This might not surprise you, but Customer Success Managers are feeling very burnt out right now.

According to Vitally’s Fall 2023 research report The Secret Lives of CSMs, 47% of CSMs experience burnout at their job at least sometimes, and among this group, 36% report that they experience burnout “often” or “constantly.”

The 679 B2B CSMs we surveyed cited unrealistic quotas and the pressures of serving a global customer base as key causes of burnout. But many of them also suggested a potential solution: automation.

While many CS teams already use a Customer Success Platform (CSP) to put certain customer communications and task reminders on autopilot, 66% of the CSMs we surveyed said they still spend a significant portion of their working day on repetitive administrative processes, and 72% of CSMs say that there are parts of their job they'd like to automate.

So which parts of the job do CSMs think are better outsourced to software tools?

The Tasks That CSMs Most Want to Automate

When we asked our survey respondents “What part of your job would you automate if you could?”, the most popular responses were:

58%: Administrative tasks
20%: Task organization and prioritization
13%: Client communication
8%: Internal communication

The main benefit of automation is that it frees up CSMs to focus on more impactful work such as client engagement, which 63% of CSMs said they wish they had more time to dedicate to.

When we asked our survey respondents what they’d do with all the time saved by automating repetitive work, here’s what they told us:

45% of CSMs say automation would provide them more time to spend on personalized problem solving
44% of CSMs say automation would provide them more time to spend on in-depth client analysis
44% of CSMs say automation would allow for a greater ability to create exceptional customer experiences
39% of CSMs say automation would provide them more time to spend on identifying and/or capturing revenue opportunities
38% of CSMs say automation would allow them to complete all work/quota activity during normal business hours
27% of CSMs say automation would allow them to hit their quotas more consistently

Download our latest research report The Secret Lives of CSMs for more insights on what CSMs are struggling with and what they need to be more successful.‍

What Would CSMs Change About Their Customer Success Platforms?

If your team uses a CSP, you should already have access to Customer Success automations that can put hours back into your week. Among our survey respondents who currently use a CSP, 82% say that it boosts their team’s efficiency.

Of course, no platform is perfect. Here’s what our survey respondents said when we asked them what they’d change about their company’s CSP if they could:

46% want task automation
44% want improved UI/navigation
38% want enhanced analytic features
36% want better integration with other tools
33% want task reminders
30% want better collaboration with customers
28% want streamlined communication channels
26% want better client history tracking
25% want calendar integration

Final thoughts

With time at such a premium for CSMs, eliminating low impact tasks can have a big impact on productivity. The time saved by automation allows CSMs to be more focused on strategic work with clients and prevent burnout by helping them get all their work done during the workday.

If you’re interested in how Customer Success automations can help your CS team, request a personalized demo of Vitally. We’d love to show you how our top-ranked CSP makes Customer Success Managers as productive and organized as possible, and saves them time so they’re not taking work home on nights and weekends.

And be sure to download your copy of The Secret Lives of CSMs to learn how today’s B2B CSMs really feel about money, stress, work, and their bosses.