Knowledge base – What is it and why do you need one?

People love easy solutions and quick access to information. However, a lot of companies have their valuable information scattered throughout different folders and files. A knowledge base gives them a chance to centralize it and improve customer relations.

What is a knowledge base?

A knowledge base is an online location where information about a company’s products or services is stored and shared. It helps simplify complicated data and information for customers or for internal use. It often guides people to a solution to questions they may have had.

There’s two separate ways the knowledge base benefits people, one is externally and the other internally. Externally, the knowledge base gives customers a place to learn important information about a business. It generally feeds them the most important data in one place or attempts to answer frequent questions.

An internal knowledge base, however, helps team members stay informed about company changes and information. It also gives them quick access to things they might need to share with coworkers or distribute to externals.

Example of a knowledge base

Imagine a shoe company created a website. Instead of expecting navigation to go smoothly, they envision there will be problems. To prevent these future navigational issues, they build a knowledge base on a page in the site. From here, customers can quickly find the category they desire.

For example, the knowledge base could include a variety of pictures that showcase different types of shoes. The first picture could be sneakers, the second dress shoes, etc. This saves the customer time and lets them navigate to the page they want immediately.

Why your business needs a knowledge base

Your company needs a knowledge base because a frequently asked questions section is quickly becoming obsolete. Most companies now have complex services that require a complex knowledge base rather than a short list of answers to questions.

By offering a knowledge base, you’re giving customers quick access to valuable information without having to walk them through their inquiry. This is important for a couple reasons. First, customers prefer a knowledge base where they can find information over having to talk to a support representative. Second, this solution frees up your support team from handling minor questions.

Internally, a knowledge base provides a foundation for consistency when team members are working with an external. By having a centralized storage of information available, everyone is able to provide the correct information to customers without ever giving different solutions to the same question.

A knowledge base is a necessity due to the growing demand of instant gratification. Customers want quick results – something a knowledge base provides. Construct yours accordingly.