{"id":54504,"date":"2023-10-18T06:00:34","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T06:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hyken.com\/?p=54504"},"modified":"2023-12-18T15:51:33","modified_gmt":"2023-12-18T15:51:33","slug":"curiosity-makes-better-cx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hyken.com\/customer-service-strategies\/curiosity-makes-better-cx\/","title":{"rendered":"Curiosity Makes a Better CX"},"content":{"rendered":"\"customer\u201cCuriosity killed the cat.\u201d According to <\/span>Wikipedia<\/span><\/a>, this saying first appeared in a 1598 play, <\/span>Every Man in His Humour<\/span><\/i>, by English playwright Ben Johnson. The following year, Shakespeare used a similar quote in <\/span>Much Ado About Nothing<\/span><\/i>. The intent behind this saying is \u201cto warn of the dangers of unnecessary investigation. \u2026\u201d In other words, be careful pushing for more information. Knowing more is not always best.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThat may be the case for the cat, but it\u2019s not so in the world of customer service. A good customer service rep, salesperson, or anyone interacting with a customer should be curious. And that kind of curiosity shows up in the questions they ask.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nHere\u2019s another quote for you to ponder, and this one is from <\/span>Dan Sullivan<\/span><\/a>, founder of the Strategic Coach program. He says, \u201cIn a world where everyone is vying to be the most <\/span>interesting<\/span><\/i>, be the one who is most <\/span>interested<\/span><\/i>.\u201d In other words, be curious. Sullivan says to ask genuine questions, actively listen, and take the opportunity to get to know clients and customers anytime you have contact with them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe idea of curiosity in customer service is simple. Ask more questions. Once you understand what the customer is asking for or what the underlying issue is, ask more questions for the purpose of clarity and understanding.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nCertain types of questions are better than others. For example, open-ended questions allow you to gather more information. An example would be, \u201cCan you please tell me what was happening right before the problem began?\u201d\u202f A follow-up question such as, \u201cCan you elaborate on that?\u201d shows you\u2019re actively listening. You may even let the customer know you\u2019re taking notes. But be careful about asking too many \u201cclosed-ended questions.\u201d These are questions that require simple yes or no responses. You don\u2019t need to avoid them altogether, but too many yes\/no questions could make a customer feel like they are in a courtroom being cross-examined by an unfriendly attorney.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nYour goal is to grasp what the customer needs, and asking the right questions shows you are <\/span>interested <\/span><\/i>in helping the customer. It also demonstrates empathy, as the right questions show you are taking the time to understand the customer. And\u00a0the right questions build trust. They help make the customer feel as if they are valued and heard.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nCuriosity may have killed the cat, but it will give life to your customer relationships!<\/span>\r\n\r\n