When in need of a quick answer, where do you usually turn? OK, maybe you have a crazy knowledgeable uncle or sibling savant. But if you’re like the rest of us, then Google is the answer- and for good reason. Google handles over 40,000 searches every second, and yours is no different.
Your customers are used to simple, passive Q&As when they have a problem. So even if you have a state of the art call center or live chat staff, you still might not be meeting your customers where they’re comfortable.
Consider this scenario:
Your customer, Casey, can’t figure out how to calibrate some software settings? Well, Casey could always send the company an email or quick live chat, but not Casey.
No, your customer is resourceful. So where does Casey go? Google, of course!
And promptly gets NOTHING.
So Casey cranks up the resourcefulness quotient and heads to a relevant forum. If lucky, Casey will find that the troublesome software has a large user-run website that loves to help strangers. When that fails, Casey searches Reddit for a solution, which is yet another crapshoot.
Maybe some guy had the same problem and a stranger resolved it- or even better, linked to a relevant YouTube channel that shows how to resolve the issue.
But today was not Casey’s day. So Casey sulks about, sighs, and writes an email to customer support.
It’s your job to prevent this from happening.
If you had a knowledge base, Casey would Google a question, and receive a knowledge base article as a first-page search result. Simple!
Don’t make it difficult for your customers to find a solution. For many tech users, asking Siri for directions is more personal interaction than they are comfortable with. What’s the solution, then?
Meet customers where they are comfortable. Build a knowledge base.
When people throw around the term “knowledge base,” dry “how-to” articles come to mind. These dry articles are important, but remember that a good knowledge base doesn’t just serve your company’s goals- it covers the details of every major and minor area that affects your customer.
Knowledge base mediums
The knowledge base should function as the first line of customer support- not an afterthought.
Consider what support mediums will benefit your customers most:
- Step-by-step written tutorials with pictures
- Technical guides
- Webinars (live or recorded)
- Videos
Knowledge Base Titles
Your knowledge base articles aren’t click-bait- they should have normal (boring even) sounding titles that contain easily searchable keywords.
What sounds more easily searchable?
“You’d never believe what IT pros said about this support tool feature!”
“How to set up live chat for multiple users”
Just look at the support center that Happy Fox runs. The titles are made for easy search. And easy is the key to customer happiness.
Organized Topics
With well-titled knowledge base pieces, organization is the last remaining usability factor. This is fairly straightforward:
- Archive articles based on topic
- Cross-archive articles for easier searchability
- Maintain a “most popular topics” section at the top of the homepage
The knowledge base is key!
Self-help is no longer optional- it’s here to stay. In a recent global survey, 40% of 3,000 consumers prefer self-service and 70% expect companies to include self-support functions. You can easily meet these expectations and delight the uninitiated with a simple searchable knowledge base. Get to it!
Now that you know how to create and optimize your knowledge base, start using HappyFox to manage all of your support – including your KB – to reduce the chaos and improve your processes. Schedule your 30-minute live demo with our product specialists to learn more.
