Solution specialist vs customer service specialist

The differences between solution specialists and customer service 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 solution specialist and a customer service specialist. Additionally, a solution specialist has an average salary of $76,424, which is higher than the $33,238 average annual salary of a customer service specialist.

The top three skills for a solution specialist include product knowledge, sales process and SQL. The most important skills for a customer service specialist are customer service, strong customer service, and cleanliness.

Solution specialist vs customer service specialist overview

	Solution Specialist	Customer Service Specialist
Yearly salary	$76,424	$33,238
Hourly rate	$36.74	$15.98
Growth rate	-4%	-4%
Number of jobs	56,938	223,323
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	12	12

What does a solution specialist do?

A solution specialist is responsible for selling and promoting goods and services of an organization to existing and potential clients through product demonstrations and professional sales pitches, typically on phone calls and e-mail communication. Solutions specialists must possess strong product knowledge to respond to customers' inquiries and concerns about the products and successfully close sales deals that would increase the company's revenues and profitability. A solutions specialist must have excellent communication and customer service skills, maximizing strategic techniques to build customer satisfaction.

What does a customer service specialist do?

Customer service specialists are employees who are responsible for providing the best customer experience to customers, usually for after-sales transactions. They attend to customers' inquiries and provide answers to their questions on products or services that the company offers. They also address customer complaints and help mitigate the concerns by offering solutions such as instructions on how to fix defects, or processing replacements or refunds. Customer service specialists also listen to customer feedback and ensure that these are logged properly so that proper departments will be able to receive them.

Solution specialist vs customer service specialist salary

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

	Solution Specialist	Customer Service Specialist
Average salary	$76,424	$33,238
Salary range	Between $46,000 And $125,000	Between $26,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Massachusetts
Best paying company	PayPal	Dell
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between solution specialist and customer service specialist education

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

	Solution Specialist	Customer Service Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Solution specialist vs customer service specialist demographics

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

	Solution Specialist	Customer Service Specialist
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 58.4% Female, 41.6%	Male, 32.0% Female, 68.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 6.7% White, 54.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.0% Asian, 6.8% White, 55.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between solution specialist and customer service specialist duties and responsibilities

Solution specialist example responsibilities.

Lead multiple team meetings covering best practices, new policy and procedures, and explaining new MBO targets.
Manage existing accounts while identifying new sources of opportunities for sales in the SME segment through cold calling and prospecting.
Manage payroll and overall candidate compliance regarding eligibility of employment and new hire paperwork.
Manage billing inquiries, encourage cross-selling and referral for additional property and casualty lines of business.
Manage Microsoft SQL consolidation project to improve the operational efficiency of database servers and reduce their licensing costs.
Research and implement new technology solutions including a CRM software, email marketing opportunities, and a company blog.

Customer service specialist example responsibilities.

Work with customers/companies over the phone and helps troubleshoot technology/service issues while maintaining customer satisfaction in a large call-center capacity.
Mentore the team members and QA team for timely releases.
Monitor reports, compile reviews, and participate in QA calibrations.
Oversee management of social networking presence on Facebook, various travel relate blogs and utilizing various social listening tools.
Provide exceptional customer service to customers regarding MetLife products
Create PowerPoint presentations for forecasting of inventory requirements and overall changes in customer order volume.

Solution specialist vs customer service specialist skills

Common solution specialist skills

Product Knowledge, 17%
Sales Process, 12%
SQL, 6%
Java, 6%
Azure, 6%
Windows, 5%

Common customer service specialist skills

Customer Service, 19%
Strong Customer Service, 9%
Cleanliness, 7%
Front End, 7%
Cash Management, 7%
Customer Transactions, 4%

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Solution Specialist
Solution Specialist vs Customer Service Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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