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The differences between contact agents and customer relations representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a contact agent and a customer relations representative. Additionally, a customer relations representative has an average salary of $38,632, which is higher than the $28,301 average annual salary of a contact agent.
The top three skills for a contact agent include customer service, phone calls and patients. The most important skills for a customer relations representative are customer relations, customer complaints, and team-oriented environment.
| Contact Agent | Customer Relations Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $28,301 | $38,632 |
| Hourly rate | $13.61 | $18.57 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 209,089 | 235,295 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Contact agents are customer service professionals who handle emails, phone calls, and live chat messages. The agents assist customers with order inquiries, bills and payments, and support questions and complaints. These agents deal with technical support, inbound and outbound sales, and appointment bookings. They must ensure to handle an appropriate number of calls per day, resolve calls on the primary contact or refer them to the correct department, and log the call accurately against the customer's account.
A customer relations representative is responsible for providing the highest customer service by interacting with customers to respond to their inquiries and concerns, process their requests, and resolve their complaints. Customer relations representatives assist the customers with their needs by offering products and services according to their requirements and budget limitations. They may also sell newly launched products to the customers, discuss features and usability, and generate payments and delivery details. A customer relations representative must have excellent communication and organizational skills to maintain healthy business relationships with the customers to achieve the company's long-term goals and objectives.
Contact agents and customer relations representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Contact Agent | Customer Relations Representative | |
| Average salary | $28,301 | $38,632 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $36,000 | Between $29,000 And $50,000 |
| Highest paying City | Milwaukee, WI | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Idaho Central Credit Union | Cook Children's Medical Center |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a contact agent and a customer relations representative in terms of educational background:
| Contact Agent | Customer Relations Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between contact agents' and customer relations representatives' demographics:
| Contact Agent | Customer Relations Representative | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 33.4% Female, 66.6% | Male, 29.8% Female, 70.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 20.8% Asian, 6.6% White, 54.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.3% Asian, 6.3% White, 55.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |