Once in a while a product comes along that is just so effective, even a basic explanation of what it can do ends up sounding like an infomercial. For instance:
“Want to increase customer engagement? Improve customer experience? Increase conversions? How about reduce the rage aimed at your customer service reps? Then your organization needs a knowledge base software, one of the most essential solutions on the market.”
However, unlike a self-coiling hose that promises to never snag and definitely snags by the third time it’s put away in a shed, knowledge based software delivers on all customer engagement and experience promises and then some.
What it’s all about.
Knowledge based software is a solution that creates a centralized, organization-wide base of, well, knowledge. A knowledge base software, a good one that is, will gather up all of your content, FAQs, customer queries and every other question entered into the system as well as the relevant answers to build its own ever-expanding knowledge base using artificial intelligence. It can then serve up requested information instantly to customers over a variety of communication channels as well as provide instant answers to customer service reps, enabling a faster and more satisfying customer experience.
Not only is knowledge based software an efficient dispensary of nearly all a business’s information, it also uses a range of analytical tools to provide an organization with insights that enable immediate, dynamic action when it comes to things like information quality, sales funnels and marketing campaigns.
That’s what knowledge based software does in general, but here’s what it can do for organizations looking to attract customers and keep them by building brand loyalty through an optimal customer experience.
1. What you want to do: increase engagement by speaking directly to each customer.
When potential customers land on a company’s website or social media, they buckle down for the search – hunting around for information relevant to their specific needs and wants. This can mean jumping from social media to website, from menu to menu, scrolling through products, trying to figure out shipping costs to their location, and other tasks generally filed under ‘irritating things.’
How knowledge based software gets it done: When selecting a knowledge base software, get one that integrates with your customer relationship management software. This will allow for answers that are automatically personalized based on geolocation, language and past purchases and interactions. Hello cross-selling and upselling, and hello to a happier customer that has to expend less effort to find what he or she might be looking for. As digital customer service solution provider Nanorep points out in their guide to the customer engagement benefits of internal knowledge base software, 94% of customers that have a low-effort experience while be repeat purchasers from that company.
2. What you want to do: improve the customer experience by making information easily available.
Your customers are busy and their time cannot be wasted, especially not by content that sort of answers their questions, but not really, or by a fruitless search for an essential piece of information that does not seem to exist. When customers can’t locate what they want, they’ll go looking for a competing company, and that is something they will definitely find.
How knowledge based software gets it done: As touched on above, knowledge base software isn’t just a big efficient encyclopedia of your company’s knowledge – it also provides actionable insights. By gathering instant feedback from your customers on the answers provided for their questions, a knowledge base software identifies knowledge gaps or information that just isn’t good enough, allowing your company to take corrective action as quickly as you’d like.
3. What you want to do: increase conversions without demanding more from sales and marketing,
With all the competition for sales and conversions, one simple fact can get lost: customers are very often ready to give you money. If a customer is checking to see if a hotel is pet-friendly or a rice flour is certified gluten-free, for example, that customer could be very close to pulling the trigger if they get the answer they’re looking for. So why not get them from answer to action faster?
How knowledge based software gets it done: A knowledge base solution developed with machine learning will integrate relevant calls-to-action within the answers being provided by the knowledge base. “Yes, we are pleased to offer pet-friendly rooms for your four-legged family members. Click here to make a reservation.” This effectively eliminates the steps that give people time to hem, haw and keep on browsing and gets them right to converting.
What you want to do: give your customers and customer service reps an easier support experience.
Even customers who have all the understanding in the world for what customer service employees go through on a daily basis would have to admit it’s blood-boiling to explain an issue to an agent only to be told the issue will have to be escalated…to a brand new agent with zero knowledge of the situation. Oh look, it’s square one again.
How knowledge based software gets it done: They’re called personalized escalation paths, and they are here to solve so many problems. These paths can be defined within the knowledge base software to automatically route specific customer support issues to the agents with the skill sets and permissions necessary to resolve those issues. Bonus: information on the issue will be recorded during the initial customer contact and made available to the agent to whom it is routed, eliminating the need for a customer to re-explain themselves. These escalation paths cut down on customer frustration (and cut down on the terse words agents may receive) while also hacking away at wait times. A more pleasant experience all-over.
Great expectations.
As much as explaining knowledge based software can come off like a lofty infomercial script, there is a stark difference between this software and most if not all infomercial products, which is that it actually works. Customers now are more demanding than ever, and if you don’t meet their expectations, they can find a company that will with the tap of their fingertips, so put a knowledge base software to work, and meet and exceed those expectations.
