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The differences between customer support 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 support specialist and a retention specialist. Additionally, a customer support specialist has an average salary of $39,470, which is higher than the $37,175 average annual salary of a retention specialist.
The top three skills for a customer support specialist include customer support, phone calls and compassion. The most important skills for a retention specialist are customer service, outbound calls, and powerpoint.
| Customer Support Specialist | Retention Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $39,470 | $37,175 |
| Hourly rate | $18.98 | $17.87 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 259,592 | 199,631 |
| Job satisfaction | 1 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
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.
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 support specialists and retention specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Support Specialist | Retention Specialist | |
| Average salary | $39,470 | $37,175 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $55,000 | Between $28,000 And $48,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Los Angeles, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | California |
| Best paying company | Micron Technology | Adobe |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a customer support specialist and a retention specialist in terms of educational background:
| Customer Support Specialist | Retention Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer support specialists' and retention specialists' demographics:
| Customer Support Specialist | Retention Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 37.4% Female, 62.6% | Male, 37.0% Female, 63.0% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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% |