Customer Experience Manager Career Path

Starting a career as a customer experience manager requires understanding the key steps, skills, and experiences needed for success.

In this article, we will outline the typical journey for customer experience managers, covering educational requirements, entry-level positions, potential advancements, and long-term opportunities.

Without further ado, let’s get into it!

What is a customer experience manager?

A customer experience (CX) manager is a professional responsible for improving interactions between a company and its customer base across different touch points. They play a key role in implementing a positive customer experience, improving user retention, and minimizing churn rates. Their efforts are instrumental in driving customer loyalty and product adoption.

What does a customer experience manager do?

A CX manager’s primary responsibilities include understanding customer needs, expectations, and pain points.

They use these insights to dig deeper into the user journey and optimize interactions at various touchpoints.

Additionally, they’re responsible for collecting user feedback, retrieving actionable insights, and implementing strategies to improve the overall CX. Their job usually involves close collaboration with other teams, including customer service, marketing, product, and sales.

Customer experience manager’s main responsibilities

Key responsibilities of a CX manager include:

Customer journey mapping – A CX manager identifies all the touchpoints a customer goes through, from their first contact to post-purchase, and pinpoints the challenges customers face at each touchpoint.
Customer satisfaction and loyalty – A CX manager is responsible for identifying ways to eliminate friction from the user journey, improve satisfaction levels, and build a community of loyal brand advocates.
Recruitment and training – They are often tasked with hiring professionals for customer-facing teams. Also, they equip these professionals with adequate training to ensure positive interactions with the brand at each touchpoint.
Cross-functional collaboration and leadership – CX managers work in a cross-functional environment where they lead a team of professionals from different departments. These include marketing, product, sales, and customer service.
Customer feedback management – A CX manager is responsible for collecting and analyzing user feedback and using those insights to suggest necessary CX enhancements.
CX strategy development – A CX manager digs deeper into user needs and pain points and devises ways to eliminate friction from their journey. The idea is to deliver an outstanding experience that lives up to user expectations.

Customer experience manager salary

According to Glassdoor, the average base pay range for a customer experience manager is between $46,000 and $79,000 annually. The median annual salary is $77,204.

Base pay range of CX manager according to Glassdoor.

One of the key factors that impact your salary is your experience level. Here’s how a CX manager’s salary varies according to experience (based on Glassdoor’s data):

Assistant CX manager: $65,223 per year
CX manager: $77,204 per year
Lead CX manager: $97,074 per year
Senior CX manager: $104,426 per year

Where you live also has a significant impact on your earnings as a CX manager. Here’s how a CX manager’s annual salary varies across major US cities:

San Francisco: $98,524 per year
New York: $98,422 per year
Boston: $89,243 per year
Washington, DC: $82,235 per year
Chicago: $92,567 per year

A CX manager’s career usually starts with an entry-level role like a customer service representative or sales associate. You can also transition into a CX manager’s role from other positions, such as marketing manager and customer insights analyst.

Here’s what the typical career path of a CX manager looks like:

Entry-level positions (0-2 years): Roles like customer service representative, CX associate, and sales executive offer a gateway to a career in customer experience.
Account Manager (2-4 years): An account manager is in charge of specific customer accounts and focuses on improving their retention and lifetime value.
Customer Experience Manager (4-6 years): After gaining adequate experience in customer-facing positions, you can step into the role of a CX manager.
Senior Customer Experience Manager (6-8 years): This role involves leading a team of CX professionals to execute various customer experience programs. Also, you’re responsible for collaborating with cross-functional teams.
Director of Customer Experience (8-10 years): As the Director of CX, you’re in charge of a company’s entire customer experience function.
VP of Customer Experience (10-15 years): In this senior-level role, you’re responsible for fostering a customer-centric culture across the organization and shaping various CX programs.
Chief Experience Officer (CXO) (15+ years): This C-suite role is the highest position in a CX management career.

How to become a customer experience manager

A good starting step is to pursue a bachelor’s in business administration, marketing, psychology, or any other related field that familiarizes you with consumer insights and industry trends. Additionally, consider gaining professional experience in entry-level customer-facing roles like a sales associate or customer support executive.

It’s also a good idea to get relevant certifications such as the Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP) to build credibility. While you’re at it, make sure you stay abreast of the latest tech innovations and trends in CX and changes in customer mindsets.

Best resources for customer experience managers

If you’re looking to build a successful career in CX management, the following resources will come in handy:

Best books for customer experience managers

Dive into these insightful reads to gain a deeper understanding of CX principles, strategies, and psychology:

The Ten Principles Behind Great Customer Experiences by Matt Watkinson – Dig deeper into the core principles of CX with real-life examples.
The Cult of the Customer by Shep Hyken – Discover strategies to delight customers and turn them into loyal brand advocates.
More Is More by Blake Morgan – Understand the importance of going the extra mile to design excellent customer experiences.
The Effortless Experience by Matthew Dixon, Nick Toman, and Rick DeLisi – Discover a four-step framework to win customers with a frictionless experience.
The Power of Moments by Chip Heath and Dan Heath – Find out what goes into creating memorable moments that make customers stick.

You’ll find these books on Amazon and eBay.

Best webinars for customer experience managers

Expand your knowledge and stay up-to-date with the latest CX trends and insights through these informative webinars:

Userpilot – Find live and on-demand webinars on customer experience and product analytics, particularly in the context of SaaS.
BrightTALK.com – Discover a vast collection of fireside chats, talks, and webinars by industry experts.
Gartner – Learn about the impact of new tech like generative AI on customer experience.
Cisco – Explore a selection of webinars featuring insights into the latest CX trends from industry experts.
Qualtrics – Watch on-demand webinars on topics like using AI for customer experience and measuring the impact of CX.

Best blogs for customer experience managers

Stay informed and get your daily dose of CX inspiration with these insightful blogs:

Userpilot’s blog touches upon several CX-related topics, from user behavior analytics and feedback to onboarding.
Shep Hyken’s Customer Service Blog spills the beans on different aspects of CX, including customer loyalty, relationship management, and more.
CustomerThink brings you insights on CX strategies, technology, and more from a global community of experts.
Customer Bliss brings Jeanne Bliss’s expertise to help you win new customers at scale.
HubSpot’s Service Blog covers a broad spectrum of CX-related topics, with a special focus on customer success.

Best podcasts for customer experience managers

Tune in to these engaging podcasts to hear from CX experts, learn about new strategies, and get inspired:

Crack the Customer Code by Jeannie Walters and Adam Toporek – Understand the ins and outs of designing unforgettable customer experiences with insights from different industry professionals; available on Apple and Spotify.
The CX Leader Podcast by Steve Walker – Discover tactics to build the necessary skills and advance your career in CX leadership; available on Apple and Spotify.
CX Today – Stay on top of the latest trends and best practices shaping the CX landscape; available on Apple and Spotify.
Experience This! by Joey Coleman and Dan Gingiss – This lively show covers a broad spectrum of CX-related topics, from fundamentals to future trends; available on Apple and Spotify.
The Intuitive Customer by Colin Shaw and Prof. Ryan Hamilton – A show that covers the most complex CX topics with a casual and fun vibe; available on Apple and Spotify.

Best tools for customer experience managers

Being a CX manager means juggling multiple responsibilities, from mapping user journeys to monitoring the impact of customer experience strategies. Plus, you have to stay on top of market trends and changing user preferences. You’re even responsible for training and guiding customer-facing teams to improve user interactions at various touchpoints.

While the job comes with several complexities, using the right tools can make it easier. Here are a few tools that come in handy for customer experience managers:

Best tool for in-app CX: Userpilot – Userpilot offers numerous features to help you improve the in-app experience of your users. From tooltips to resource centers and surveys, it lets you understand your customers and create self-help resources for them.
Best tool for project management: Monday – The feature-packed project management platform lets you choose from 27+ views, including Gantt charts and Kanban boards. It’s ideal for CX managers leading hybrid cross-functional teams to develop and execute various CX strategies.
Best tool for product management: Jira – With Jira, you can collaborate with product teams and stay on top of product development and enhancement projects. You can even use the platform’s AI capabilities to generate actionable insights from your ideas.
Best tool for CX: Freshdesk – The cloud-based software by Freshworks comes with an AI-powered ticketing system and helpdesk solution. It’s ideal for delighting users with prompt, personalized support.
Best tool for customer success: ClientSuccess – The intuitive platform comes with several useful features, such as customer portals and user journey mapping. Plus, you can access a ton of valuable insights into user retention and churn.
Best tool for data analytics: Tableau – The business intelligence software helps CX managers analyze user behavior data, retrieve actionable insights, and generate visual reports.

Conclusion

We hope our article has given you a good overview of the career path for customer experience managers.

Whether you’re just starting out or looking to advance, the key is to stay curious, keep learning, and remain open to new opportunities along the way.

Looking into tools for customer experience managers? Userpilot is an all-in-one product platform with engagement features and powerful analytics capabilities. Book a demo to see it in action!

Customer Experience Manager Career Path

What is a customer experience manager?

What does a customer experience manager do?

Customer experience manager’s main responsibilities

Customer experience manager salary