what is a customer service manager?
As a customer service manager (CSM), you head a team of customer service and sales support representatives. Your job is to ensure customer complaints are dealt with promptly and that the company maintains good relationships with customers. Your primary duty is to supervise customer service teams and empower them to provide the best services to the customers.
You recruit the customer service team and provide the necessary training. As the head of customer services, you ensure the department has the right tools and frameworks to help them excel. You also set targets and hold the team accountable for any mistakes they make when handling customers. Since you have a deep understanding of the company’s services and products, you manage escalated issues.
With the help of customer relationship management (CRM) software, you monitor various metrics and provide insights to the marketing team regarding customer preferences. Customer data from the CRM helps the company grow and improve its services.
As a customer service manager, you can work in various industries, from financial institutions to information technology (IT) companies and call centres. Since you lead a team, you require exceptional leadership and communication skills. You should be empathetic to customers' needs and have good conflict-resolution skills to resolve any issues.
Would working as a customer service manager suit your leadership and conflict resolution skills? Then read on to find out what competencies and qualifications you need to thrive in a customer service manager role.
view rolesaverage customer service manager salary
According to Job Bank, customer service managers in Canada earn an average salary of $60,000 per year —or an hourly rate of $30.77. The earnings fluctuate based on experience and qualifications. In an entry-level customer service manager role, you start with a salary of $49,060 per year. In senior positions that require extensive experience and managing large teams, you earn over $122,912 annually.
what factors affect the salary of a customer service manager?
As a customer service manager, your earnings depend on experience and the complexity of your duties. Some customer service manager roles require technical knowledge and extensive experience. For instance, when you work in IT companies, you require experience in tech support roles and knowledge of IT products or services.
When you are in charge of a large team, you are likely to earn more than a customer service manager in charge of a small team. That’s why customer service managers working in large companies often earn higher salaries than those in small organizations.
types of customer service managers
As a customer service manager, you supervise customer support agents who provide customer support through various channels. Your job may involve supervising all customer and sales support teams, or you could work with a team of customer service workers dedicated to one method of customer support. For instance, you can work as a call centre customer service manager and supervise customer support agents who provide phone support. You ensure the agents speak to customers in a friendly and professional manner and that the customers are satisfied with the response.
You may also manage a team of social media customer support agents. You ensure customer inquiries are answered promptly and that the team engages with customers professionally. As a customer service manager, you handle complex issues on the company's social media pages. You also provide official responses to issues raised by social media users.
working as a customer service manager
Customer service manager is an exciting job with interesting prospects. If you are interested in the role, let’s dive into the specific tasks and responsibilities of customer service managers.
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what does a customer service manager do?
While your duties vary based on your employer, some common tasks include:
- Supervising the customer service team: as a customer service manager, you head the customer service team. That means you perform supervisory duties, including coaching, training and motivating staff to provide the best customer service to clients. Aside from training workers, you create a positive working environment to ensure the customer service team feels valuable to the company.
- Developing customer service procedures and policies: as a customer service manager, you create a procedure that the team will use to respond to customers. You write standard responses to common inquiries from customers. For instance, if your employer sells technical products, your customer service team should know how to help customers resolve common problems. When creating the policies, you ensure the procedures satisfy customer needs while supporting the organization’s goals.
- Responding to customer inquiries: while your job is to ensure customer service teams provide accurate responses and help customers resolve issues, you also handle some inquiries. When a customer has a complaint against a customer service agent, you resolve the conflict and ensure the customer is happy. You also handle complex problems escalated by customer service teams.
- Hiring the customer service staff: as a customer service manager, you find qualified candidates to fill vacancies in your team. You determine the requirements for the role and shortlist candidates to interview. After hiring new workers, you onboard them and provide the necessary training on customer service procedures.
- Writing reports: the customer service department provides valuable insights into customers, and there are many metrics to measure. Your job is to evaluate customer inquiries through various channels and prepare a report with customer behaviour insights.
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work environment of a customer service manager
Some customer service managers work in call centres or retail stores, overseeing a team of customer service representatives. The job involves working at a desk for long periods. As a customer service manager, you are likely to work indoors within an office environment while performing various responsibilities, including team management, handling escalated customer issues and collaborating with other departments.
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who are your colleagues?
As a customer service manager, you mostly work with the customer support or sales and marketing teams. You are likely to interact with customer service reps, customer service agents and account managers. You may also work with marketing executives, marketing coordinators and marketing managers. Since you provide sales support, you liaise with sales associates, sales representatives and sales managers. When you provide support through social media channels, you work with digital marketing managers and social media managers.
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customer service manager work schedule
Your work schedule as a customer service manager depends on the company you work for. When the company offers 24/7 support, you are likely to work on a shift schedule to supervise the customer support teams. That means you work late at night and sometimes early in the morning. In companies that provide customer support during the day, you work the standard business hours. Sometimes, you work overtime or on weekends to provide training or complete reports.
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career opportunities as a customer service manager
The demand for customer service managers in the retail industry is expected to increase. Job openings between 2022 and 2031 are projected to increase to 117,700, with only 99,000 job seekers to fill the vacancies. Working as a customer service manager prepares you for complex managerial roles. For instance, you can become a retail manager or transition into a marketing role, such as a marketing or sales director job. After gaining extensive experience, some customer service managers even become the head of marketing in the company.
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advantages of finding a job as a maintenance worker through randstad
Working with Randstad offers you a range of benefits.
- Always a contact person you can fall back on and ask for help from
- Many training opportunities
- A range of jobs in your area
customer service manager skills and education
Some of the educational requirements for becoming a customer service manager include:
- Bachelor’s degree qualification: to become a customer service manager, many employers require a university degree in a related field. You can pursue a bachelor’s degree in business administration or marketing. Alternatively, start with a college diploma in business administration or a technical field related to the products you are selling.
- Work experience: you require extensive customer support or sales experience to excel as a customer service manager. While there are no professional certification requirements, you can still improve your employment prospects with additional training to improve your customer service skills.
competencies and characteristics of customer service managers
Some of the qualities you need as a customer service manager include:
- Proficiency in using software: as a customer service manager, you use customer relationship management software to monitor customer service and inquiries. You also rely on other communication software to provide structure and organization to customer support workers. You should have minimal competency in using CRM software and other tools, including email programs, messaging apps and contact centre software.
- Leadership skills: you motivate and inspire the customer support team to provide the best customer service. You are also responsible for creating a positive working environment and developing a reward system to ensure your team performs at their peak.
- Exceptional communication skills: as a customer service manager, you communicate with team members on various media channels. Communication skills help you share and receive information concisely. You should have exceptional formal and informal communication skills and the ability to adjust your communications for your target audience.
FAQs
Here, you will find the answers to the most frequently asked questions about the profession of a customer service manager.
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what are the responsibilities of a customer service manager?
As a customer service manager, you manage the customer support team and provide operational assistance. You do this by creating policies and procedures for answering customers’ questions. You also hire and train the customer service team to ensure they provide exceptional customer service.
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what skills do you need to be a customer service manager?
As a customer service manager, you require exceptional leadership skills to motivate and inspire customer support teams. Solid communication skills are also important, as you must communicate clearly and concisely to various audiences. Since you handle customer complaints, it helps to have conflict resolution skills to deal with the various issues that arise on the job.
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how do you succeed as a customer service manager?
To excel as a customer service manager, develop a customer-focused approach to ensure the customer is happy. You should also cultivate an inclusive culture and incorporate the ideas of customer support workers. Communicating clearly and effectively is useful in your role to avoid relaying wrong information.
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is customer service manager a good career?
Working as a customer service manager prepares you for higher roles in marketing and sales. You build your customer service and relationship-building skills, and you can work as a marketing manager or business development manager after gaining sufficient experience.
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how much does a customer service manager make in Canada?
As a customer service manager, you earn an average salary of $60,000 per year. With minimal experience, you start with a lower salary of $49,060 annually, but your earnings increase gradually with experience. You can take home over $122,912 per year in senior customer service manager positions.
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how do I find a job as a customer service manager?
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