Customer Relationship Officer

Here are some of the ways that I've experimented with:

1. A bi-monthly newsletter highlighting some specific features of your solution. The audience would be the end users.

2. Sharing a new release video with your end users.

3. Creating a custom video for your users talking about the overall benefits of using your solution.

4. Usage analysis to gauge end user adoption of your product. Identify the power users and encourage them to work with their un-adopting peers. Offer a small reward or recognition in return for helping you.

5. Offer quick training on specific features.

6. Engage with both the top level management, and the end users, all the time. Make sure you're all on the same page.

7. Keep an eye for growing the footprint, and any other competitor lurking in the background. Make friends with the end users who wouldn't hesitate to give you some of the internal details of conversations.

☛ Tell me about your previous work experience in customer service.

☛ Why would you be a good fit for our company as a customer service rep?

☛ What do you know about this company's products and services?

☛ What makes you a great candidate for this customer service rep job in particular?

☛ What do you enjoy about working in customer service?

☛ What are your strengths and weaknesses when interacting with customers?

☛ What have you done to be a better customer service representative?

☛ What have you done at your present/last company to increase revenues, reduce costs or save time?

☛ Tell me about a time when you helped resolve a particularly difficult customer issue.

☛ Talk about a time when you were unable to help a customer. What was the issue and how did you handle the situation?

☛ What type of customer service systems have you used? What is your level of familiarity with them?

☛ Do you consider yourself a team player?

☛ What type of organizational structure have you worked within previously?

☛ What type of organizational structure suits you best?

☛ What have you done recently to improve your skills as customer service rep?

☛ What type of schedule are you looking to work?

☛ Would you be available to work additional shifts?

☛ If you’re contacting a new client for the first time, what information do you need prior to your communication?

☛ We are launching a new product next month. When would you send a newsletter to our customers to inform them about its features? Would you send the newsletter to all customers or select the ones who are more likely to use the product? Why?

☛ A small client requests new features in a short time. How would you respond to this request?

☛ A long-term customer complains to you about product prices and is about to end your business relationship. What measures would you take to retain them?

☛ A customer is willing to immediately pay double as much if you implement specific product features. You know that these features won’t be helpful for them in the long-term, but your revenues will increase significantly. How would you handle this situation?

☛ How would you handle negative feedback from a client?

☛ How would you handle a situation where a customer has asked for some service or product that is in violation of the company’s policies and is against the better interests of the company?

☛ What would be the most important service skill that you would need to have in your day to day business?

☛ How would you initiate contact with the clients and customers?

☛ What would you do if you had to turn down a request from a valued customer?

☛ A customer is repeatedly using abusive language, but he has a valid point; what would you do?

☛ If you have to change any current activities in the company, how would go about doing it?

☛ Do you have any computer or technical knowledge?

☛ Do you have the necessary technical know-how for information and data transferring?

☛ Describe any intimidating situation you experienced in your previous job; did you handle it?

☛ Describe any unpleasant situation that your colleague was in. Did you intervene? What did you do?

Here are a few things that are extremely critical for any RM or Account Manager to keep in mind before going in for such a presentation:

1. Be absolutely clear about the pain points that you're going to address.

2. Before getting deeper in to your presentation, get a sign off from the attendees on the agenda of the meeting.

3. Be thorough in your background research of the client. This research could vary based on the stage you're approaching them in.

4. Provide a crisp and clear solution, and leave them with specific action items at the end of the presentation. This ensures they come back to you and the engagement continues.

5. Don't give away all that you have in your bag right away. Weigh your answers and ask probing questions.

An easy question to answer well with one caveat – don’t slam your fellow interviewee’s. On the one hand, you have an opportunity to really stand out from the pack. Alternatively, You shouldn’t assume the skills of other applicants. Focus on your own strengths, and if the interviewer hasn’t given you an opportunity to mention that one “slam dunk” quality about yourself, now would be the time.

Is there a wrong way to answer this question? Consider the responses below:

☛ “I really need a job right now”

☛ “I need the money”

☛ “Your office is really close to my house”

☛ “I’ve always been interested in what you guys do”

Such customers often demand an extremely low price for your products or services. A price which is possibly impossible to sell at. In such scenarios, it's always helpful to do an ROI analysis with the customer. They might spend only 50% of what they're spending now, by going to a competitor, but with that additional cost, you're providing XYZ services / features that no one else can, a dedicated and highly motivated customer support team which thrives on customer satisfaction, the confidence and guarantee of your time tested and proven solution that is COMPLETE in all respects, and the confidence that you'd come to their rescue ANYTIME they need help.

This answer can also be customized based on the specific industry in question.

It's important to remember that you may not always be able to retain a customer in such circumstances. However, never engage in an aggressive standoff, or bad mouth your competition. Hold your ground and trust your product. This customer will come back if you genuinely provide a superior solution.

This can be a great way to stand out from other applicants and demonstrate initiative. Almost every company will have a website, Facebook page, Instagram account, or some sort of digital footprint. Spend a bit of time doing some online research:

☛ If they have a website, check out their “About us” or “Culture/Mission/Vision” pages.

☛ Who are some of the principal people who work there? Who are the founders?

☛ What sorts of things does this company care about? Do they donate to a particular cause or charity? Which one(s)?

☛ What are their core values? Which of their core values resonate with you?

☛ Has the company been in the news recently or have they won any awards (Social Media can be a great place to find this information).

Another tricky one. The purpose of this question is to see how you view and evaluate yourself.

One the one hand, if you suggest you don’t have any weaknesses, your interviewer will almost certainly see you as a lair, egotistical, or both.

Don’t fall into the trap of trying to present a positive skill in disguise as a weakness, like “I work too hard” or “I am a perfectionist”. Any experienced interviewer will see through this in a heartbeat.

Additionally, revealing that “I’m not really a morning person and have been known to come in late” raises immediate and obvious red flags.

The trick here is to respond realistically by mentioning a small, work related weakness and what you are doing or have done to overcome it.