Businesses must create a knowledge base that serves as a handy guide for the team and customers. Explore the how-to of crafting a knowledge base, where every article makes things smoother and customers happier.
Customer support and customer experience (CX) play a crucial role in driving business growth. Now modern customers expect prompt, personalized and efficient assistance as their experience greatly impacts their overall satisfaction.
Creating a knowledge base ensures the customer support team is equipped with all the critical information to address customer queries and concerns effectively. It not only empowers the support team but also enables the customers to find answers to their questions quickly and easily. More than 90% of customers are willing to try an online information base if it is accessible and matches their necessities.
If you want to learn how to create knowledge base from scratch or looking for ways to improve the existing one, we’ve got you covered. Let’s dive in!
A knowledge base can be defined as a centralized repository of information that provides a comprehensive and organized collection of knowledge on a particular subject or topic. It serves as a self-service resource for users to find answers to their questions and gain information on various topics.
The knowledge base framework serves as a go-to hub for both the support team and customers, offering a self-help avenue where users can find solutions independently. It is a valuable tool for streamlining support processes, ensuring a consistent and reliable source of information for everyone involved.
How it works for customer support automation:
Explore the key benefits to create knowledge base and how it can transform the way you approach challenges and opportunities in your organization.
1. Improve customer service experience: A knowledge base allows customers to find answers to common questions and issues on their own. It reduces the need for contacting customer support, leading to faster resolution times and improved customer satisfaction.
2. Scale customer service: The number of customer inquiries also increases as and when the business grows. Creating a knowledge base helps manage the growth by providing a self-service option that can handle a large volume of customer queries effectively.
3. Provide 24×7 self-service: Unlike a customer support team or agents, a kb platform is available round the clock. Customers can access it anytime, anywhere, and find the information they need instantly, even outside business hours. 67% of customers prefer self-service over speaking to a company representative.
4. Reduce customer support tickets: Managing a knowledge base can significantly reduce the number of repetitive inquiries and support tickets. It frees up valuable time for customer support agents to focus on areas that need their manual input or assistance.
5. Helps in employee onboarding: The benefits of an internal knowledge base platform are not only limited to customers but also to employees. It serves as a training resource, providing new hires with the necessary procedures to quickly get up to speed and contribute to the business.
6. Streamlines business processes: An organized and well-maintained knowledge base ensures that critical information is easily accessible to all employees. It streamlines internal processes, enhances productivity, and promotes collaboration across different departments.
Check out the essential elements you need to consider to build an effective knowledge base that empowers your organization and drives success.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plays a significant role in making the knowledge base template easily discoverable by users. 68% of online experiences begin with a search engine.
The knowledge base can be indexed and ranked higher in the search results by optimizing the content per the SEO guidelines.
A knowledge base should reflect the brand identity and be seamlessly integrated with the website or application. Customization options such as choosing a theme, adding company logos, and matching color schemes create a consistent brand experience for users. It helps reinforce brand recognition and credibility, resulting in a cohesive user experience.
Including a feedback rating system allows users to provide input on the usefulness and effectiveness of the knowledge base articles. Creating a knowledge base that includes a feedback feature ensures the business keeps getting clarity on the areas they lack and excel in. Positive feedback can also serve as testimonials to build trust among potential customers.
As the product or service evolves, so should the knowledge base. Version control ensures that outdated or incorrect information is not provided to users, avoiding confusion and frustration., Brands can accurately track changes, edits, and updates to ensure the knowledge base remains up-to-date.
Controlling access to the knowledge base is essential for both security and business. Different user roles and permissions can be assigned based on the level of information they require. It allows the company to segment the audience and provide tailored content to specific user groups. The sensitive information is only accessible to authorized individuals.
Understanding user behavior and interactions with the knowledge base is vital for continuous improvement. Analytics tools can provide valuable insights, such as which articles are frequently accessed, which ones are not helpful, and what keywords are commonly searched. Use the insights to optimize the knowledge base software for better user engagement.
If you’re committed to streamlining your information sharing and boosting productivity, here are nine essential steps to guide you on how to build knowledge base.
Before initiating the process of building a knowledge base, it’s critical to have a clear understanding of who the target audience is. Consider their demographics, needs, and preferences to tailor the knowledge base content. It will ensure that the information provided is relevant and valuable to your audience.
Having a deep understanding of the target audience helps to create content that addresses their pain points, provides solutions to their problems, and improves their overall customer experience. A well-defined target audience allows brands to target the content, making it more engaging and user-friendly.
Best Practices:
More than 70% of customers feel frustrated when website content is not personalized. Personalizing the design of the help center helps create a sense of familiarity and continuity for the customers. Businesses create a seamless transition from their website to the help center by incorporating the brand colors, logo and overall visual identity.
A personalized help center design allows businesses to showcase their brand’s personality and values. The brand is more than just a logo or color scheme; it is a representation of what the business is as a brand. The personal touch can go a long way in building strong customer relationships and promoting brand loyalty.
Best practices:
Access control management refers to the process of defining and enforcing access restrictions to protect sensitive data within the knowledge base. A knowledge base often contains highly confidential data. Implementing access controls ensures that only authorized individuals can access the information.
Access control also helps maintain the integrity of the knowledge base. Unauthorized users may modify or delete crucial data without proper controls, leading to inaccuracies. Companies can preserve the reliability and credibility of the knowledge base by enforcing access restrictions.
Best practices:
Once there’s a clear understanding of the target audience, it’s time to structure and organize your knowledge base effectively. Divide the information into categories, topics, or sections that make it easy for users to navigate and find what they are looking for. Consider using a logical and intuitive hierarchy or taxonomy system.
Creating a knowledge base that is well-organized boosts the user experience by enabling users to quickly find the information they need. It eliminates confusion and frustration, improving customer satisfaction.
Best Practices:
SEO-optimized articles help improve the visibility and ranking of the knowledge base in search engine results. When users search for relevant keywords, search engines like Google prioritize websites that are optimized for SEO. It leads to higher organic traffic and increased exposure.
Having high visibility in search engines will attract more visitors to the knowledge base, allowing the company to establish itself as a trusted source of information. Optimizing for SEO also improves the user experience by making articles more user-friendly, with clear headings, meta descriptions and relevant keywords.
Best practices:
Version control helps prevent errors by providing a systematic way to track and manage changes made to the knowledge base. It allows multiple contributors to work simultaneously while keeping track of their revisions, making it easier to identify and resolve conflicts.
Implementing version control also promotes collaboration among team members by facilitating communication and sharing of ideas. It provides a centralized platform where team members can contribute their expertise, review and maintain a unified vision of the knowledge base.
Best practices:
Organizations should first identify subject matter experts within their team or industry and assign them specific areas of expertise for contributing to the knowledge base. Subject matter experts (SMEs) possess deep knowledge and expertise in specific areas, which allows them to provide reliable information for the knowledge base.
Topic contributors bring diverse perspectives and insights to the knowledge base. They can offer different approaches and solutions to problems, which results in promoting innovation. Companies can manage a more comprehensive and well-rounded knowledge base by involving a wider group of contributors..
Best practices:
An effective knowledge base is not a one-time effort; it requires regular updates and maintenance to remain relevant. Continuously refining the content maintains its accuracy and keeps it in line with the evolving industry trends.
Regular maintenance prevents outdated or incorrect information from being accessed by users, avoiding confusion and potential frustrations. It also addresses emerging customer concerns, introduces new products or features, and incorporates best practices into the knowledge base.
Best Practices:
Measuring customer feedback helps brands identify gaps in their existing knowledge base. Regularly reviewing customer comments, queries and suggestions can highlight areas where information may be missing or unclear. Businesses can enhance the overall quality and completeness of their knowledge base, ensuring that customers can access the information they need.
Knowledge base analytics allows businesses to identify patterns and trends in customer inquiries. Its data can provide valuable insights into the most common issues or topics that customers are seeking assistance with. Brands can prioritize the creation of new content or update existing articles to address such FAQs.
Best practices:
Below are the various data types found in a knowledge base and how each contributes to improved user experiences and informed decision-making.
Knowledge base tools often contain detailed information about products or services offered by a company. It can include specifications, features, pricing, and usage guidelines.
An important component of a knowledge base is a collection of frequently asked questions and their corresponding answers. It helps users and the target audience to seek quick solutions to common issues.
Knowledge bases usually include step-by-step troubleshooting guides. The guides provide instructions to users on how to identify and resolve common problems or errors by creating a knowledge base.
Comprehensive guides that explain how to perform specific tasks or achieve certain goals are often included in a knowledge base. The guides are designed to make complex processes more understandable and manageable.
Knowledge bases may include video or written tutorials that provide detailed instructions on how to use a product or service. The tutorials help users navigate through different features or functionalities.
Companies use knowledge bases to communicate important updates, new features, or relevant announcements to their users. It ensures that users are always informed of the latest developments.
Let’s go through some of the best examples to inspire your knowledge base development and enhance your journey toward effective information management.
One of the prime examples of an exceptional software knowledge base is Zendesk’s Help Center. It offers an intuitive and user-friendly interface, allowing customers to quickly find relevant solutions.
The knowledge base is organized into different sections and includes a search function to ease navigation. Zendesk includes visuals such as screenshots and videos to provide step-by-step guidance, catering to users with different learning preferences.
Shopify’s Help Center stands out in the e-commerce industry due to its extensive range of articles and helpful resources.
The knowledge base covers a wide range of topics, including setting up an online store, managing products, marketing strategies, and payment options. Users can easily find the information they need with a well-categorized structure. Shopify includes rich media elements like images and GIFs to enhance the learning experience.
The knowledge base provided by Evernote is a notable example of mobile applications. Evernote’s knowledge base contains detailed guides and tutorials on how to use their mobile app effectively. They also provide instructional videos and interactive demos, allowing users to learn at their own pace. The knowledge base also focuses on troubleshooting common issues, ensuring a seamless user experience for mobile app users.
Airbnb’s knowledge base serves as an excellent reference for internet marketplace platforms. It covers various aspects of booking and hosting on the platform, addressing frequently asked questions, company policy, and guidelines. The articles are concise, well-structured, and accompanied by relevant visuals, making it easy for users to find the information they need. Airbnb allows users to leave feedback on articles, encouraging continuous improvement and addressing evolving user needs.
The knowledge base provided by PayPal showcases the effectiveness of handling complex financial concepts in a user-friendly manner. PayPal’s knowledge base includes articles on account setup, managing transactions, security, and buyer/seller protection. It incorporates a clear and concise writing style, making it easy for users to understand the content. PayPal also offers user forums and community support, providing a comprehensive solution for customer inquiries.
Creating a knowledge base has now become paramount for businesses to scale their customer support efficiently. When a business grows, the volume of customer inquiries increases which can make it challenging to maintain quality support without a centralized information repository.
A well-structured knowledge base empowers customers to find answers independently, reducing support ticket volume. The self-service approach allows support teams to focus on complex issues, improving overall efficiency. It serves as a valuable resource for training new support staff and maintaining consistency across customer interactions, which eventually contributes to business growth.
One should include articles that provide step-by-step instructions, troubleshooting guides, frequently asked questions, and any other information that can help users find answers to their questions or solutions to their problems. You can also add images, videos, or infographics to enhance the understanding of the content.
Engage with different stakeholders, such as customer support representatives, subject matter experts, and product managers to ensure your knowledge base is comprehensive. Conduct surveys or interviews with customers to gather feedback and identify knowledge gaps. Continuously expand the knowledge base with new topics or features based on evolving needs and trends.
Promote the use of your knowledge base by making it easily accessible through multiple channels, such as your website, mobile app, or customer support portal. Educate the customers and employees about the knowledge base’s benefits. Provide clear instructions on how to navigate and search for information. Regularly communicate updates to keep users engaged and encourage them to rely on the knowledge base for support.
Appoint dedicated administrators or content managers responsible for content creation, organization, and updates. Implement a review process to ensure the accuracy and relevance of the information provided. Regularly analyze user feedback, search queries and customer support tickets to identify areas that need improvement.
Measure the success of your knowledge base by tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) such as the number of self-service interactions, customer satisfaction ratings and user engagement metrics like views and clicks. Conduct surveys to gather insights on the usefulness and effectiveness of the knowledge base. Use the metrics to identify areas of improvement and make data-driven decisions to enhance the knowledge base’s performance.
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