The compensation trends for Customer Success Managers (CSMs) and Account Managers (AMs) in the technology sector in 2024 show a bit of a paradox in the industry. Candidates with both experience and specialized skills are seeing higher salaries, but rates for most others are stagnating while overall hiring has shrunk.
The latest update to the Betts Compensation Guide provides earnings for top go-to-market (GTM) jobs in tech over the next year; this blog will go into further detail on the biggest trends we are seeing for CSMs and AMs, and how this will affect recruiting for both roles – and their title variations – over the next year. Keep reading below to see how salaries are shaping up for customer success and account management teams in the technology sector:
Compensation Trends for Customer Success Managers
The tech market has gone through a lot over the past decade. Even before the pandemic, we saw startups and enterprises alike make huge strides in delivering digital transformation to different industries, and the mass migration to remote work seemed to signal another wave of demand for SaaS. Customer Success (CS) teams have been integral to maintaining the value of software subscriptions, and it was expected that this function would only grow in importance over time.
However, with inflation and other economic factors impacting tech, we have actually seen the number of CS roles drop by over 50% from 2022 to 2023. What has instead occurred mimics how many tech startups are restructuring their sales hiring – there is a move towards consolidation and a greater emphasis on recruiting CSMs that bring certain skill sets and experience. This is throwing off compensation targets overall, but the rule of thumb is that those who fit a “unicorn” candidate profile for a given company will earn more than average, while those who only have general skills may earn less.
Customer Success and Account Manager Salary Rates for 2024
Total earnings for Customer Success and Account Managers remained stagnant from 2022 to 2023. Experience is starting to win out over location in most cases, although new hires in the tech hubs of New York and San Francisco still see the highest rates by far. AMs on the East and West Coasts usually saw better pay than their counterparts in the Central or Mountain time zones, but CSMs with less experience were generally stuck at the lowest rates outside of NY and SF.
The average salary for a Customer Success Manager with less than 3 years of experience ranged from $70,000 – $110,000; for those with more than 3 years of experience, the average ranged from $95,000 – $150,000. On-target earnings (OTE) usually went up to an additional $20,000 – $40,000 for the former while it averaged another $20,000 for the latter.
The average rate for an Account Manager ranged from $75,000 – $110,000, with OTE usually ranging from $40,000 – $60,000 in extra earnings.
| NY / SF | Pacific | Mountain | Central | Eastern | Remote | |
| Base | OTE | Base | OTE | Base | OTE | Base | OTE | Base | OTE | Base | OTE | |
| Account Manager | 80-120 | 120-180 | 80-120 | 120-180 | 70-100 | 110-160 | 70-100 | 110k-160 | 80-120 | 120-180 | 70-100 | 110-160 |
| Customer Success Manager (0-3 years) | 80-120 | 100-160 | 70-110 | 90-140 | 70-110 | 90-140 | 70-110 | 90-140 | 70-110 | 90-140 | 70-110 | 90-140 |
| Customer Success Manager (3-5 years) | 100-160 | 120-180 | 100-160 | 120-180 | 90-140 | 110-160 | 90-140 | 110-160 | 100-160 | 120-180 | 90-140 | 110-160 |
| Manager of Customer Success | 120-200 | 140-260 | 110-160 | 140-220 | 110-160 | 140-220 | 110-160 | 140-220 | 110-160 | 140-220 | 110-160 | 140-220 |
Other Top Compensation Trends for CSMs in 2024
Compensation trends for Customer Success and Account Managers in tech are complex and intersect with many other developments affecting GTM hiring in the industry. Here are some of the top patterns we have seen emerging:
Remote Customer Success Managers
As the salary data shown earlier in this blog indicates, remote CSMs typically earn on the lower end of the average rate. 2023 saw the technology industry start cutting back on purely work-from-home setups, with most going hybrid and a growing number pushing fully for return-to-office (RTO). While this situation is probably going to continue developing over the next several years, what we expect to see in the short-term is for many jobs in less demand seeing higher pay for in-office work.
SaaS Seeking Skill Specialization
With the SaaS sector scaling back from the larger volume hiring we saw at the peak of the pandemic, a new trend is emerging that is heavily impacting recruiting and compensation rates. Most startups are de-prioritizing the type of “jack of all trades” generalized roles that have dominated GTM talent acquisition strategies for the past few years and are instead looking for candidates that can bring specialized skill sets. By focusing on sourcing for specialization, these companies are looking to scale up their in-house knowledge and value to their customer base at a faster pace, and fill in for gaps their go-to-market teams may have in areas like product expertise.
Enterprise Customer Success Managers
For Customer Success Managers in particular, many tech startups are increasingly looking for those that can bring experience with enterprise-sized clients. Just as we see with EAE (Enterprise Account Executive) hiring, those looking to add an Enterprise CSM (ECSM) to their team gain not only their experience handling larger accounts, but also their knowledge of engaging with executives.
Competition for Unicorn CSM Candidates
Many of the factors previously outlined here contribute to a new trend we are calling the “unicorn seller.” This is a candidate that fits – fits into your sales motion, fits into your culture, and fits into your GTM strategy with the personal skills and market knowledge you need. Enterprise Customer Success Managers are the most common example of this on the CS side, and most tech startups that are still hiring for those teams are actively seeking ECSMs.
New Compensation Rules for Enterprise CSMs
Unicorn candidate recruiting adds a new layer of complexity to compensation trends in the technology sector. We have always included a recommended target salary rate with each release of the Betts Compensation Guide, but the 2024 version adds a few new rules to adjust your pitch offer for exceptional candidates. For Enterprise CSMs with more than 3 years of experience, increase your initial salary offer by up to 10% of the target rate. For example, the target base salary for a mid-market CSM in New York would be about $130,000 – for an experienced ECSM, this should be raised to around $140,000.
Stay on Top of Customer Success Hiring Trends with Betts Recruiting
Talent acquisition in tech is going to continue to face both new opportunities and challenges over the next year, but staying on top of the latest trends will help you remain in front of your competitors when it comes time to hire your unicorn candidate. Let Betts Recruiting help you refine your search and ensure you find your right fit Customer Success Manager without stretching your hiring budget.
Contact Betts here to learn more about our unique, cost-effective approach and see how we can streamline your CSM hiring.