Simple yet effective: harness the power of the “Anything else” question
Simple yet effective: harness the power of the “Anything else” question
When it comes to delivering a positive conclusion to any customer service communication, the “Is there anything else I can help you with?” question is a valuable element of MGI Learning’s highly effective five-stage Wrap Up process. The key to making it relevant and successful lies in the sincerity and context within which it is used, and how naturally and effectively the sentiment of wanting to ensure maximum customer satisfaction is woven into the conversation. This will happen when your Customer Service teams are empowered with the necessary skills and resources to ask the question in a truly meaningful way, safe in the knowledge that they have the time and ability to follow through effectively on whatever the customer response may be.
Taking ownership and responsibility
Asking this simple question in a genuine and sincere way at the right point in the conversation adds masses of value, demonstrating ownership and responsibility while reminding others of any missing actions or items they might want to discuss. It’s an opportunity to reinforce our optimism and enthusiasm for finding solutions and ways forward and can show we are taking the time to really listen so that we understand the customer’s needs. It’s also reassuring for the customer to hear that we are making a real commitment to helping them and are committed to their satisfaction; that we really want to make a difference.
Make it relevant and sincere
Contrast this to a robotic and scripted response where the “Anything else?” question is squeezed in at the last moment for the sake of it, or even worse, when the customer is already saying goodbye, and it’s clear to see how important it is for your customer service people to be empowered with the skills and resources to deliver confidently on every element of their service, ensuring that every conversation and interaction is well rounded, sincere and truly beneficial for everyone involved.
Multiple benefits
Let’s take a closer look at the multiple purposes and benefits of asking the “Anything else?” question as an integral part of wrapping up your conversations.
1. To ensure the customer is completely satisfied, and to truly understand how the customer is feeling and whether there is anything else they might wish to include in the conversation. It may be something they feel is not quite relevant or important enough to warrant mentioning. It’s interesting to note that many doctors will tell you that it’s only when they ask if there’s anything else, the patient will tell them the real reason why they are there.
2. It can provide clarity – avoiding issues that may arise from being unclear in our communication at the end of a call or situation, leading to something having to be re-worked or re-done at additional time and expense. Confusion can also alienate and dissatisfy the customer or client. Asked in the right way, the question helps to drive engagement between us and the customer, and can promote better listening skills, collaboration and solution-focused attention, and making successful outcomes more likely.
3. It improves productivity – covering as much as possible in one call provides an opportunity for longer term productivity. Being seen to be respectful of the customer’s time and even helping them to make the most of their time is much more productive and efficient than another call back which might go through much of the same information, possibly with another customer service agent. It can also empower customers by helping them to understand a system or process so they will be better equipped to help themselves or solve their own problems in future, when relevant.
4. It’s a fantastic opportunity to personalise and build on customer relations. Train your people to have some fun with it and come up with their own versions so that they ask the question in the right way, sincerely and with relevance. Once again, being robotic and scripted will have the opposite effect … you need to think about prefacing it a bit, for example: “I really want to make sure you have everything you need from us today, and that you’re happy with the service we’re giving. Is there anything else I can help you with?”, “Have I covered everything and is it clear what happens next – have I given you what you needed today?” or “Is there anything else we need to cover? I’m around for the rest of the day up to 5.30pm so if you think of anything else, just let me know.” There are multiple ways of asking the question to suit the context and circumstance; overall it needs to clearly demonstrate you are truly listening and happy to take full responsibility and ownership of the situation.
The “Anything else” question is a valuable element of our highly effective, five-stage Wrap Up which ensures the customer’s questions have been completely answered to their full satisfaction, whatever the circumstances and regardless of whether there are further actions that need to be taken. The customer can walk away from the call feeling listened to, understood and valued – completely confident and reassured that their query or issue has been dealt with or solutions have been found that will resolve the situation swiftly and realistically.
How can we help?
Find out more about our customer services training and how we can empower your people with the skills and abilities to excel at outstanding customer service. If you would like to discuss options in more detail, please book a consultation with us, here.
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