Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between customer support managers and support leads can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a customer support manager, becoming a support lead takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a customer support manager has an average salary of $91,598, which is higher than the $86,816 average annual salary of a support lead.
The top three skills for a customer support manager include project management, CRM and technical support. The most important skills for a support lead are customer service, cash management, and POS.
| Customer Support Manager | Support Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $91,598 | $86,816 |
| Hourly rate | $44.04 | $41.74 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 128,995 | 98,872 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Average age | 47 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
The responsibilities of a customer support manager revolve around overseeing the performance of customer support staff to ensure that all clients get optimal service. They mostly delegate tasks, address and resolve issues, manage schedules, train new employees, produce progress reports, assess performances, and set sales targets. There are also instances when one must respond to calls and correspondence, offer products and services, and manage the budget. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the team to reach sales targets while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
A support lead is typically in charge of overseeing the performance of a technical support team, ensuring efficiency and customer satisfaction. Their responsibilities revolve around assessing the performance of the workforce, resolving complex issues, identifying customer needs and sales opportunities, and training new team members. They may also perform calls and correspondence, respond to inquiries, and resolve issues promptly. Furthermore, as a support lead, it is essential to perform clerical tasks such as preparing progress reports, managing schedules, and maintaining records of transactions.
Customer support managers and support leads have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Support Manager | Support Lead | |
| Average salary | $91,598 | $86,816 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $130,000 | Between $63,000 And $118,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Amazon | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Finance | - |
There are a few differences between a customer support manager and a support lead in terms of educational background:
| Customer Support Manager | Support Lead | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | California State University - Bakersfield | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between customer support managers' and support leads' demographics:
| Customer Support Manager | Support Lead | |
| Average age | 47 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 56.9% Female, 43.1% | Male, 52.3% Female, 47.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 6.1% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 14.6% White, 54.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 11% |