The work responsibilities in some roles might be the same yet the use of different job titles makes it all the more confusing. For a job hunter to sort out what role he wants to play, it is important to know the job description and titles. Customer service is a vast industry that brings out opportunities for various roles. Working in customer service requires you to create an enjoyable experience for the customers by providing them support. With the increasing competition among the companies, offering good customer service has become crucial to find loyal customers.
Customer service jobs include every job that deals with customer service and support. The positions in this industry enhance the product experience, by helping customers to choose a product suitable for their needs and also provide support post-purchase. The variations of job titles which a company uses include titles like customer care, customer experience, customer success, client care, partner support, etc.
This article discusses different job titles available in the field of customer service and the job responsibilities handled by them. These are some of the most searched job titles, which can provide traffic to the recruitment page.
Qualifications For Customer Service Jobs
A customer service position in a company is usually an entry-level job. To enhance the customer service experience for the customers of the company, one needs to have some basic traits. Communication skills are the most important aspect to be owned by a customer representative as the job description always includes interaction with the customers. It is also essential that the person should be empathetic so as to handle a customer’s grievances more responsibly. It has to be kept in mind that dealing with every customer is a chance to learn something new.
Job Description
A typical customer service job description includes the essential requirements and the experience to fit the role. The job benefits and perks of working with the company are to be mentioned. The mission of the company is also stated to bring clarity about what is expected of the employees.
Entry Level Customer Service Job Titles
An employee might join a company as an intern or assistant. In such a position, the company is required to answer inbound calls to help resolve their issues and also provide any information that is sought. An intern might also promote the promotional schemes and highlight the resources provided by the company.
Some titles which are used by the companies for this job position are:
- Customer Success Intern
- Customer Service Trainee
- Trainee Customer Support
- Entry Level Client Service Intern
- Customer Experience Intern
- Customer Service Assistant
Individual Level Customer Service Job Titles
Customer Service Representative
The customer service representatives are required to directly interact with the customers. Their job asks them to promote the product, give solutions to some issues, and answer inquiries regarding discounts. Usually, a representative is given a target of calls that needs to be attended.
A major requirement for this job position may be great communication skills. Selling products requires a person to be persuasive. This can be called as the most popular job title in the industry of customer service. A position of Customer Support Representative is said to be closely linked, it requires the hired to answer inquiries that might be related to policies, pricing, and usage of the products. Indeed, this position generated 600,000 clicks.
Remote Customer Service Representative
The only difference between a customer service representative and a remote customer service representative is that the latter works from home or in some workspace other than the office. There might be another team of remote workers that the representative has to work with.
The skills required are similar to that of a customer service representative. The position requires the employee to be self-motivated.
Customer Experience Associates (CX Associates)
The position is also called Customer Experience Agent in some companies (CX Agent). The demand for a Customer Experience Associate has increased significantly, according to ZipRecruiter. CX associates are hired to lodge complaints and help the customers. The relevance of this position is creating a pleasant customer experience. A closely linked role, customer engagement representative has also been in demand.
Call Center Representative
Also known as Contact Center Representative, the name itself suggests what the job role of the employee might be. These representatives communicate with customers on the phone. They answer inquiries and lodge complaints. The job title gets searched for about 400 times per month.
Support Specialists
In case the company deals with technical products or services, then a support specialist addresses issues faced by customers through a range of channels. The posting with the job title as Support Specialist is also required to open new customer accounts. The responsibilities also include addressing the needs of a customer, giving technical support, and handling the complaints brought by the customer.
Social Media Customer Care Associate
This comparatively newer role takes over the social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to deal with customer issues. Brands with higher-reaching social media followers ensure that they hire a team to deal with the complaints on social media.
Implementation Specialist
The work of the Implementation specialist starts once the customer has brought the product or service. The job responsibilities imposed on this employee can be instructing a new client on how to use the product and provide easy access to the configuration of the product. According to the name, an implementation specialist manages the overall implementation of the product.
Some other entry-level customer service job titles can be listed:
- Customer Advocate
- Client Service Associate
- Customer Engineer
- Customer Success Specialist
- Customer Service Expert
- Guest Service Coordinator
- Implementation Consultant
- Client Service Representative
- Guest Service Agent
- Client Service Expert
- Client Success Architect
- Customer Service Engineer
- Customer Happiness Agent
- Customer Delight
Difference between customer success and customer service
The term customer success is mostly used by cloud or SaaS companies. A customer success specialist might have a job description to own an account after the sales have closed it. A SaaS company sometimes does use the word service for a person who would respond to customer requests in case the customer has some issues with the software.
Intermediate Level Customer Service Job Titles
Customer Service Supervisor
For employees to be hired as Customer Service Superior, they must possess some experience in this field. The job responsibilities include training new customer service representatives and helping their team achieve the targeted goals.
Senior Level Customer Service Job Titles
1. Customer Service Manager
This post is also called customer service team leads, overseeing the working of the customer service teams. The responsibilities include implementation of training programs, requiring the representatives to grow with healthy feedback, and also track and report on customer service KPIs. In 2018, this job post got 813,756 clicks to be the sixth most clicked job in this industry. The job title searches for this post are about 1,000 every month.
There are some alternative titles for this similar position:
- Customer Service Manager
- Client Services Manager
- Relationship Manager
- Call Center Supervisor
- Partner Support Manager
- Implementation Manager
- Services Account Manager
- Client Care Manager
- Manager of Customer Success
- Member Service Manager
- Regional Manager Customer Success
2. Senior Support Specialist
The support specialists after getting the right experience can be promoted to this post to guide and train the new employees.
3. Director of Customer Service
The job responsibility of a Customer Service Director is mostly overseeing all the aspects of the company’s customer care. That includes drafting and implementing the policies related to customer service. The director strives to keep improving the customer experience and establishes metrics for the representatives
Some of the similar job titles include:
- Director of Client Services
- Member Services Director
- Director of Implementation
- Director of Guest Services
- Customer Experience Director
- Customer Success Team Lead
- Voice of Customer
- Vice President of Customer Service:
- This senior executive works with the members of leadership teams to develop ways to implement the company’s mission.
- Some other job titles relating to this position are:
- Vice President Customer Experience
- Customer Operations Executive
- Customer Solutions Executive
- Vice President of Customer Success
- Vice President Client Services
- Customer Service Executive
4. Chief Customer Officer
The position of Chief Customer Officer is the highest position in a customer care department. The job requires the officer to report directly to the CEO of the company. This officer takes care that the service provided has a customer-centric approach. A chief customer officer is the one who can initiate a customer loyalty scheme.
There are few other job titles used by the companies for this position:
- Chief Client Officer
- Chief Customer Service Officer
- Chief Experience Officer
- Head of Global Customer Service
- Head of Customer First
- Interesting Job Titles:
- Some companies, according to their field of work, choose some fun and really creative job titles for their employees. Examples of such titles in the customer service industry can be:
- Geek Squad Agent
- Chief Chatter Call Center Manager
- Happiness Hero
- People Partner
- Genius
- Chief Chatter
Creating a Suitable Job Title: Things to Keep in Mind
The job title given for the position can create an impression on your customer regarding how important customer satisfaction is to your company.
Suitability: Consider the mindset of the employees to be hired for the position. A question that you might ask to yourself is if the job title gives justice to the work they do.
Job Description: Try to pick a title that can impliedly convey what would be expected from the people who will be hired.
Internal Colleagues: Make sure the title fits into the hierarchy of the company.
Customers: Take into consideration your customer base, if they will be able to understand the relevance of the position.
Company Spirit: Using a fun name for a conventional company is a big no-no. Standard titles would much rather suit such companies. However, a fun title would definitely suit an offbeat company and communicate the style of such a company. A customer service department must feel like it belongs to the company.
Title Usage: Consider doing research on which companies use this title. If a company whose work area is different uses this title, then the recruitment might become a tedious process for the recruiting team.
Role of Title: The job title indicates what might be the powers that are conferred on the position. Keep in mind what your employee can do for a customer, then decide the name.
Customer service is critical for the long-term success of a brand. At the end of the day, the title matters a lot less than the role that the employee plays. A title will not create a candidate’s interest in it. The benefits, the responsibilities, and the environment you provide as an employer is of importance.
If you do not want to experiment with the titles then choosing a standard title for the position is always a safe idea.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the hierarchy of customer service job titles?
The entry-level job titles at the customer service department can be customer service representative and call center representatives, the managerial positions have titles such as customer success manager and implementation manager, then on the hierarchy pyramid comes director of the customer service, vice president of customer service, and chief customer officer.
- What are the skills required to be in the customer service department?
The most important skill for employees in customer service is quick problem-solving aptitude. One needs to be good at communicating with the customer and dealing with their problems empathetically. Working in the field also requires active listening.
- What are the important qualities of customer service?
Customer service department guidelines vary across different companies. However, the basic requirement says a customer service department should follow three P’s: the first one is professionalism, the second being patience, and then a people-first attitude.
- How can a difficult customer be handled?
Professionalism is the way to go. Always carry the conversation professionally and speak softly. Actively listen to what the customer has to say. Remember, your job is to solve the issue. Try to access the customer’s needs and come up with a solution.
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