27 Out-of-the-Box New Year Gifts for Customer Success Managers
This holiday season, surprise your customer-facing teams - these people ensure your customers can unlock value and find true success with your business. Your Customer Service Manager (CSM) is always there for you when you need support, onboard new team members, and help you understand how to use the product. Our CSMs contribute significantly throughout the year, and these holidays are a good enough reason for you to send them a thank-you from the bottom of our hearts.
27 Best New Year Gifts for Customer Success Managers
Instead of waiting until the end of the year, you can show them you appreciate their hard work any time during the year. Here are 13 gifts that your CSM is sure to love.
1. A membership for a coffee delivery service
Coffee is the lifeblood of many customer success managers. They're the ones who are up early, working late, and always on call. They need their coffee fix to keep them going during those long conference calls or all-nighters with clients.
A membership to a coffee delivery service like Starbucks or Amazon Fresh can be an excellent gift for CSMs because it provides them with an easy way to get their caffeine fix on the go without having to leave their desk.
2. A personalized mug
A personalized mug is another fantastic gift idea for customer success managers. It's something that they can use every day in the office, but it also serves as a reminder of how much you appreciate them.
You can find mugs with almost any witty design online. Customize it with their name and (or) company logo! If you want something more personal, you can get a mug made with one of their favorite quotes or phrases written on it.
3. Headphones to block out the sounds of their open-plan office
The gift of peace and quiet is perfect for any customer success manager who spends their days in an open-plan office. Noisy coworkers, ringing phones, and the constant hum of office life can make it challenging to stay focused on work. Headphones are the perfect tool for blocking those distractions and getting the job done.
4. A planner to organize that overflowing task list
If you're looking for something to help your CSM be more productive, a planner might be a valuable gift. It will keep track of important dates and deadlines, help them prioritize their daily tasks, and keep them organized when things get hectic.
5. An ebook reader loaded with their favorite books
Whether they're reading fiction or nonfiction, an e-reader is an ideal gift idea for any customer success manager. They can use it to download ebooks on their Kindle app or another device (like an iPad), so they'll always have access to their favorite reads no matter where they are in the world!
6. Comfortable socks to keep them cozy on long conference calls
Let's be honest; customer success managers work long hours. They're often caught up in conference calls for hours, leaving them feeling cold and uncomfortable. A nice pair of cozy socks are the perfect way to help them feel more relaxed during those long days and nights.
7. Noise-blocking earplugs
You know how noisy it can get if you've ever sat through a conference call with multiple people. Customer success managers need to hear their customers clearly on the call to help them with their issues, so give them some noise-blocking earplugs so they can focus entirely on the conversation at hand.
8. Healthy snacks to munch on when they don't have time for lunch
Long days mean that sometimes there's no time for lunch breaks — but that doesn't mean they should go hungry! Give your CSM a gift card or subscription to healthy snack delivery services like Graze or Honeypot to always have something nutritious on hand when they need it most.
9. A stress ball for when things get hectic
If you're a customer success manager, you know that stress is part of the job. It's easy to get overwhelmed when you have multiple clients and projects on your plate, but staying calm and level-headed in high-stress situations is essential.
A stress ball is a wonderful gift for this type of person. When feeling stressed out or overwhelmed, take five minutes to squeeze the ball and release some tension. You can also use it to keep your hands busy during meetings or training, so you don't fidget with pens or other objects in front of clients.
10. A meditation app subscription
Consider gifting your colleague an app subscription for a more holistic approach to reducing stress levels. These apps will offer guided meditations that help users relax their minds and bodies while improving sleep quality, reducing anxiety, and boosting happiness — all-important benefits for any employee, especially those who work in customer success!
11. Smart Notebook + Pens
It's an excellent gift for anyone who loves to write, especially for CSMs. They need to document everything that happens with customers, and this Notebook helps them do it quickly and easily! It has pages for notes, ideas, and contacts and even includes a calendar feature so you can quickly track appointments!
12. A Spa Day
It's no secret that customer success managers work hard — but it's not just about logging hours in front of a computer screen. Customer success managers are constantly on a call with their clients — even when they're off the clock! They need to be available 24/7 so that if anything goes wrong, they can jump in and help fix things right away. Over time, that can take its toll on anyone's mental health (and physical health!). So be sure to thank them with a relaxing spa day!
13. A personalized thank you card
There's nothing more important than a thank you note or email from someone who appreciates your work regarding customer service. For example, if you provide excellent customer support, write "Thank You" on an index card and sign your name at the bottom in bold letters with markers or colored pencils (or even paint). Then fold it into an envelope with some tissue paper inside to look like an actual card. The recipient will love seeing how much you appreciate them.
14. A Breath of Fresh Air
An air plant is the perfect gift for your CSM because it adds a delightful amount of zen and air purification to a workspace but requires very little maintenance, so it won't interfere with the time they need to spend preparing for their call with you that afternoon.
15. Gift basket classics
You can't go wrong with a Henry & David gift basket. With a wide variety of options, you can treat your CSM (and their team, if they're feeling generous) to a delightful basket of delicious treats.
16. Charging station
Treat your CSM to a slick charging station and give them the gift of eternal battery life. Now they have no excuse if they miss your 3:00 a.m. calls!
17. Personal development books
One of the top-rated personal development books of the year, "High-Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become That Way" reveals the most effective habits for attaining long-term success. If the gift you give makes your CSM more efficient… isn't it really just a gift to yourself?
18. The customer success book
If your CSM hasn't read "Customer Success: How Innovative Companies Are Reducing Churn and Growing Recurring Revenue," they need this book ASAP. This book will give them insight into the "why" behind their day-to-day and provide a wealth of best practices they can apply to all their accounts.
19. A Thank you card, but better
Thank you cards are table stakes. Step it up with a personalized, handwritten card that you can order straight from your phone (with no added pressure on your own creative talents). This card is guaranteed to be placed front and center on your CSM's desk.
20. Diffuser + essential oils
Your CSM may treat you like their only account, but they are undoubtedly busy juggling the outcomes of multiple clients. This portable diffuser brings the spa to the office so they can clear their minds of distractions and tune out of whatever problems. Don't forget the essential oils! We recommend lavender for relaxation and orange or eucalyptus to boost their post-lunch energy.
21. The coffee saver
Raise your hand if you've started your day with a warm cup of coffee and returned to your desk to find it ice cold. This USB-powered coffee warmer will give your CSM a steady supply of warm coffee so they can spend less time reheating their coffee and more time using that caffeine buzz to answer the paragraph of questions you just sent over.
22. You are doing a freaking great job calendar
You know it, but do they? Now you can give the gift of laughter, motivation, and daily affirmations of your CSM's awesomeness from afar with this one-a-day calendar.
23. "I Am Very Busy" travel mug
If your CSM's calendar is a colorful collage of overlapping appointments, they need this thermal mug. Now, instead of telling people how busy they are, your CSM-on-the-go can flash this mug, and everyone will get the picture.
24. Passion planner
Your CSM keeps your business goals top of mind, so why not give them a way to apply that same focus to their personal life? This planner is a popular way to organize daily tasks, appointments, and long-term goals. Think Gainsight for personal goals in paper form.
25. Sticky notes 2.0
A well-organized CSM needs sticky notes to match. Sometimes online notes don't cut it, so this set of sticky notes will help your CSM keep their life straight and full of color!
26. Desk toys
Did you know that fidgeting improves focus? Forget zen gardens and stress balls, and help your CSM get through their many (many) daily calls with this 12-pack of Silly Putty or a fidget cube. Your CSM will thank you when they discover how well these desk accessories help them stay engaged during long calls or meetings.
27. A spa day
If you're not your CSM's most difficult client, someone out there can claim that title. Show how much you appreciate your external teammate with a Spafinder e-gift card they can use to treat themselves to various spa treatments.
Key Takeaways
Above all, customer success managers are intrinsically driven and ambitious professionals. There's a good chance they have many responsibilities outside of work and successful teams they need to manage. And because the customer success profession is still new and relatively unknown to many, their efforts may go unrecognized by their peers and bosses.
Ultimately, the best gift is custom-tailored to fit your CSM's interests. We hope that our gift guide has made picking out a gift a little easier this year and hopefully have you asking good questions rather than coming in with assumptions based on gender. After all, the best gifts are thoughtful ones – and who knows your CSM better than you?