Finding the right Customer Success communities to be a part of is an important step in your career journey.

Despite CS being a relatively new industry, there are a lot of thriving Customer Success networks you can join to connect with like-minded folks. Whether you’re just starting out or have been in the CS game for quite some time, these 10 Customer Success communities allow you to share experiences, gain expertise, and enrich the profession as a whole:

1. SF Customer Success

If you’re in Customer Success and you’re from the Bay Area, you’ve probably heard of SF Customer Success. This San Francisco-based community used to meet in person every 3rd Wednesday of the month but has recently moved their activities online. With more than 4,000 members, the group — now hosted on Meetup — is one of the largest CS groups in America.

According to founder Junan Pang, Head of Customer Success at Slack, a community like this "allows you to get the benefit of the collective experience of your network without having to experience all of these different models yourself.‍" If you want to learn from a diverse group of CS professionals, this might be a good place to start.

2. Coaching Corner

Catalyst’s very own Coaching Corner focuses on empowering folks at every stage of their CS careers. In this program, qualified participants are paired with a highly vetted Customer Success coach for a quarter and get access to one coaching session per month.

For participants to get the most out of the program, Coaching Corner also tries to pair the mentee with a coach that matches their level of seniority or experience. It’s a great opportunity for beginners and seasoned professionals alike.

The best part? It’s all for free.

You don’t even have to be currently employed to qualify. As long as you’ve got at least 2 years of experience and the commitment to show up each month, you get a chance to be considered for the program.

3.Modern Customer Success Pros (MCS) - Exclusive

Modern Customer Success Pros (MCS) aims to bring CS leaders together for support and advice without the constant self-promotion. Members gain access to an exclusive Google Group, where they can share ideas, exclusive content, and other resources through forum threads. Existing members also have the opportunity to nominate other CS leaders to the group.

Aside from its thriving online community, MCS also hosts virtual and in-person networking events, including free weekly webinars, fun luncheons, summits, and even virtual wine-tasting sessions.

If you hold a leadership position in the CS industry, this group might be a good fit for you.

4. Gain, Grow, Retain

With more than 7,000 members, Gain, Grow, Retain is one of the biggest and most active CS networks today. The free site is open to all Customer Success individuals and features multiple discussion threads for a wide range of topics like account transitions, customer health, CS tools, and engagement with non-desk team members. 

The community holds weekly office hours for individual contributors, B2B SaaS leaders, and Customer Success operations leaders. The group also has tons of resources, including a directory, a job board, a dedicated podcast, and get this: a banging Spotify playlist.

5. On Deck Customer Success - Exclusive

At nearly $5000 a year, On Deck's curated community and Customer Success fellowship program can be quite the investment. Still, if you're an executive, VP, or department head looking to expand your network, this might be right up your alley, plus they have flexible pricing options for those with limited budgets or who qualify under On Deck’s DEI initiative.

Qualified members have the chance to build meaningful connections with Customer Success mentors from companies like Google Cloud, Slack, and Airtable. The program is also cohort-based, making it a great channel for focused learning, collaboration, and support. Lastly, it features two specialized tracks — one tackles the foundations of CS business management, while the other is more focused on CS leadership in a startup setting.

Like other communities, On Deck Customer Success also has a rich content database, does regular monthly check-ins, and schedules other events and mixers.

6. BreakoutCS

BreakoutCS is the free community for Customer Success professionals by Customer Success professionals. 

It fosters safe and experience-driven conversations and offers informational sessions, resources guides, and opportunities for networking and to make meaningful connections with like-minded, customer-centric peers and mentors. 

It’s open to both emerging and established CS leaders who want to collaborate with and learn from their peers on the topics of customer experience, advocacy, and engagement. 

7. Women of Customer Success - Exclusive

Women of Customer Success aims to help women succeed in tech, even if they come from non-STEM backgrounds. Aside from CS professionals, they also serve women in other non-engineering roles like account management and customer experience.

As the first global community for women, WCS wants to create a safe and inclusive space for women to build meaningful connections with each other. Members usually break out into smaller groups of 6-8 people during meetups, so if you thrive in intimate collaborations, this might be a good fit for you.

WCS is open to women who want to start a non-coding role in tech, regardless of their background. Whether you’ve completed a degree or not, are switching careers, or returning to work, you’re welcome to the community.

8. CS in Focus

If you’d like to join a group that offers value but doesn’t take itself too seriously, you might thrive in CS in Focus.

Originally launched in Canada and with the majority of its members being in Canadian tech, CS in Focus is now a Slack group made up of nearly 2000 professionals. What sets the group apart is that they’re pretty laid-back. All their in-person events feature an open bar, and they have virtual comedy nights scheduled between webinars. 

By applying Customer Success principles within the group itself, CS in Focus aims to educate the community, be a channel for genuine connections, and provide an avenue for companies to find great candidates — all in a fun, chill way.

9. Customer Success Leadership Network

Customer Success Leadership Network is a global community hosted on Slack and LinkedIn. While it does focus on Customer Success, individuals in other customer-facing roles are also welcome to join.

Aside from regular meetups and event recordings, CSLN regularly updates its blog with unique perspectives from its leaders and other guests.

10. Thrive Network - Exclusive

If you’re a woman looking to start a career in Customer Success, Thrive Network might just be the perfect community for you. The group has a wealth of information you can use to set yourself up for success, such as threads on career advancement, interview hacks, resume tips, and compensation. 

Together with Catalyst, the group also put together a comprehensive CS compensation report that aims to provide transparency in the industry.

If you’re exploring a role in CS, have lost employment due to the pandemic, or are having a hard time landing a CS job, the information and support you’ll find in this group might just give you that much-needed boost.

Grow faster together

Customer success might be a new industry, but by leveraging the power of community and sharing knowledge, experiences, and resources, professionals in this space can grow faster together. Which of these Customer Success networks are you most eager to join?