Company websites need to tick many of the right boxes to keep visitors coming back for more. Most importantly, they need to be engaging and informative. Being informative doesn’t simply mean providing a strong landing page and product pages to tell people about your brand. You can go even deeper with a detailed knowledge base that compiles vital information and presents it in an efficient and accessible way. Furthermore, with the right knowledge base software, you can provide similar online tools for your employees.
Creating An Internal Knowledge Base
The first type of knowledge base that companies can use is an internal knowledge base. What this means is that it is an internal service for those within the company, not anyone outside of the organization. The idea is that company employees and department leaders can access everything they need to know through these knowledge systems. They should be informative enough to provide detailed information without having to go elsewhere. They should also be user-friendly and accessible enough that anyone with access can use them appropriately. What you choose to add to your internal knowledge base is up to you. Still, the broader it is, the better. You can consider adding the following to make things easier for your team.
This is a great hub for vital company information that you don’t want to get misinterpreted or misquoted. Rather than rehash information in person and try to send out documents as attachments, you can direct workers to the appropriate part of your knowledge base. For example, they can come here to learn the finer details of company policies and guidelines instead of going to upper management or HR. When they access this internal base, they all access the same files, so they get the same information. It’s more secure and consistent. The only issue comes in making sure the knowledge base is fully up-to-date. Any changes in ethical guidelines, legal implications, and other rules must be adjusted as needed.
This knowledge base is also the ideal place to store all your important technical information and manuals. These could be important guides on how to deal with vital pieces of software or other forms of employee training. Again, having this important document in one accessible place keeps every worker on the same page with no discrepancies in their training.
Creating External Knowledge Bases
Then, there are the external solutions. These external knowledge bases are also called customer-facing knowledge bases for good reason. These are the informational tools designed to empower consumers and help them make better choices. As with the employee-facing solutions, this can help cut out the middleperson when finding information. Rather than contact someone in customer support to get answers to questions, they can look up the answers themselves online. Now, the extent of this and the quality of the information depends on the tools you’ve created. If you don’t have effective versions of the features mentioned here, you need to invest in some high-end knowledge base software.
Many customers will want to read up on a brand before committing to a purchase. This gives them a better idea of how the company’s approaches and ethics align with their own. For example, if you have a brand that claims to be 100% natural and vegan, buyers will want proof of that before buying anything. One way they’ll do this is through the company’s FAQ page. You should have one of these to provide short and accurate answers to common queries. This could be anything from the origin of ingredients to the returns policy. Customers will also hope to get all the information they need from product listings. Going back to that idea of natural and vegan products, this should be obvious from the drop-down list of ingredients for every single item you have. If the information isn’t there, they might think you have something to hide.
Beyond that, you can also enhance your external knowledge base with further information about a product or service. Again, the more they can learn here on your company website, the lower the chance of them bothering support teams with emails and DMs on social media. One example of this is to include manuals or user guides for products. This could be anything from a popular kitchen appliance to a new piece of software. If it’s something buyers may struggle to use at first, provide the tools to help them figure it out. In addition to the basic manuals for each item, it can also help to provide troubleshooting guides. Products may develop common flaws that aren’t your fault. Be open about this and provide solutions online.
Creating Knowledge Bases With AI
With so many different aspects of the knowledge base to consider and so many upgrades along the way, it is far too much for companies to take on by themselves. That’s why so many companies now turn to smart software to create these databases and accessible pages for them. The right programs can compile every piece of important information into one relevant file and make it easy for users to find. For example, smart AI systehttps://digitalexcellenceawards.com/blog/common-crm-problems-and-their-solutionsms can generate answers to FAQs and help consumers learn more.
Additionally, this smart software makes it easier for users to get everything they need at the right time, without dealing with a real human. Once employees are automatically assigned access to the knowledge base, they can find information in their own time. This gives them a greater sense of control over their personal development and learning, as they aren’t always turning to superiors. At the same time, companies retain control over the quality and location of the content to provide high-end training to everyone.
So, the next step for any company keen to improve its knowledge base is to find the right software from a supportive tech team. Look for companies with the knowledge and experience to build user-friendly AI solutions and get your website ready for all kinds of users. It will take some work and maintenance to get the best out of this knowledge base, but it’s worth it to improve the user experience for customers and employees.
