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The differences between product specialists and retention specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a product specialist, becoming a retention specialist takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a product specialist has an average salary of $85,932, which is higher than the $37,175 average annual salary of a retention specialist.
The top three skills for a product specialist include customer service, product knowledge and sales floor. The most important skills for a retention specialist are customer service, outbound calls, and powerpoint.
| Product Specialist | Retention Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $85,932 | $37,175 |
| Hourly rate | $41.31 | $17.87 |
| Growth rate | 19% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 103,863 | 199,631 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Average age | 37 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 12 |
A product specialist is required to have excellent knowledge about a product and work with a business unit to ensure excellent product delivery. Product specialists perform product demonstrations to customers and other stakeholders and assist in their promotions and product releases. To gain increased revenue, product specialists must be able to identify new market opportunities. They are required to conduct product and sales training for the marketing team. They must also provide reports about their product-related activities to the management.
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.
Product specialists and retention specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Specialist | Retention Specialist | |
| Average salary | $85,932 | $37,175 |
| Salary range | Between $56,000 And $130,000 | Between $28,000 And $48,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Bruno, CA | Los Angeles, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | ByteDance | Adobe |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a product specialist and a retention specialist in terms of educational background:
| Product Specialist | Retention Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | - |
Here are the differences between product specialists' and retention specialists' demographics:
| Product Specialist | Retention Specialist | |
| Average age | 37 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 59.8% Female, 40.2% | Male, 37.0% Female, 63.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 10.6% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | 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 | 10% | 7% |