Introduction
Your call center is the backbone of your organization. Call centers play a vital role, providing a direct communication channel between your companies and customers.
Considering how customer expectations are growing exponentially daily, the type of service you give them greatly determines your conversion and retention rates. In fact, according to a Zendesk survey, 59 percent of customers will abandon a brand after a poor experience with its customer service.
An organized call center knowledge base empowers support agents to respond promptly to customers' issues and boosts performance and efficiency. Read on for a step-by-step guide for building an effective call center knowledge base.
TL;DR: Call center knowledge base
- A call center knowledge base is a centralized repository of information that helps call center agents resolve customer issues quickly and efficiently.
- It can provide answers to frequently asked questions, troubleshooting guides, and product information.
- Benefits of a call center knowledge base include improved first call resolution, reduced call handling time, increased customer satisfaction, faster agent training, empowered customer self-service, and reduced costs.
- Call center knowledge base software is designed to create, manage, and organize the information call center agents need to handle customer inquiries effectively.
- When researching knowledge base software, look for key features such as content creation and management tools, organization, search functionality, analytics and reporting, collaboration and workflow, integration with other call center software, multilingual support, and a self-service portal.
- To create a call center knowledge base, follow these steps: Define the scope and purpose, gather and organize content, create and edit content, implement and maintain the knowledge base.
What is a call center knowledge base?
A call center knowledge base is a centralized repository of information that helps call center agents resolve customer issues quickly and efficiently.
It is a valuable resource for both agents and customers, as it can provide answers to frequently asked questions, troubleshooting guides, and product information.
Benefits of a call center knowledge base
A call center knowledge base provides agents with the information they need to resolve customer issues quickly and efficiently.
Here are a few of the benefits of a call center knowledge base:
1. Improved first call resolution (FCR)
By having access to a comprehensive knowledge base, call service agents can often resolve customer issues on the first call, without having to escalate the issue to a supervisor or transferring irate customers to another department.
2. Reduced call handling time (AHT)
A knowledge base can help agents quickly find the information they need to resolve customer issues, which can reduce the amount of time spent on each call.
3. Increased customer satisfaction
Customers who can get their issues resolved quickly and efficiently are more likely to be satisfied with their experience.
4. Faster agent training
A well-organized knowledge base can be a valuable training tool for training inexperienced agents. By providing the information they need to answer common customer inquiries and resolve issues, you can dramatically increase a new agent’s time to productivity.
5. Empowered customer self-service
A well-structured knowledge base can serve as a self-service portal for customers, allowing them to find answers to common questions, troubleshoot issues, and access product information on their own. This can significantly reduce the call volume reaching call centers, freeing up agents to handle more complex inquiries.
6. Reduced costs
A comprehensive knowledge base is a valuable training tool for onboarding new agents, providing them training & performance support. This can significantly reduce the time and resources required for formal training programs.
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What is call center knowledge base software?
Call center knowledge base software is a specialized tool designed to create, manage, and organize the vast amount of information that call center agents need to effectively handle customer inquiries.
It serves as a centralized repository of knowledge, providing agents with easy access to frequently asked questions (FAQs), troubleshooting guides, product information, policy and procedure documentation, and best practices.
Best call center knowledge base software
Here is a list of 6 best knowledge base software that you can use to create a knowledge base for your organization.
1. Scribe
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Scribe is an AI-powered process documentation knowledge-sharing tool that helps you automatically generate easy-to-read call center documentation.
Scribe converts any online workflow into user-friendly, step-by-step actionable knowledge you can easily distribute or embed on your website and other knowledge base platforms—within seconds!
Scribe's key features:
- Capture any process on your browser or desktop with one click.
- Scribe automatically creates step-by-step guides, complete with text and screenshots.
- Redact sensitive information so it doesn’t show up in screenshots (Scribe Pro).
- Auto-generate text and titles with GPT-4 AI—or ask it to write your documentation for you.
- Easily add tips and tricks, add and update steps, and annotate screenshots (Scribe Pro).
- Combine multiple guides with text, video, images, and GIFs with Scribe Pages.
- Share guides with a single click or embed them into your knowledge base; Scribe works with thousands of tools like SharePoint, Notion, Confluence, and more.
- Quick export to PDF, HTML or Markdown.
- See who views and completes your Scribes with document insights.
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2. Zendesk
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Zendesk offers a knowledge base solution with offers a wide range of features to businesses of all sizes.
It's easy to use, has a powerful search engine, and can be customized to match the branding of your website or online help center.
3. HelpScout
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HelpScout is another popular knowledge base solution that's known for its user-friendly interface and powerful search capabilities.
It also integrates with other HelpScout products, such as HelpScout CRM and HelpScout Beacon, which can provide additional context and information for your customer support team.
4. Document360
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Document360 is a cloud-based knowledge base solution that is designed for businesses that need a secure and scalable solution. It offers a wide range of features, including a drag-and-drop editor, version control, and permissions management.
5. Guru
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Guru is a knowledge base solution designed for businesses that want to create a collaborative knowledge base that's easily accessible to all of their employees. Guru's features include a secure enterprise search, an intranet, a wiki, a real-time chat function, and a mobile app.
6. Shelf
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Shelf is an AI knowledge base solution designed for businesses that want a simple and easy-to-use solution that can be set up quickly and easily. It offers features such as a drag-and-drop editor, a WYSIWYG editor, and a search engine.
Call center knowledge base software features
When researching call center knowledge base software, look for these key features:
- Content creation and management tools for creating and editing knowledge base articles, including rich text formatting, media embedding, and version control.
- Organization: Logical hierarchies and categorization that make your knowledge base easy to navigate and search.
- Search functionality that enables agents to quickly find relevant information using keywords, filters, and natural language queries.
- Analytics and reporting to track usage, identify popular articles and measure the impact on call resolution and customer satisfaction.
- Collaboration and workflow: Features to facilitate collaboration between knowledge base authors, subject matter experts and call center agents.
- Integration with other call center software, such as CRM systems and ticketing systems, to provide context-aware knowledge suggestions.
- Multilingual support: Support for multiple languages to cater to a global customer base.
- A self-service portal that provides a public-facing version of the knowledge base, allowing customers to find answers to common questions without having to contact the call center.
How to create a call center knowledge base
Here is a step-by-step guide to creating a call center knowledge base:
Step 1: Define the scope and purpose
First, determine your goals for the knowledge base:
- What do you want to achieve with this knowledge base?
- Do you want to improve first call resolution (FCR), reduce call handling time (AHT), or increase customer satisfaction?
Then, identify your target audience so you can tailor the structure and content. Who will be using the knowledge base? Call center agents, customers, or both?
Next, outline the scope of the knowledge base. What topics will be covered? Decide on the types of content to include, like:
- Product information.
- Troubleshooting guides.
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
- Policy and procedure documentation.
Step 2: Gather and organize content
Collect your existing documentation, FAQs, and training materials. You can use them as a starting point for the knowledge base.
Identify knowledge gaps by thoroughly analyzing call center data and customer feedback. Identify common customer issues and areas where information is lacking.
Organize your knowledge base into clear and well-defined categories to make it easy for users to find the information they need.
Then, prioritize content that addresses the most frequently asked questions and the most common customer issues.
Step 3: Create and edit content
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When you're ready to create content, determine the format and decide whether to use a combination of text, images, videos, or other multimedia formats.
Follow these best practices when creating knowledge base articles:
- Write clear and concise content: Use plain language and avoid jargon or technical terms that may not be understood by all users.
- Provide step-by-step instructions: When providing troubleshooting guides or instructions, break down the process into clear and easy-to-follow steps.
- Include screenshots and visuals: Use screenshots, diagrams, and other visuals to illustrate concepts and make the content more engaging.
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Step 4: Implement and maintain the knowledge base
Import content into your knowledge base software and organize it into a user-friendly structure.
Test the knowledge base with call center agents to ensure that it is easy to use and that the information is accurate and helpful. Make any necessary updates and refine your content as needed.
Before launching, create a plan for maintaining the knowledge base, including updating content, adding new articles, and addressing any issues that arise.
Once you've launched your call center knowledge base, promote it! Let your call center agents and customers about the knowledge base. You may want to train your agents on the knowledge base or provide an internal section for agent onboarding.
FAQs
What is knowledge management in call centers?
Knowledge management in call centers involves capturing, organizing, and sharing information to improve customer service operations. Knowledge management empowers call center agents with information to deliver exceptional customer service.
- Create a centralized knowledge base with product details, troubleshooting guides, and frequently asked questions.
- Update and improve the knowledge base based on customer feedback and emerging trends.
- Implement effective search functionality to reduce search time and improve productivity.
What is a customer knowledge base?
A customer knowledge base is a centralized repository of information that provides customers with easy access to documentation, videos, and other resources to help them understand a product or service. Customer knowledge bases:
- Serve as a self-service tool for finding answers to questions quickly and efficiently.
- Reduce the need for customers to contact customer service agents for basic inquiries.
- Enhance customer service agents' skills and knowledge.
- Enable agents to provide more efficient and effective support.
- Improve overall customer satisfaction and reduce resolution times.
- Empower both customers and customer service agents by providing easy access to information and promoting self-service support.
What is a KB in a call center?
KB (or knowledge base) is a centralized repository of information in a call center.
- It contains articles, documents, and resources to support call center agents.
- Agents can access the KB during customer interactions to provide accurate responses.
- The KB includes product/service details, troubleshooting guides, FAQs, instructions, and best practices.
- It helps agents handle customer inquiries effectively and reduce escalations.
- The KB enhances agent productivity and improves customer satisfaction.
- It serves as a valuable resource for training new agents.
Wrapping up: call center knowledge bases
By providing a centralized repository of knowledge, empowering agents with the right information, and enabling customer self-service, businesses can achieve significant improvements in their call center performance.
Scribe is the easiest and most convenient way to create a call center knowledge base. All you have to do is record a process and it will automatically turn it into a step-by-step process guideline. Give it a try today and create an extensive knowledge base (before your competitor does!)
