Extract from the career profile "Service-Fachkraft für Dialogmarketing"

Summary of the tasks

Service specialists for dialogue marketing advice customers in service-, call- and contact-centres. They process orders, enquiries and complaints, service specialists for dialogue marketing primarily work in call centres that operate for various customers. Furthermore they can be work for major industry-, business- and service companies from all kinds of branches, mainly in their service- or customer centres or in other dialogue orientated organisational units.

Tasks and Activities

Communication and correspondence with clients in call centres or customer- and service- centres of larger industry-, trading- or service enterprises: service specialists for dialogue marketing sell products or services and process orders, inquiries or complaints. Within an outbound environment you will contact potential customers yourself. You will use IT-Systems, for instance write and send e-mails or conduct database maintenance.

Tasks and Activities in Detail

• To regain, maintain, and retain customers
• Correspondence and communication with customers with the assistance of information and communication systems (phone, fax, e-mail, specialized software, networks and services)
• Assist customers by phone, Internet chat or co-browsing, offer customised solutions for issues by different communication techniques
• Contact and inform potential customers (outbound-calls)
• Schedule appointments
• Process enquiries and orders (inbound-calls)
• Complaint management
• Presentation and sales of products and services
• Handle projects
• Documentation of results
• Consideration of specific key identification numbers and control variables for project controlling

They also execute following activities:

• Working with databases
• Data maintenance and
• Data storage
• Consideration of legal-, data protection- and safety regulations

More information please see (in German): http://infobub.arbeitsagentur.de/berufe/start?dest=profession&prof-id=35309

Kauffrau / Kaufmann für Dialogmarketing

Summary of Tasks

Process customer enquiries. Kauffrau / Kaufmann für Dialogmarketing plan and organise projects in service-, call and contact centres. You create / present service offerings and sell them. Handling of administrational tasks and the personnel administration is part of the job as well. Kauffrau / Kaufmann für Dialogmarketing work in call centres that are active for several clients at the same time, as well as in service- and customer- centres of industry-, commerce- and service enterprises of different economic sectors. Also possible are special organisation units for the dialogue with customers / citizens within institutions in the public sector.

An overview of the Apprenticeship

Kauffrau / Kaufmann für Dialogmarketing (Merchant for Dialogue Marketing) is an approved apprenticeship according to the Vocational Education Act (BBiG). This nationwide regulated 3 year education is being offered in the trade and industry and contains both theoretical parts at college as well as work practice.

Tasks and Activities (shortened form)

You will coordinate assignments for industry-, trade- or service enterprises that are carried out by service-, call and contact centres. For this purpose, merchants for dialogue marketing, design projects and campaigns. They coordinate the project management economically and are also responsible for the selection and training of required personnel. Furthermore they cooperate to develop services and close business contracts. In addition, they process enquiries, orders, and complaints and work in the sales- and marketing- department.  To regain, maintain, and retain customers are a part their responsibilities, too. They consult customers by phone, while chatting via the Internet or co-browsing and offer them customised solutions to problems.

Tasks and Activities in detail

Merchants for Dialogue marketing primarily have the following tasks:

• To regain, maintain and retain customers
• Correspondence and communication with customers with the assistance of information and communication systems (phone, fax, e-mail, specialized software, networks and services)
• Assist customers by phone, Internet chat or co-browsing, offer customised solutions for issues by different communication techniques
• Schedule appointments
• Process enquiries and orders (inbound-calls)
• Complaint management
• Customer database maintenance
• Presentation and sales of products and services
• Handle administrative tasks
• Carry out cost- and activity-controlling
• Perform controlling: determine sector specific key identification numbers with the assistance of operational planning- and controlling- instruments, analyse statistics
• Project management operational controlling
• Costings of offers
• Planning and execution of recruiting-, introduction- and employment of staff
• Applicant sifting and pre selection
• Teambuilding
• Introduction of new employees
• Creation of shift plans for staff employment
• Organizing and executing training courses
• Handling sales and marketing tasks
• Market observation
• Comparison of services and assistance with the design and marketing of service offers
• Preparation of offers, close business contracts
• Assistance with the planning and execution of marketing tasks

They also execute following activities:

• Planning and implementation of quality assurance measures, for instance improvement of processes

Further information:
http://infobub.arbeitsagentur.de/berufe/resultList.do?searchString=K&resultListItemsValues=35311_35310&suchweg=alpha&doNext=forwardToResultShort

Fachinformatiker/in für Anwendungsentwicklung

IT-Specialists with a focus on Application Development conduct these tasks:

• Development of complex software solutions for customers in the whole area of current information and telecommunication technologies in technical, mathematical- scientifical or commercial application emphasis, up to multimedia applications and expert systems
• Creation and development of customised application software (individual software) and thereby adjusting, extending and integrating existing software solutions, including standard software
• Manage projects for development of customised application solutions, with regards to commercial, technical and organisational aspects in the respective employment fields (technical, mathematical- scientifical, commercial, expert- or multimedia systems), including the quality management
• Analyse operational processes and general conditions on the customer’s site or at the respective application department
• Design and propose required software solutions
• Create, develop, maintain, modify and customize programs
• Selection and application of methods of software engineering as well as modern software development tools in a professional and adequate way
• Realisation, testing and documentation of customized application solutions
• Fix errors through expert- and diagnostic systems
• Modification of existing application solutions
• Development of user-friendly and ergonomic user interfaces
• Presentation of customised user solutions, installation and introduction of customised applications
• Preparation of technical documentation in an user friendly way
• Consult, train and supervise users, internal and external customers in a professional manner
• Apply methods of system engineering, -implementation and -controlling, including quality management
• Observation of the market for IT-Technologies and -systems, hard- and software products