer Success Management Professional (CCSMP) Customer Success Certification

Managed by Rick Adams, The CCSMP is a high-value practical training program. This certification answers most of your questions such as the what, why, and how of customer success. It is designed for both newcomers to the field and experienced professionals aiming to deepen their expertise.

Key Topics Covered

• Customer Success Fundamentals: Understanding the essential principles and importance of customer success.
• Customer Onboarding and Engagement: Best practices for onboarding new customers and engaging them effectively.
• Customer Retention Strategies: Techniques to maintain high customer retention rates and minimize churn.
• Account Management: Managing customer accounts to ensure ongoing satisfaction and growth.
• Value Realization: Helping customers realize the full value of your products and services.
• Communication and Relationship Building: Developing strong communication skills to build and maintain positive customer relationships.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Utilizing data and metrics to inform customer success strategies and measure outcomes.
• Problem-Solving and Conflict Resolution: Efficiently addressing and resolving customer issues to maintain satisfaction.
• Customer Success Planning: Creating and executing comprehensive success plans tailored to individual customer needs.
• Identify Adoption Barriers: Skills to identify and address barriers to customer adoption and engagement.

10. Customer Success | How to Understand Your Customers

Created by Chuck Wall, this course is designed for beginners that helps you understand customers better. This course is ideal for anyone involved in customer interactions, including marketers, sales professionals, product managers, and business owners. By understanding your customers better, you can improve your products, services, and overall customer experience.

Key Topics Covered

• Customer Research Methods: Learn various techniques for gathering customer data, including surveys, interviews, and observational studies.
• Customer Segmentation: Understand how to segment your customer base to tailor your approach and meet specific needs.
• Customer Behavior Analysis: Analyze customer behavior to identify patterns and trends that can inform your business strategies.
• Building Customer Personas: Create detailed customer personas to better understand and address the needs of different customer groups.
• Customer Feedback Utilization: Use customer feedback to improve your products and services continuously.
• Empathy Mapping: Develop empathy maps to gain a deeper understanding of your customers' emotions and experiences.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Leverage customer data to make informed decisions that enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.
• Customer Journey Mapping: Map out the customer journey to identify touchpoints and opportunities for improvement.

Preparing for a Customer Success Certification: The Essential Tips

1. Be Informed: Understand the certification requirements to decide whether it aligns with your career goals.
2. Be Prepared: Review the course materials to improve your chances of passing the examination.
3. Understand the Examination Pattern: Knowing the style of questions, examination pattern, and duration will aid in your preparation.
4. Familiarize Yourself with the Test Environment: Understanding more about the test environment helps reduce exam anxiety and prevent mistakes.
5. Take Practice Tests: Mock exams will boost your confidence and help you successfully complete the certification exam.

Conclusion

Customer success is a dynamic field that requires continuous learning.

The right certification can give you an edge in the industry, equipping you with the skills and knowledge required to excel. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced professional, investing in a customer success certification can open new avenues for career growth and personal development.