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The differences between customer specialists and customer relations 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 specialist and a customer relations specialist. Additionally, a customer specialist has an average salary of $38,371, which is higher than the $37,827 average annual salary of a customer relations specialist.
The top three skills for a customer specialist include customer transactions, client facing and phone calls. The most important skills for a customer relations specialist are customer relations, data entry, and work ethic.
| Customer Specialist | Customer Relations Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $38,371 | $37,827 |
| Hourly rate | $18.45 | $18.19 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 202,965 | 215,862 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A customer specialist is responsible for assisting customers with their needs and concerns about the products and services offered by the company, addressing their inquiries timely and accurately. Customer specialists evaluate the customers' issues and provide immediate solutions through remote communication. In some cases, a customer specialist may send technical staff to the customer's location for problems that cannot be resolved over the phone or e-mail. They also take orders from the customers, process their payments, and explain the features and functions of the product.
A customer relations specialist is responsible for providing high-quality services for customers by responding to their inquiries and concerns and resolving complaints about the company's goods and services. Customer relations specialists update customer accounts on the database, recording their transactions accurately, and posting their payments timely. They may also sell new products and services to the clients, demonstrating features and usability, processing orders, and confirming delivery details. A customer relations specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills to ensure customer satisfaction and maintain healthy business relationships with the customers.
Customer specialists and customer relations specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Specialist | Customer Relations Specialist | |
| Average salary | $38,371 | $37,827 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $66,000 | Between $27,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Columbia, MD |
| Highest paying state | New York | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | AbbVie | Deloitte |
| Best paying industry | - | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a customer specialist and a customer relations specialist in terms of educational background:
| Customer Specialist | Customer Relations Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer specialists' and customer relations specialists' demographics:
| Customer Specialist | Customer Relations Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.5% Female, 57.5% | Male, 31.8% Female, 68.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 7.5% White, 55.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 7.5% White, 55.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |