Strategic Customer Success Manager
About the role
Strategic Customer Success Manager
Department: Customer Success
About Us
At BenchPrep, we are committed to revolutionizing learning by delivering the most advanced and flexible learning experience for certification, credentialing, test prep, continuing education, and training. Our learning platform helps associations, credentialing bodies and training companies deliver a highly engaging and effective learning experience for individuals looking to advance their careers. We incorporate the latest in learner-centered technology, including personalization, gamification, data science, usability and omni-channel delivery. The number of learners using our cloud-based learning platform has grown significantly, reaching nearly 12 million humans around the world in 2024, a testament to the success and impact of our innovative learning solutions.
Role Overview
As a key member of our Customer Success organization, the Strategic Success Manager (SSM) plays a vital role in renewing and growing our customer relationships. You will strategically manage customer accounts, focusing on long-term business goals, contracts, renewals, and upsell opportunities. By building and maintaining strong relationships with decision-makers, you will ensure our customers derive ongoing value from our solutions and are set up for continued success.
The SSM is the primary point of contact for strategic business engagements and manages less frequent but impactful touchpoints like Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) and contract discussions. You will work closely with internal teams, including Sales, Product, and Support, to deliver on customer expectations while driving revenue growth.
Strategic Success Manager vs Customer Success Manager
We are hiring for both key and critical roles on the Customer team. So what’s the difference?
Strategic Success Managers:
- Are the account owners. Meets less frequently with customers but works with them more strategically on long-term goals. Manages all contracts and expansion opportunities. Their primary customer outcome is customer renewal & growth.
Customer Success Managers:
- Are the day-to-day customer advocates; have deep product knowledge and can triage with customers on things like SSO, webhooks, data and product functionality. Their primary customer outcome is customer satisfaction & product adoption.
Key Responsibilities
Renewals and Growth:
- Manage the full renewal cycle for your portfolio of customers, ensuring high Net Revenue Retention (NRR).
- Identify and close upsell opportunities
Strategic Account Management:
- Build and maintain relationships with executive-level stakeholders, acting as a trusted advisor for strategic decision-making.
- Conduct QBRs and milestone reviews to align customer goals with BenchPrep’s offerings.
- Proactively anticipate customer needs and ensure alignment with their long-term business objectives.
Collaboration and Feedback:
- Partner with Customer Success Managers and Solutions Engineers to address customer needs.
- Provide feedback to internal teams on product enhancements and strategic opportunities.
What Success Looks Like
- Renewals and Revenue Growth: Consistently achieve or exceed renewal and Net Revenue Retention (NRR) targets by effectively managing contract cycles and identifying upsell opportunities.
- Customer Relationships: Build