How to Become a Customer Success Analyst [+Tools and Resources]

Embarking on a career as a customer success analyst involves a combination of education, skills development, and practical experience.

Whether you’re just starting out or looking to transition into this role, understanding the key steps and requirements is essential.

This guide will provide you with a comprehensive overview of the path to becoming a successful customer success analyst.

Let’s dive in!

TL;DR

A customer success analyst ensures customers achieve their goals with the software by analyzing data, tracking KPIs, and identifying trends to improve the user experience. They work closely with customer success managers to enhance retention, reduce churn, and drive product adoption.
The typical career path for a customer success analyst includes:
- Customer success intern (entry-level, assisting the team with basic tasks and gaining experience).
- Customer success analyst (analyzing data, tracking metrics, providing insights to improve customer satisfaction).
- Senior customer success analyst (leading complex projects, mentoring junior analysts, developing strategies).
- Customer success manager (managing key customer relationships, ensuring they achieve their desired outcomes).
- Director of customer success (overseeing the entire department, setting strategy, driving initiatives).
To become a customer success analyst, start with a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, gain hands-on experience through internships or entry-level roles, and familiarize yourself with key customer success tools and platforms.
Customer success analysts leverage various tools to enhance their work. Some essential tools include Userpilot for user behavior analysis, ChurnZero for customer success management, and Tableau for data visualization.
Looking into tools for customer success analysts? Userpilot is an all-in-one product platform with engagement features and powerful analytics capabilities. Book a demo to see it in action!

What is a customer success analyst?

A Customer Success Analyst ensures customers achieve their goals with the software by analyzing data, tracking KPIs like CSAT and NPS, and identifying trends to improve the user experience. They work closely with customer success managers to enhance retention, reduce churn, and drive product adoption.

Customer success analyst’s main responsibilities

A Customer Success Analyst plays a key role in ensuring that SaaS customers achieve their desired outcomes by analyzing data, monitoring key metrics, and developing strategies to improve customer satisfaction and retention. Here are their main responsibilities and duties:

Analyze customer data: Continuously monitor and analyze customer usage data to identify trends, patterns, and potential issues.
Track key metrics: Monitor crucial metrics such as customer health scores, churn rates, CSAT, and NPS to assess the effectiveness of customer success initiatives.
Collaborate on customer strategies: Work closely with customer success managers to develop and implement strategies that enhance user engagement and product adoption.
Generate reports: Create and present detailed reports on customer success metrics to stakeholders, providing insights and recommendations for improvement.
Identify at-risk customers: Proactively identify customers at risk of churning and develop targeted interventions to retain them.
Optimize customer journey: Assist in refining the customer journey by analyzing user behavior and feedback to ensure the product delivers maximum value.
Support cross-functional teams: Collaborate with sales, marketing, and product teams to align customer success efforts with broader business goals.
Enhance success processes: Help improve customer success processes and tools to increase efficiency and better serve customers’ needs.

Customer success analyst career path

Here’s an overview of the typical career path for a Customer Success Analyst in the SaaS industry:

List of typical customer success analyst roles.

Customer success intern

As a Customer Success Intern, you’ll assist the customer success team with basic tasks such as data entry, customer communication, and supporting customer success managers with day-to-day activities.

By gaining hands-on experience with customer success tools and developing strong communication skills, you’ll lay the groundwork for advancing in the field.

Customer success analyst

In the role of a Customer Success Analyst, you’ll be responsible for analyzing customer data, tracking key performance metrics, and providing insights to improve customer satisfaction and retention. You’ll work closely with customer success managers to identify at-risk customers and optimize the customer journey.

Progressing in this role involves honing your data analysis skills, deepening your understanding of customer success strategies, and taking on more responsibility in shaping customer success initiatives.

Senior customer success analyst

As a Senior Customer Success Analyst, you’ll lead more complex data analysis projects, mentor junior analysts, and play a key role in developing strategies to enhance customer satisfaction and reduce churn.

In this role, you’ll focus on leadership and project management skills, refining your ability to derive actionable insights from data, and contributing to broader strategic discussions within the customer success team.

Customer success manager

As a Customer Success Manager, you’ll manage relationships with key customers, ensuring they achieve their desired outcomes with the product. You’ll work directly with customers to address their needs, provide solutions, and oversee the entire customer lifecycle.

To progress in this role, you’ll need to develop strong relationship management and problem-solving skills, take on larger, more complex accounts, and lead initiatives to improve customer success processes and strategies.

Director of customer success

As the Director of Customer Success, you’ll oversee the entire customer success department, including analysts, managers, and support teams. You’ll be responsible for setting the overall strategy, driving customer success initiatives, and ensuring that the team meets its goals.

Progression in this role requires high-level strategic thinking, leadership, and cross-functional collaboration to align customer success strategies with overall business objectives and lead your team to deliver exceptional results

How to become a customer success analyst?

To become a Customer Success Analyst, start by pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in fields such as business, marketing, data science, or a related area, as these provide a strong foundation in both analytical and customer-focused skills.

Gaining hands-on experience through internships or entry-level positions in customer success, data analysis, or a related role is crucial for building practical knowledge and industry insight.

Familiarize yourself with key customer success tools and platforms and develop strong data analysis skills using tools. Networking with professionals in the field and seeking mentorship can further guide your career path.

What skills should a customer success analyst have?

A Customer Success Analyst needs a diverse set of skills to effectively analyze customer data, optimize user experiences, and drive product adoption in the SaaS industry. Here are some of the essential skills required for this role:

Data analysis proficiency: Ability to work with large datasets, identify trends, and extract actionable insights that can improve customer success strategies.
Customer-centric mindset: Strong focus on understanding customer needs, pain points, and behaviors to ensure the product continuously delivers value.
Technical aptitude: Familiarity with SaaS platforms and tools, including customer success software, to efficiently monitor and manage customer interactions.
Problem-solving skills: Ability to identify potential issues and proactively develop solutions that prevent customer churn and enhance satisfaction.
Communication skills: Capability to clearly present data-driven insights to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, ensuring alignment on customer success initiatives.
Attention to detail: Meticulous attention to detail when analyzing customer data and monitoring key performance indicators to catch early signs of potential issues.

Best certifications for customer success analysts

These certifications can enhance your credentials, deepen your knowledge of customer success, and provide you with a competitive edge in your career.

Gainsight Certified Customer Success Manager (CCSM): A well-recognized certification that covers the core principles and strategies of customer success management.
ChurnZero Customer Success Certification: Focuses on the practical application of customer success strategies, including churn prevention and customer engagement.
SuccessCOACHING Certified Customer Success Manager: Offers a comprehensive curriculum that includes customer success fundamentals, best practices, and advanced strategies.
Customer Success Manager (CSM) Certification by Customer Success Association: A widely recognized certification that provides a solid foundation in customer success principles and practices.
HubSpot Academy Customer Success Certification: Covers the essentials of customer success, including onboarding, customer retention, and using data to drive success, tailored for SaaS professionals.

Best resources for customer success analysts

To excel as a Customer Success Analyst, it’s crucial to continuously learn and stay updated on industry trends, tools, and best practices. Below is a collection of top resources, including books, webinars, podcasts, blogs, and certifications, that can help you enhance your skills and advance your career in customer success.

Best books for customer success analysts

These books offer valuable insights into customer success, data analysis, and strategies for driving customer satisfaction and retention.

Customer Success: How Innovative Companies Are Reducing Churn and Growing Recurring Revenue by Nick Mehta, Dan Steinman, and Lincoln Murphy: A comprehensive guide to understanding customer success, focusing on reducing churn and driving growth in SaaS businesses.
The Customer Success Economy: Why Every Aspect of Your Business Model Needs a Paradigm Shift by Nick Mehta and Allison Pickens: Explores the evolving role of customer success in modern business and offers strategies to align your organization around customer-centric principles.
Data-Driven: Creating a Data Culture by Hilary Mason and DJ Patil: A must-read for analysts, this book emphasizes the importance of creating a data-driven culture, which is essential for customer success analytics.
Lean Analytics: Use Data to Build a Better Startup Faster by Alistair Croll and Benjamin Yoskovitz: Provides practical advice on how to use data to improve your startup’s product and customer success strategies.
The Effortless Experience: Conquering the New Battleground for Customer Loyalty by Matthew Dixon, Nick Toman, and Rick DeLisi: Focuses on strategies for reducing customer effort, which is crucial for improving customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Best webinars for customer success analysts

These webinars provide insights into industry trends, customer success strategies, and data-driven approaches to enhancing customer experiences.

Userpilot webinars: Offers a variety of webinars on topics such as user onboarding, customer success strategies, and product adoption, all tailored to the needs of SaaS professionals.
Gainsight webinars: Regularly features webinars on customer success management, metrics, and strategies for reducing churn and improving customer outcomes.
ChurnZero webinars: Focuses on actionable insights and best practices for customer success teams, including how to use data to predict and prevent churn.
SuccessHACKER webinars: Provides webinars on various aspects of customer success, including team management, customer health scoring, and driving product adoption.
HubSpot Academy webinars: Covers a broad range of topics related to customer success, inbound marketing, and customer relationship management, offering practical advice for SaaS professionals.

Best blogs for customer success analysts

These blogs offer regularly updated content on customer success best practices, case studies, and industry news.

Userpilot blog: Offers in-depth articles on user onboarding, product adoption, and customer success strategies, with a focus on actionable insights for SaaS professionals.
Gainsight blog: A leading resource for customer success professionals, covering everything from best practices and success stories to data-driven insights.
ChurnZero blog: Focuses on reducing churn, improving customer engagement, and driving customer success, with practical advice for SaaS businesses.
SuccessCOACHING blog: Provides articles and resources on customer success management, including tips for career growth and developing customer success skills.
HubSpot Service blog: Covers customer service, customer success, and CRM strategies, with a wealth of information for improving customer relationships.

Best podcasts for customer success analysts

These podcasts feature industry experts discussing the latest trends, strategies, and best practices in customer success.

The Customer Success Podcast by Gainsight: Features interviews with top leaders in customer success, sharing their experiences, challenges, and strategies for success.
Helping Sells Radio by ServiceRocket: Explores the intersection of customer success, sales, and product management, with a focus on delivering value to customers.
CS No BS Podcast by Totango: Discusses customer success leadership, strategies for building strong teams, and how to drive customer-centric growth.
Successly Live by Successly: Covers a range of topics related to customer success, including strategies for improving customer engagement and reducing churn.
The Jasons Take On… by The Customer Success Mastermind: Provides insights into customer success trends, challenges, and practical solutions from industry veterans Jason Noble and Jason Whitehead.

Best tools for customer success analysts

To be effective as a Customer Success Analyst, having the right tools at your disposal is essential for managing customer relationships, analyzing data, and driving product success. Here are some of the best tools you should consider:

Best tool for user behavior analysis – Userpilot: Userpilot provides detailed insights into user behavior and feature usage within your product, enabling you to analyze how customers interact with your SaaS and identify opportunities to improve engagement and retention.
Best tool for customer success management – ChurnZero: ChurnZero provides comprehensive insights into customer health, engagement, and churn risk, helping you proactively manage customer relationships and improve retention.
Best tool for project management – Jira: Jira is a powerful tool for tracking tasks, managing customer-related projects, and ensuring that all customer success initiatives stay on track within an agile framework.
Best tool for customer support – Zendesk: Zendesk offers robust customer support features, including ticket management, customer interaction tracking, and analytics to improve customer service quality.
Best tool for data visualization – Tableau: Tableau enables you to create detailed and interactive visualizations, allowing you to easily interpret customer data and present insights to stakeholders.
Best tool for customer feedback management – HubSpot Service Hub: HubSpot Service Hub allows you to gather, manage, and analyze customer feedback, helping you understand customer needs and improve the product accordingly.
Best tool for customer journey mapping – Custify: Custify is designed for SaaS businesses and offers powerful tools for mapping customer journeys, segmenting customers, and automating outreach based on behavior.
Best tool for team collaboration – Confluence: Confluence is an excellent tool for sharing knowledge and collaborating on customer success strategies, ensuring that all team members have access to the same information.
Best tool for design and prototyping – Figma: Figma allows you to collaborate in real-time on UX/UI design, which is useful when working with product teams to improve customer experiences based on feedback.
Best tool for product management – Wrike: Wrike offers advanced project management features that are ideal for coordinating customer success efforts across teams, tracking progress, and managing resources efficiently.

Customer success analyst FAQs

Here are some frequently asked questions about the role of a Customer Success Analyst:

What is a customer success analyst? A customer success analyst focuses on analyzing customer data to identify trends, improve customer satisfaction, and help reduce churn. They work closely with customer success teams to ensure customers achieve their desired outcomes.
Is customer success analyst a good career? Yes, being a customer success analyst is a rewarding career with strong growth potential in the SaaS industry. It offers opportunities to work with data, improve customer experiences, and contribute directly to a company’s success.
How do I become a customer success analyst? To become a customer success analyst, pursue a degree in business, marketing, or data science, and gain experience through internships or entry-level roles in customer success or data analysis. Building strong analytical and communication skills is essential.
How much do customer success analysts make in the US? Customer success analysts in the US typically earn between $68,000 and $119,000 per year, with an average salary of around $89,531. The exact amount can vary based on experience, industry, and location.

Conclusion

Becoming a successful customer success analyst requires dedication, continuous learning, and a proactive approach to developing relevant skills.

By following the outlined steps and leveraging the resources available, you can effectively navigate your career path and achieve your professional goals.

We hope this guide has provided you with valuable insights and practical advice to help you on your journey to becoming a proficient and impactful customer success analyst!

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

TL;DR

Growth Teams Can Use Userpilot to:

What is a customer success analyst?

Customer success analyst’s main responsibilities