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The differences between customer solutions specialists and retention 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 solutions specialist and a retention specialist. Additionally, a customer solutions specialist has an average salary of $53,633, which is higher than the $37,175 average annual salary of a retention specialist.
The top three skills for a customer solutions specialist include customer solutions, work ethic and product knowledge. The most important skills for a retention specialist are customer service, outbound calls, and powerpoint.
A customer solutions specialist is responsible for assisting customers with their inquiries and concerns, resolving technical issues and complaints, and implementing solutions for the best customer experience. Customer solutions specialists instruct the customers for the resolutions, guiding them according to instructions, and writing resolution reports for reference. They also promote the company's goods and services depending on the customers' needs, as well as processing orders and payments. A customer solutions specialist must have excellent organizational and communication skills, especially with multitasking, to update customers' information in the database while listening to their concerns.
A retention specialist is responsible for devising strategies to maintain a healthy relationship with clients. They are primarily in charge of negotiating and securing contract renewals, handling issues and corrective measures for customer satisfaction, utilizing feedback to improve services, and maintaining a healthy rapport to strengthen the client base. Furthermore, as a retention specialist, it is essential to perform calls and correspondence, keep records of all transactions, and coordinate with work-staff.
Customer solutions specialists and retention specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Solutions Specialist | Retention Specialist | |
| Average salary | $53,633 | $37,175 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $95,000 | Between $28,000 And $48,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Los Angeles, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | Adobe |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a customer solutions specialist and a retention specialist in terms of educational background:
| Customer Solutions Specialist | Retention Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer solutions specialists' and retention specialists' demographics:
| Customer Solutions Specialist | Retention Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 41.4% Female, 58.6% | Male, 37.0% Female, 63.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 6.8% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 20.6% Asian, 6.0% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |