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Account planner vs strategist

The differences between account planners and strategists 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 strategist takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, a strategist has an average salary of $104,881, which is higher than the $71,823 average annual salary of an account planner.

The top three skills for an account planner include digital marketing, media sales and nielsen. The most important skills for a strategist are project management, customer satisfaction, and powerpoint.

Account planner vs strategist overview

Account PlannerStrategist
Yearly salary$71,823$104,881
Hourly rate$34.53$50.42
Growth rate19%10%
Number of jobs82,79844,596
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 82%Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age3739
Years of experience610

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 strategist do?

The job of the strategist involves the development and implementation of a strategy. Generally, strategists set goals, identify actions to achieve the objectives, and mobilize resources for the actions. They make functional strategies for businesses and profit improvement. They are considered as the thinkers who develop the course of a project of the business program. The skills necessary for this job include critical thinking, management skills, attention to detail, and leadership skill. They should be equipped with knowledge about business and management.

Account planner vs strategist salary

Account planners and strategists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Account PlannerStrategist
Average salary$71,823$104,881
Salary rangeBetween $48,000 And $107,000Between $62,000 And $176,000
Highest paying CityHarrison, NYHartford, CT
Highest paying stateDelawareConnecticut
Best paying companyGoogleThe Citadel
Best paying industryProfessionalTechnology

Differences between account planner and strategist education

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

Account PlannerStrategist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 82%Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of GeorgiaUniversity of Georgia

Account planner vs strategist demographics

Here are the differences between account planners' and strategists' demographics:

Account PlannerStrategist
Average age3739
Gender ratioMale, 38.6% Female, 61.4%Male, 54.5% Female, 45.5%
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, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between account planner and strategist 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.

Strategist example responsibilities.

  • Manage change requests using CMS for corporate website.
  • Experience in managing online affiliate programs for e-commerce sites.
  • Plan Instagram launch, manage posts, and tracking success on the account.
  • Manage HubSpot activities, including blogs, email marketing, landing pages and CRM maintenance.
  • Lead the team to develop the company's only OEM product for the security/surveillance market.
  • Manage all top line donation form fundraising strategy including design, copy, naming conventions, redirects and A/B testing.
  • Show more

Account planner vs strategist skills

Common account planner skills
  • Digital Marketing, 27%
  • Media Sales, 11%
  • Nielsen, 9%
  • Account Executives, 9%
  • PowerPoint, 4%
  • Creative Strategy, 3%
Common strategist skills
  • Project Management, 12%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 9%
  • PowerPoint, 8%
  • Portfolio, 6%
  • Digital Marketing, 5%
  • Client Facing, 4%

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