Customer Success Manager – Account Adoption and Retention

GradeBuzz; Austintown (OH); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Flexible work arrangements

Paid time off

Professional development

Job summary

GradeBuzz is seeking a Customer Success Manager – Account Adoption and Retention to build strong customer relationships, drive product adoption, and support long-term retention across remote, hybrid, or on-site arrangements.

The successful candidate will partner with sales, product, technical support, and marketing to resolve challenges, monitor health metrics, reduce churn, and demonstrate continuous customer value. This role spans onboarding through renewal and growth opportunities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree preferred; equivalent experience considered.
• Experience in customer success, account management, or SaaS.
• Strong communication and relationship skills.
• Ability to analyze usage data and identify risks.
• Familiarity with CRM systems and customer lifecycle processes.

Responsibilities

• Manage multiple accounts and serve as primary contact for success inquiries.
• Onboard new customers and drive product adoption.
• Monitor health metrics, renewals, and expansion opportunities.
• Collaborate with sales, product, and support teams to resolve issues.
• Conduct regular account reviews and provide strategic recommendations.
• Lead customer training sessions and provide ongoing guidance.

Skills

Account management

Customer success

CRM proficiency

Communication skills

Data analysis

Onboarding expertise

Renewals & retention

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Communications, Information Technology, Management, or related field

Tools

Salesforce / HubSpot CRM

Job description

1. Job Summary

GradeBuzz is seeking a proactive, customer-focused, and results-oriented Customer Success Manager – Account Adoption and Retention to build strong customer relationships, improve product adoption, and support long-term customer retention. This role is ideal for a professional who enjoys helping customers achieve their goals, identifying opportunities for improvement, and ensuring that customers receive maximum value from the companys products and services.

The successful candidate will serve as a trusted partner to customers throughout their journey, from onboarding and implementation to ongoing engagement, renewal, and account growth. The role requires excellent communication, relationship management, problem-solving, and analytical skills, along with the ability to understand customer needs and translate them into practical success strategies.

As a Customer Success Manager, you will collaborate with sales, product, technical support, and marketing teams to resolve customer challenges, encourage product adoption, reduce churn, and strengthen customer loyalty. You will monitor account health, identify potential risks, develop retention strategies, and help customers achieve measurable outcomes.

The ideal candidate should be comfortable managing multiple customer accounts, tracking performance metrics, conducting regular account reviews, and proactively addressing concerns before they become significant issues. Candidates with experience in customer success, account management, customer service, SaaS platforms, or client relationship management are encouraged to apply.

Position: Customer Success Manager – Account Adoption and Retention

Company: GradeBuzz

Department: Customer Success / Client Relations

Job Type: Full-Time

Work Arrangement: Remote, hybrid, or on-site, depending on company requirements

Experience Level: Entry-level to experienced professionals, depending on business needs

2. Key Responsibilities

Customer Relationship Management

• Build and maintain strong, long-lasting relationships with assigned customers and key stakeholders.
• Act as the primary point of contact for customer success inquiries, account reviews, product adoption, and ongoing engagement.
• Understand customer business objectives, operational challenges, and expectations to deliver relevant solutions.
• Maintain consistent communication with customers through email, phone calls, video meetings, and other approved communication channels.
• Develop customer success plans that align product capabilities with customer goals.
• Establish trust by providing timely updates, reliable support coordination, and practical recommendations.

Account Adoption and Product Engagement

• Guide new customers through onboarding, account setup, product orientation, and initial implementation activities.
• Help customers understand product features, workflows, and best practices.
• Encourage customers to use relevant features and services that support their business objectives.
• Monitor product usage and engagement data to identify accounts that may require additional guidance.
• Conduct training sessions, demonstrations, and follow-up meetings to improve customer confidence and product utilization.
• Develop strategies to increase adoption among inactive or under-engaged customers.
• Collect customer feedback and communicate recurring product challenges to the appropriate internal teams.

Customer Retention and Churn Prevention

• Monitor account health indicators, customer satisfaction, engagement levels, and renewal timelines.
• Identify customers who may be at risk of cancellation or reduced usage and develop appropriate recovery plans.
• Proactively contact customers experiencing difficulties and coordinate solutions with relevant departments.
• Conduct regular customer check-ins to understand concerns, measure progress, and reinforce product value.
• Develop retention initiatives that improve satisfaction, strengthen relationships, and encourage continued engagement.
• Support contract renewal activities by demonstrating customer outcomes and addressing unresolved concerns.
• Maintain accurate records of customer risks, retention activities, renewal opportunities, and agreed action plans.

Customer Success Planning and Performance Monitoring

• Develop tailored success plans with measurable goals, milestones, and timelines.
• Conduct periodic business reviews to evaluate progress and identify improvement opportunities.
• Track key performance indicators such as product adoption, customer satisfaction, renewal rates, and churn.
• Use customer relationship management systems and analytics dashboards to monitor account performance.
• Prepare account summaries, customer health reports, and retention forecasts for internal stakeholders.
• Recommend process improvements based on customer feedback, account trends, and performance data.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with sales teams to support account expansion, upselling, and cross-selling when appropriate.
• Coordinate with technical support teams to resolve product issues and follow up on outstanding cases.
• Partner with product and engineering teams to communicate customer requirements and recurring usability challenges.
• Collaborate with marketing teams to share customer success stories, testimonials, and engagement opportunities when authorized.
• Participate in internal meetings to review customer outcomes, renewal forecasts, and account priorities.
• Help improve customer onboarding processes, support workflows, and account management practices.

Customer Advocacy and Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to improve the overall customer experience.
• Gather structured customer feedback through surveys, interviews, and account review meetings.
• Recognize satisfied customers who may be willing to provide testimonials, referrals, or case studies.
• Maintain professional communication when managing complaints, escalations, and sensitive account concerns.
• Recommend improvements to customer success resources, training materials, and self-service documentation.
• Stay informed about customer success trends, account management practices, and relevant product developments.

3. Required Skills and Qualifications

Educational Qualifications

• A bachelors degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Communications, Information Technology, Management, or a related field is preferred.
• Equivalent professional experience, relevant training, or demonstrated customer relationship management skills may be considered.

Additional certifications in customer success, customer experience, project management, or CRM platforms are advantageous but not necessarily required.

Technical Skills

• Familiarity with customer relationship management (CRM) systems such as Salesforce, HubSpot, or similar platforms.
• Ability to interpret customer engagement data, account health indicators, and performance reports.
• Working knowledge of spreadsheets, presentation tools, email platforms, and online collaboration software.
• Understanding of customer onboarding, product adoption, renewal management, and customer lifecycle processes.
• Ability to maintain organized customer records, prepare reports, and track follow-up activities.
• Familiarity with SaaS products, subscription-based services, or digital platforms is an advantage.

Communication and Relationship Skills

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build rapport with customers from diverse backgrounds.
• Ability to explain product features, processes, and recommendations in clear, customer-friendly language.
• Active listening skills and a genuine interest in understanding customer needs.
• Confidence in conducting customer meetings, product reviews, and account presentations.
• Professional email writing, negotiation, and conflict-resolution abilities.

Professional Qualifications

• Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple accounts simultaneously.
• A customer-first mindset with a focus on delivering measurable value.
• Good analytical thinking and problem-solving capabilities.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Strong follow-through, accountability, and attention to detail.
• Willingness to learn new tools, products, and customer success methodologies.

4. Experience

Entry-Level Candidates

• Fresh graduates with strong communication, organizational, and customer service skills may be considered where suitable entry-level opportunities are available.
• Candidates should demonstrate a willingness to learn customer success processes, account management practices, and relevant software tools.
• Internship experience, academic projects, or previous customer-facing responsibilities may be beneficial.

Experienced Candidates

• Approximately 2–5 years of experience in customer success, account management, client services, customer support, or a related field is preferred.
• Experience managing customer accounts, conducting onboarding sessions, and improving product adoption is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated success in improving customer satisfaction, reducing churn, or supporting renewals is an advantage.
• Experience using CRM systems, customer analytics tools, and account reporting dashboards is beneficial.
• Previous experience in SaaS, technology, e-commerce, education technology, or subscription-based businesses is preferred.
• Candidates should be able to demonstrate a practical understanding of customer relationship management and explain how they have helped customers overcome challenges or achieve desired outcomes.

5. Working Hours

• Employment Type: Full-time.
• Typical Schedule: Approximately 40 hours per week, subject to company policy and local employment regulations.
• Working Days: Generally Monday to Friday, depending on the assigned team and business requirements.
• Work Arrangement: Remote, hybrid, or on-site, depending on the confirmed position.
• Customer Meetings: Occasional schedule flexibility may be required to accommodate customers in different time zones.
• Collaboration: Participation in team meetings, account reviews, training sessions, and performance discussions may be required.
• Peak Periods: Additional flexibility may be necessary during customer onboarding, major implementations, and renewal periods.
• Specific working hours, time-zone expectations, leave arrangements, and any overtime requirements will be communicated during the recruitment process.

6. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Customer Success Knowledge

• Understanding of the customer lifecycle, including onboarding, adoption, engagement, retention, and renewal.
• Knowledge of customer satisfaction measurement, account health monitoring, and churn prevention.
• Ability to identify customer objectives and create action plans that support measurable results.
• Awareness of customer experience principles and relationship-building techniques.

Analytical and Problem-Solving Abilities

• Ability to review customer data and identify patterns that may indicate adoption challenges or retention risks.
• Capacity to prioritize accounts based on customer needs, business impact, and urgency.
• Confidence in developing practical solutions to customer problems.
• Ability to use feedback and performance indicators to recommend improvements.

Account Management Skills

• Ability to organize customer portfolios and maintain accurate account information.
• Skill in planning customer meetings, tracking commitments, and managing follow-up actions.
• Ability to communicate product value and identify appropriate account development opportunities.
• Understanding of renewal planning, escalation management, and customer relationship continuity.

Personal Attributes

• Empathy, patience, professionalism, and a positive attitude.
• Strong ownership of responsibilities and commitment to customer outcomes.
• Adaptability when working with changing priorities and customer requirements.
• Good time management and the ability to meet deadlines.
• Integrity when handling confidential customer information.
• A continuous-learning mindset and willingness to accept feedback.

Performance Expectations

• Customer retention and renewal rates.
• Product adoption and active usage.
• Customer satisfaction and feedback scores.
• Reduction in preventable customer churn.
• Completion of onboarding and customer success milestones.
• Timely resolution or escalation of customer concerns.
• Accuracy of CRM records and account health reporting.
• Achievement of agreed customer success and account growth objectives.

7. Benefits

• Competitive salary aligned with experience, qualifications, and market conditions.
• Performance-based incentives or bonuses where applicable.
• Flexible working arrangements for eligible positions.
• Opportunities to develop customer success, communication, and account management skills.
• Access to relevant internal training and professional development resources.
• Collaboration with colleagues across customer success, sales, product, and technical teams.
• Opportunities to participate in process improvement initiatives and customer experience projects.
• Paid leave and public holidays in accordance with applicable employment policies and local laws.
• Health insurance, retirement contributions, or other employee benefits where offered.
• Career development opportunities based on performance, business needs, and available vacancies.
• Final compensation and benefits should be confirmed with GradeBuzz during the application and interview process.

8. Why Join GradeBuzz?

Joining GradeBuzz as a Customer Success Manager offers an opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to customer satisfaction, product adoption, and long-term business relationships.

Make a Measurable Impact

Your work will help customers understand and realize the value of the products or services they use. By improving onboarding, engagement, and retention, you can contribute to stronger customer relationships and sustainable business growth.

Build Valuable Professional Skills

The role provides opportunities to strengthen communication, customer relationship management, analytical thinking, negotiation, and strategic account planning skills.

Work Across Teams

You will have opportunities to collaborate with colleagues from different business functions, develop a broader understanding of customer needs, and contribute to improvements across the customer journey.

Develop Your Career

Customer success experience can support future career opportunities in senior customer success management, strategic account management, customer experience leadership, revenue operations, and customer success operations.

Contribute to Customer-Centered Solutions

You will help identify customer challenges, communicate feedback to internal teams, and recommend improvements that make products and services more useful and accessible.

Grow Through Continuous Learning

The role encourages ongoing development in customer engagement practices, digital tools, account analytics, and retention strategies.

GradeBuzz welcomes applications from professionals who are passionate about helping customers succeed and who are committed to building productive, long-term business relationships.