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Customer program manager vs product manager

The differences between customer program managers and product managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 8-10 years to become both a customer program manager and a product manager. Additionally, a product manager has an average salary of $111,729, which is higher than the $105,176 average annual salary of a customer program manager.

The top three skills for a customer program manager include customer service, project management and program management. The most important skills for a product manager are product management, QA, and product strategy.

Customer program manager vs product manager overview

Customer Program ManagerProduct Manager
Yearly salary$105,176$111,729
Hourly rate$50.57$53.72
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs204,418125,678
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age3939
Years of experience1010

What does a customer program manager do?

A customer program manager is responsible for maintaining healthy business relationships with clients and customers. Customer program managers supervise the overall project process of product management and ensure that the services strictly adhere to the customers' needs. A customer program manager identifies business opportunities by analyzing the current market trends to generate more resources for the business and increase revenues. They lead the program's concepts, manage the allocation of budget, and deliver high-quality outputs to the market.

What does a product manager do?

A product manager is responsible for ensuring product development, providing the best marketing strategies, and effectively handling the sales and marketing team. Product managers' duties include monitoring the market trends and conditions, identifying business opportunities and plan initiatives, and collaborating the product launch process with the appropriate departments. A product manager is also responsible for generating ideas on improving product features, determining timetables and reasonable pricing, and analyzing product sales. A product manager must have excellent strategic and decision-making skills to contribute to its growth and profitability.

Customer program manager vs product manager salary

Customer program managers and product managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Customer Program ManagerProduct Manager
Average salary$105,176$111,729
Salary rangeBetween $76,000 And $145,000Between $81,000 And $152,000
Highest paying CitySeattle, WASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateWashingtonCalifornia
Best paying companyMetaMeta
Best paying industryTelecommunicationRetail

Differences between customer program manager and product manager education

There are a few differences between a customer program manager and a product manager in terms of educational background:

Customer Program ManagerProduct Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of GeorgiaUniversity of Georgia

Customer program manager vs product manager demographics

Here are the differences between customer program managers' and product managers' demographics:

Customer Program ManagerProduct Manager
Average age3939
Gender ratioMale, 59.5% Female, 40.5%Male, 65.3% Female, 34.7%
Race ratioBlack 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%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 customer program manager and product manager duties and responsibilities

Customer program manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage low volume parts to PPAP requirements within on site manufacturing facility.
  • Assist in developing a custom MRP database to help manage the variety of documents.
  • Lead APQP launch teams and assist with engineering, quality, customer service, financial and manufacturing.
  • Manage source business through development and into production utilizing APQP process.
  • Manage the ERP implementation and integration with existing software for new corporate acquisitions.
  • Manage cross-functional teams including global communications, product/parts replacements, logistics and hardware fulfillment, warranty, and escalations.
  • Show more

Product manager example responsibilities.

  • Lead collaborative efforts within the PMO, vendors, customers, and internal stakeholders.
  • Manage developers accountable for coding, database development, UI implementation, and system architecture.
  • Manage inventory service levels / overstocks /defective inventory and supplier buy-in opportunities to maximize ROI.
  • Lead customization of the company's administrative SaaS software solution by defining features and functionality for internal/external stakeholder teams.
  • Lead weekly meetings between engineering, sales/marketing, and QA departments to facilitate communication, collaboration and resolution of product issues.
  • Handle design and specification of administration system requirements to efficiently manage, operate, and support client API configurations and sessions.
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Customer program manager vs product manager skills

Common customer program manager skills
  • Customer Service, 15%
  • Project Management, 12%
  • Program Management, 12%
  • CRM, 4%
  • Customer Feedback, 4%
  • Process Improvement, 4%
Common product manager skills
  • Product Management, 11%
  • QA, 5%
  • Product Strategy, 5%
  • Project Management, 4%
  • Market Research, 4%
  • User Stories, 4%

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