Post job

Account planner vs customer account executive

The differences between account planners and customer account executives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an account planner, becoming a customer account executive takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an account planner has an average salary of $71,823, which is higher than the $61,741 average annual salary of a customer account executive.

The top three skills for an account planner include digital marketing, media sales and nielsen. The most important skills for a customer account executive are quality customer service, customer accounts, and inbound calls.

Account planner vs customer account executive overview

Account PlannerCustomer Account Executive
Yearly salary$71,823$61,741
Hourly rate$34.53$29.68
Growth rate19%-4%
Number of jobs82,798277,757
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 82%Bachelor's Degree, 41%
Average age3740
Years of experience612

What does an account planner do?

An account planner is someone who works primarily with clients on how to improve their accounts, sales strategy, and marketing. The account planner creates, develops, and maintains clients' accounts to increase sales and make them profitable. Included in an account planner's task is to monitor competition, determine problems in the actual marketing campaign, provide insight into the market's status, and offer suggestions on how to improve. The account planner also communicates directly with the client and actively works with them to achieve success.

What does a customer account executive do?

The role of account executives is to support both new and existing client accounts. They are responsible for building and maintaining positive relationships with new and existing clients. They are often the point of contact for brand teams and clients. They are expected to fulfill other duties and responsibilities, which include developing new business prospects, designing and maintaining account plans for clients, and coordinating account activities. To become a successful account executive, you should have excellent strategic planning skills, solid sales skills, and attention to detail.

Account planner vs customer account executive salary

Account planners and customer account executives have different pay scales, as shown below.

Account PlannerCustomer Account Executive
Average salary$71,823$61,741
Salary rangeBetween $48,000 And $107,000Between $26,000 And $143,000
Highest paying CityHarrison, NYBoston, MA
Highest paying stateDelawareAlaska
Best paying companyGoogleOkta
Best paying industryProfessionalTelecommunication

Differences between account planner and customer account executive education

There are a few differences between an account planner and a customer account executive in terms of educational background:

Account PlannerCustomer Account Executive
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 82%Bachelor's Degree, 41%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of Georgia-

Account planner vs customer account executive demographics

Here are the differences between account planners' and customer account executives' demographics:

Account PlannerCustomer Account Executive
Average age3740
Gender ratioMale, 38.6% Female, 61.4%Male, 40.6% Female, 59.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 5.0% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 13.2% White, 64.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%Black or African American, 14.5% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 6.8% White, 55.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage10%7%

Differences between account planner and customer account executive duties and responsibilities

Account planner example responsibilities.

  • Guide production planning activities ranging from developing and revising production schedules, forecasting trends and customer demand, and managing logistics.
  • Direct inbound or outbound logistics operations, such as transportation or warehouse activities, safety performance, or logistics quality management.
  • Coordinate the quality control for clients' letters and mailings as well as ran data pulls and file selects for clients.

Customer account executive example responsibilities.

  • Manage produce cleanliness and preparation.
  • Show compassion and sympathy with problems.
  • Assist customers with making transactions and bundling services.
  • Work with various programs on a windows base system.
  • Secure long- lasting relationships with Comcast and its clients.
  • Monitor outages and maintenance windows by tracking nodes and affect accounts.
  • Show more

Account planner vs customer account executive skills

Common account planner skills
  • Digital Marketing, 27%
  • Media Sales, 11%
  • Nielsen, 9%
  • Account Executives, 9%
  • PowerPoint, 4%
  • Creative Strategy, 3%
Common customer account executive skills
  • Quality Customer Service, 14%
  • Customer Accounts, 10%
  • Inbound Calls, 9%
  • Technical Support, 7%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 5%
  • Customer Inquiries, 4%

Browse business and financial jobs