A Guide to Using Microsoft Software as a Knowledge Base
A knowledge base is a mine of useful information for your customers, but did you know how useful it can be for your own team members? Here’s a way to enable your internal customers to self-serve and complete the tasks they need to, using technology and software you already have.
- What is a knowledge base?
- Key benefits of having a knowledge base
- How do I build a knowledge base?
- Common knowledge base tools & software
- Microsoft SharePoint as a knowledge base
- How do I build an internal knowledge base
- Knowledge base best practises
What is a knowledge base?
A knowledge base is a library of information about your company, product or service and the questions or issues people might ask about it. A knowledge base allows people to find answers and solve problems on their own so it's an essential part of good customer service, whether your customers are members of the public or internal customers – i.e.; your colleagues.
The best knowledge bases typically include frequently asked questions (FAQs), a user forum, articles, whitepapers, how-to articles, video tutorials, case studies and glossaries.
A knowledge base allows you to create self-service content around recurring questions, issues and themes. It’s important to note that the point of a knowledge base is to help users complete a task or solve a problem. The knowledge in your knowledge base needs to be actionable.
An organisation with a call-center or a team of customer service representatives will undoubtedly use a knowledge base to ensure that each customer receives the same information and as an easily navigable database for a wide range of queries. The use case for a knowledge base within a company or B2B environment is perhaps less obvious, but extremely beneficial – and the focus of this blog.
