How To Become A Customer Relationship Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a customer relationship specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Sally Hiott B.S. MBA, DBA

When we need something from service providers, our first instinct is to call them up. We speak with people on the line to request whatever we need. Sometimes, we would go directly to their office to speak to the people who will work on our request in person. Whichever method we prefer, the ones handling our concerns are the customer relationship specialists.

Customer relationship specialists are at the forefront of a company's customer service initiatives. They are the ones who face the clients on an almost daily basis. As such, they have enormous responsibility of building good working relationships with clients. They should also be patient and should have an approachable demeanor at all times. It is a big responsibility to face clients and to carry the company's name while doing so.

If you are someone who likes talking to people and solving concerns, this might be the best career for you. Just make sure you have the patience and the strength to keep angry customers at bay!

What general advice would you give to a Customer Relationship Specialist?

Sally Hiott B.S. MBA, DBA

Assistant Professor of Marketing, Charleston Southern University

Show employers how you would not only fill an open position regarding the work at hand, but show them how you would be an asset to their team. We are in very team driven work environments currently, and hiring managers want to know what you can bring to the table. Filling a void is great for the workload, but enhancing a team culture makes them not want to work without you!

ScoreCustomer Relationship SpecialistUS Average

Salary

5.2

Avg. Salary $65,947

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

5.9

Growth Rate -4%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.66%

Asian 6.76%

Black or African American 12.42%

Hispanic or Latino 20.55%

Unknown 5.47%

White 54.14%

Gender

female 62.33%

male 37.67%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress Level

5.9

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

6.6

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.5

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a customer relationship specialist

Explore customer relationship specialist education requirements

Most common customer relationship specialist degrees

Bachelor's

61.2 %

Associate

16.9 %

High School Diploma

9.1 %

Start to develop specific customer relationship specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
CRM	18.50%
Salesforce	7.78%
Digital Marketing	6.74%
Customer Relationships	6.08%
Email Marketing	5.56%

Complete relevant customer relationship specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New customer relationship specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a customer relationship specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real customer relationship specialist resumes.

Research customer relationship specialist duties and responsibilities

Used deductive reasoning, decision-making, and CRM technology to appropriately manage customer accounts and facilitate customer retention.
Used SQL to generate customize reports.
Clarify Georgia Medicaid policies and procedures to members and providers.
Advise what items are need to complete Georgia Medicaid enrollment package.

Prepare your customer relationship specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your customer relationship specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a customer relationship specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Customer Relationship Specialist Resume templates

Build a professional Customer Relationship Specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Customer Relationship Specialist resume.

Apply for customer relationship specialist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a customer relationship specialist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

Average customer relationship specialist salary

The average Customer Relationship Specialist salary in the United States is $65,947 per year or $32 per hour. Customer relationship specialist salaries range between $39,000 and $108,000 per year.

Average Customer Relationship Specialist Salary

$65,947 Yearly

$31.71 hourly