When one thinks about the metrics that are top of mind to every VP of Customer Service - customer satisfaction, call deflection, agent productivity, and so forth - they are directly tied to the company’s Knowledge Base. Most companies have lots of knowledge about their products and services; the problem is it is often is in disparate systems, in an employee’s head, or scribbled on a Post-It note. The result is both service agents and customers waste time trying to figure out which is the source of truth.

Your Knowledge Base is a tool to be leveraged directly by both your internal agents and external customers. Below are several key components to consider when building a Knowledge centric service organization:

Enable Your Customers to Help Themselves: Your customers can utilize the same Knowledge articles as your agents - without making an expensive phone call to your company. Publish articles to your website and social networks to deflect inbound inquiries.

Index Articles on Search Engines: Often times, consumers turn to Google before your website when they have a question. Make sure your Knowledge articles turn up in your customers searches about your products.

Easy Case Creation: If the answer isn’t easy to find, allow your customers to leave feedback or create a case directly from the article that routes right to a service agent.

Involve Your Agents in the Process: Allow agents to take ownership of the Knowledge Base by encouraging them to create and edit articles as they encounter new problems and questions. The articles can always be routed for management approval for quality control.  

The Consortium for Service Innovation has developed a KCS (Knowledge Centered Support) Verification program for knowledge management vendors, which has become one of the most respected --- in the industry. Their guidelines encompass many of the recommendations above.

If you’re curious to learn more about the Service Cloud’s KB offering and hear customer Rosetta Stone’s story, be sure to join our webinar on Thursday, May 30th. Register here