Customer specialist vs customer service manager

The differences between customer specialists and customer service managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a customer specialist, becoming a customer service manager takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a customer service manager has an average salary of $61,487, which is higher than the $38,371 average annual salary of a customer specialist.

The top three skills for a customer specialist include customer transactions, client facing and phone calls. The most important skills for a customer service manager are strong customer service, payroll, and customer satisfaction.

Customer specialist vs customer service manager overview

	Customer Specialist	Customer Service Manager
Yearly salary	$38,371	$61,487
Hourly rate	$18.45	$29.56
Growth rate	-4%	6%
Number of jobs	202,965	313,110
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age	40	44
Years of experience	12	6

What does a customer specialist do?

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.

What does a customer service manager do?

Customer service managers are in charge of overseeing a group of customer service associates. They ensure that key metrics are met by the employees. These metrics usually include average handling time and customer satisfaction ratings. They also give coaching to employees who might need additional guidance in reaching team goals. Customer service managers are expected to have had experience on the operations floor to balance their role as a strategic leader and a people manager. They should have customer service skills, decision-making skills, and communication skills.

Customer specialist vs customer service manager salary

Customer specialists and customer service managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Customer Specialist	Customer Service Manager
Average salary	$38,371	$61,487
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $66,000	Between $35,000 And $105,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New Jersey
Best paying company	AbbVie	KLA
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between customer specialist and customer service manager education

There are a few differences between a customer specialist and a customer service manager in terms of educational background:

	Customer Specialist	Customer Service Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	University of Pennsylvania

Customer specialist vs customer service manager demographics

Here are the differences between customer specialists' and customer service managers' demographics:

	Customer Specialist	Customer Service Manager
Average age	40	44
Gender ratio	Male, 42.5% Female, 57.5%	Male, 37.0% Female, 63.0%
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, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	10%

Differences between customer specialist and customer service manager duties and responsibilities

Customer specialist example responsibilities.

Create powerpoint presentations as well as presented.
Used a CRM tool effectively to track all customer interactions and setup follow up.
Identify or create customer wants and needs and offer solutions/benefits to upsell new or additional services.
Install, remove, rearrange, program, test, troubleshoot and maintain fiber and copper network services.
Process all new patient referrals as assigned and verifying that all the necessary requirements are meet according to Medicare s guidelines.
Prepare and process documents and correspondence for Medicare audit.

Customer service manager example responsibilities.

Manage the accounts payable and accounts receivable dealing with the Michigan WIC program.
Ensure SLA compliance are achieved for all incident metrics as well as call resolution.
Manage installation and customization of ACD system and PBX for business office call center operations.
Develop and manage communications strategies, including Facebook, catalog production, email marketing, direct mail.
Lead efforts in developing and executing CRM with the team to identify areas of improvement within the departments.
Prioritize, delegate and accomplish multiple projects, as well as the ability to troubleshoot and resolve common problems.

Customer specialist vs customer service manager skills

Common customer specialist skills

Customer Transactions, 11%
Client Facing, 8%
Phone Calls, 7%
Customer Loyalty, 6%
Related Training, 6%
Customer Service, 5%

Common customer service manager skills

Strong Customer Service, 15%
Payroll, 6%
Customer Satisfaction, 6%
Customer Complaints, 6%
Customer Service, 6%
ISO, 5%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Customer Specialist
Customer Specialist vs Customer Service Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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