Tell me about a time you anticipated the needs of a customer.

The question seeks to know how you were proactive in your previous roles in identifying a customer's needs and delivering a solution even before they were aware of the need themselves. The interviewer wants to gauge your initiative, foresight, problem-solving skills, and how customer-focused you are.

To answer this question effectively, recall a specific instance where you took an extra step to understand and act on a customer’s needs in advance. This illustrates initiative and foresight on your part and commitment to excellent customer service.

Ideally, your response should be structured in a way that explains:

1. The situation: Briefly describe the context or background of the situation.
2. Your anticipation: Describe how you were able to identify what the customer might require.
3. The action: Discuss the specific actions you took to address the anticipated needs.
4. Result: Finally, describe the positive outcomes that resulted from your actions.

In my previous role as an Account Manager at an Advertising firm, I was tasked with managing a new client who had previously expressed dissatisfaction with our company. Instead of waiting for the client to voice out his concerns during our first meeting, I proactively researched his account, past complaints, and the strategies that had been used for them. I discovered that the strategies implemented were not aligning with the client's target market. As such, I developed a new, detailed proposal that specifically targeted the areas in which I anticipated the client would be most interested. When I presented my findings and proposal during our meeting, the client was visibly pleased with my initiative and thoroughness. As a result, not only did we retain the client but also, he increased his advertising spend by 40%, significantly boosting the company revenue.

In my previous role as a Customer Service Representative for an online retailer, I was assisting a customer who wanted to return a garment because it didn't fit their child. Given the scenario, I anticipated the customer might also have difficulties in estimating an appropriate size for future orders. So, after guiding them through the return process, I offered some actionable advice on how to correct sizing on our platform, and even went extra mile by sending an email with a detailed size guide for children's clothing. A week later, the customer left a positive review, mentioning my proactive help. She further went on to become a regular customer, which meant success in terms of customer retention and satisfaction.