A lot of startups and small-scale businesses are trying to mimic the success of multinational giants like Amazon, eBay and Alibaba by going the e-commerce way. However, what these first time businesses lack is access to resources that are needed to constantly chase growth to progress to the next level.
With a strategic approach, ecommerce businesses too can expand their relatively small operations by investing in smart knowledge management platforms. E-commerce is not only about selling products, you need to continuously keep learning as a business. A knowledge base tool can help in this exercise that you can use to get updated on a regular basis.
A number of internal e-commerce business processes can be improved with the implementation of knowledge management. External operations too can undergo a positive change as customers have access to superior content. This retains customer loyalty. On the other hand, by providing quick information, businesses can attract new customers too.
What is a Knowledge Base?
Simply put, a knowledge base is an online library of information about service, topics, products or departments or even plain information about a business. The library functions as a source of self-help for customers. All that customers need to do is to run a search for the question and look up the relevant category to access solutions to concerns that are actionable.
If you need help with designing the knowledge base for your e-commerce business, start by including the ins & outs of select topics that your customers need the most. Publish articles related to your terms & conditions, legal department, products, services, software and hardware operations. FAQs, troubleshooting guides etc.
The idea is to enable customers to self-serve. With a knowledge base in place, they will not have to be passed around between agents and will be able to find solutions to their issues by accessing the online library of content.
Enhancing E-commerce Business with a Knowledge Base Tool:
A smart knowledge base tool is all that you need to ensure that your e-commerce business has a competitive edge. The next step is to acquire know-how on how to create an effective one that will help in solving problems. This is where the role of a knowledge base software comes to the fore.
As a business, you may need some help authoring software to create an effective and efficient knowledge base. Take a look at how a smart tool can enhance your e-commerce business.
Capture and Reuse Knowledge:
By adapting a knowledge-centric approach with the assistance of a smart knowledge base, it simplifies processes such as customer support, employee training and employee on-boarding. All these processes are information intensive and require constant sharing of data by making use of online collaboration tools. business efficiency can be improved by capturing, reusing and updating the knowledge base with information like FAQs, important issues and topics, guidelines and company frameworks.
Address Relevant Issues with Teams:
Building a comprehensive knowledge base with online access allows businesses and by extension their employees to address customer concerns in a
more streamlined manner. Team members in an organization will speak the same language, thus minimizing confusions and missteps. This will eventually lead to a greater percentage of satisfied customers.
Higher Resolution Rates of Customer Tickets:
It does not hold any business in good stead when their customers are put on hold or are dodged with statements like ‘We will call you back’. A smart tool helps customer agents with the right answers available at their fingertips. However, if customers have additional queries, they can self-serve themselves by venturing into the right online communities to get help. This helps in easy and fast ticket resolutions.
Reduced Training Expenses:
A strong knowledge management program makes certain that all new employees receive updated information and guidance that is consistent across levels, translating to a better work environment. This also ensures that employees do not require multiple training sessions and keeps a check on costs.
Improves Overall Employee Productivity:
A research study by Mckinsey states that employees spend almost 20% of their valuable time searching for the right information. With a centralized information platform via a knowledge base, employees spent less time searching for information thus accomplishing more productive work during the same time span.
Inspires Collaboration and Intensifies Employee Engagement:
A knowledge base can act as a singular platform where the business can make all company information available to their employees. This transparency encourages a feeling of trust among employees as they appreciate the act of being kept in the loop. This makes them more engaged and invested in the business and overall organizational success.
Rounding Up
Selecting the right knowledge management software can be somewhat challenging. Fortunately, there are affordable platforms in the market that are ideal for startups and small scale e-commerce businesses. To build the best knowledge base solution for your e-commerce business, compare the services before you invest in anything in the short or long-term. Ensure that it has key features such as online document editor, branding and customization options, data security features, etc. to make the smart tool really efficient.
To take your e-commerce business to the next level, is it absolutely essential to have a streamlined knowledge base that caters to both your customers and service agents. It does not have to be a hard task to develop a kickass platform. Start today and save your customer care team from a pile load of support tickets.
About The Author:
Brayn Wills currently holds the position of knowledge management manager at ProProfs. He is responsible for creating unique and relevant content on knowledge base tools and keeping track of the latest developments in the realm of knowledge management. In his free time, he is either reading a new book or exploring offbeat destinations.