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What does a product specialist do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
Quoted expert
Dr. Gail Hudson Ph.D.
What does a product specialist do

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.

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Product specialist responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real product specialist resumes:

  • Create and manage RFP responses for potential customers and develop product quotes base on customer requirements.
  • Manage projects and priorities list of ongoing engineering plans base on ROI and business needs, and relay to operations regularly.
  • Perform weekly review and update of lead list against opportunities manage in Salesforce.com.
  • Manage telephone relationships with senior management of client companies to troubleshoot and develop product.
  • Participate in CAPA activities as required.
  • Develop generic UI's that includes re-branding & re-skinning of product.
  • Maintain budgeted payroll and POS markdown to target percent and department goals.
  • Lead successful asset raising marketing efforts direct towards the macro fund community.
  • Create knowledge SME articles for technical areas and mentor others in learning material.
  • Develop and implement website changes to enhance search engine optimization (SEO).
  • Draft electronic direct mailers using raw HTML, WYSIWYG editors, and Photoshop.
  • Review and stay abreast of current and new CAPA's for complaint processing.
  • Support clients in use of UI and API to traffic campaigns through the AppNexus platform.
  • Prepare healthcare product supply chain data for the development and management of hospital data systems.
  • Compile weekly sales reports for each account manager including call summary reports and booking rates.

Product specialist skills and personality traits

We calculated that 19% of Product Specialists are proficient in Customer Service, Product Knowledge, and Sales Floor. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Analytical skills, and Communication skills.

We break down the percentage of Product Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Customer Service, 19%

    Provided customer service/technical support/troubleshooting and application solutions.

  • Product Knowledge, 7%

    Identify the most efficient, acceptable and profitable resolution to customer inquiries -Expertise in product knowledge and building long lasting customer relationships

  • Sales Floor, 7%

    Maintained responsibilities on a competitive commission sales floor.

  • Patients, 6%

    Developed revolutionary harness design which benefits patients and therapists.

  • Excellent Interpersonal, 4%

    Established rapport and developed excellent interpersonal relationships with key thought leaders to best facilitate strategic product growth.

  • Windows, 3%

    Provide additional Macintosh training to Windows only technicians.

"customer service," "product knowledge," and "sales floor" are among the most common skills that product specialists use at work. You can find even more product specialist responsibilities below, including:

Detail oriented. One of the key soft skills for a product specialist to have is detail oriented. You can see how this relates to what product specialists do because "market research analysts must pay attention to minutiae to evaluate data." Additionally, a product specialist resume shows how product specialists use detail oriented: "communicate detailed information regarding product lines including product demonstrations. "

Analytical skills. Another essential skill to perform product specialist duties is analytical skills. Product specialists responsibilities require that "market research analysts must evaluate large amounts of data and information related to market conditions." Product specialists also use analytical skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "assessed validity and duplication of reported pregnancy data for regulatory and fda. "

Communication skills. product specialists are also known for communication skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to product specialist responsibilities, because "market research analysts must be able to clearly convey information when gathering material, interpreting data, and presenting results to clients." A product specialist resume example shows how communication skills is used in the workplace: "maintained a high level of customer satisfaction through excellent communication, timely follow-up, and other customer support efforts. "

See the full list of product specialist skills

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Compare different product specialists

Product specialist vs. Business development specialist

A business development specialist is an expert who determines opportunities for marketing strategy optimization and business growth. The specialists perform business process and financial analysis, effective network creation, and business plan implementation. Being a good business development specialist requires knowledge and experience in managing a business. The skillset for the position includes a strong command in English, information technology, attention to detail, and written and verbal communication.

The annual salary of business development specialists is $28,522 lower than the average salary of product specialists.Even though product specialists and business development specialists are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require customer service, product knowledge, and patients in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a product specialist are more likely to require skills like "sales floor," "windows," "product management," and "technical support." On the other hand, a job as a business development specialist requires skills like "strong work ethic," "healthcare," "salesforce," and "lead generation." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Business development specialists tend to make the most money working in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $63,094. In contrast, product specialists make the biggest average salary, $92,638, in the technology industry.On average, business development specialists reach similar levels of education than product specialists. Business development specialists are 3.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Product specialist vs. Marketing specialist internship

A marketing specialist internship involves a trainee who wants to gain working experience in marketing by helping companies develop marketing programs and strategies. Marketing specialist interns collaborate with marketing professionals in researching target markets and analyze trends to identify new marketing opportunities. They assist in developing marketing materials to ensure that brand guidelines are being achieved. Marketing specialist interns are also required to help professionals in writing, proof-reading, and editing technical and creative content across different mediums.

On average, marketing specialist interns earn a $46,293 lower salary than product specialists a year.A few skills overlap for product specialists and marketing specialist interns. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "customer service," "windows," and "powerpoint. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real product specialist resumes. While product specialist responsibilities can utilize skills like "product knowledge," "sales floor," "patients," and "excellent interpersonal," marketing specialist interns use skills like "community resources," "intake assessments," "mental health," and "child abuse."

Marketing specialist interns may earn a lower salary than product specialists, but marketing specialist interns earn the most pay in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $39,914. On the other hand, product specialists receive higher pay in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $92,638.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Marketing specialist interns tend to reach similar levels of education than product specialists. In fact, they're 1.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for product specialists in the next 3-5 years?

Dr. Gail Hudson Ph.D.Dr. Gail Hudson Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Director, College of Business Internship Program, Arkansas State University

As I mentioned above, technology and social media will continue to be necessary. As marketers, students will need to be able to use the technology and have the analytics to support their decisions. This may require working outside the structure of software as well. Google Analytics, Social Media Management, Excel, and Coding are all essential skills.

Product specialist vs. Product consultant

A product consultant is an individual who collaborates with client managers and project managers to analyze client requirements and provide optimal products. Product consultants are required to leverage industry and product knowledge to answer customer inquiries and provide customer consultations. To maintain excellent customer service, product consultants should maintain courtesy and professionalism as well as attentive to product details. They must also train new consultants on product knowledge and communicate sales strategies to the field agents of the company across the region.

An average product consultant eans a higher salary compared to the average salary of product specialists. The difference in salaries amounts to product consultants earning a $7,520 higher average salary than product specialists.Using the responsibilities included on product specialists and product consultants resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "customer service," "product knowledge," and "sales floor.rdquo;

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, product specialists are more likely to have skills like "patients," "excellent interpersonal," "product management," and "work ethic." But a product consultant is more likely to have skills like "assists clients," "drive sales," "learning environment," and "ensure sales."

Product consultants earn the highest salary when working in the technology industry, where they receive an average salary of $106,130. Comparatively, product specialists have the highest earning potential in the technology industry, with an average salary of $92,638.product consultants typically earn similar educational levels compared to product specialists. Specifically, they're 2.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Product specialist vs. Marketing & sales specialist

A marketing/sales specialist is responsible for analyzing the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and promotional strategies, evaluating market data trends to identify business opportunities for revenue resources and profitability. Marketing/sales specialists conduct surveys on various social media platforms and other communication mediums to determine consumer demands and public interests. They also coordinate with the senior management to develop efficient program management systems and execute deliverables with the highest customer satisfaction. A marketing/sales specialist meets with potential clients, negotiates contracts, and addresses their inquiries, concerns, and special requests.

Marketing & sales specialists typically earn lower pay than product specialists. On average, marketing & sales specialists earn a $31,718 lower salary per year.According to resumes from product specialists and marketing & sales specialists, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "customer service," "product knowledge," and "powerpoint. "Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A product specialist uses "sales floor," "patients," "excellent interpersonal," and "windows." Marketing & sales specialists are more likely to have duties that require skills in "digital marketing," "brand awareness," "marketing campaigns," and "facebook. "The telecommunication industry tends to pay the highest salaries for marketing & sales specialists, with average annual pay of $52,906. Comparatively, the highest product specialist annual salary comes from the technology industry.In general, marketing & sales specialists hold similar degree levels compared to product specialists. Marketing & sales specialists are 0.2% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of product specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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