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The differences between customer relationship specialists and customer support specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a customer relationship specialist and a customer support specialist. Additionally, a customer relationship specialist has an average salary of $65,947, which is higher than the $39,470 average annual salary of a customer support specialist.
The top three skills for a customer relationship specialist include CRM, salesforce and digital marketing. The most important skills for a customer support specialist are customer support, phone calls, and compassion.
A customer relationship specialist is responsible for providing the highest quality services for the customers by responding to their inquiries and concerns and resolving their complaints. Customer relationship specialists document calls, update the account information of the customers on the database, and coordinate with the sales team in developing promotional techniques to sell goods and services for the customers. These specialists process orders, post payments, and confirm details with the customers. A customer relationship specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in achieving customer satisfaction for business goals and objectives.
A customer support specialist is responsible for assisting a customer's inquiries and concerns regarding the goods and services the organization offers. Customer support specialists handle customer issues and resolve them promptly, escalating high-level complaints to the immediate supervisors. A support specialist will also replace products or process payment refunds as needed. Their goal is to maintain the highest customer satisfaction and keep a good reputation for the company while driving revenues and increasing profitability. A customer support specialist must have outstanding communication skills, as well as the ability to multi-task to record customer complaint cases while providing resolution.
Customer relationship specialists and customer support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Relationship Specialist | Customer Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $65,947 | $39,470 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $108,000 | Between $28,000 And $55,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | North Carolina | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Pace University | Micron Technology |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a customer relationship specialist and a customer support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Customer Relationship Specialist | Customer Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer relationship specialists' and customer support specialists' demographics:
| Customer Relationship Specialist | Customer Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 37.7% Female, 62.3% | Male, 37.4% Female, 62.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 20.6% Asian, 6.8% White, 54.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 7.2% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |