Customer experience
Anna Gorina
27 March 2024
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In times when information flows rapidly and trends change constantly, knowledge serves as one of the most important competitive differentiators in your company’s performance. From databases to documents and records of previous customer experiences, knowledge management turns any essential information into assets, which the company and its workforce can shape their performance upon.
Knowledge management tools are systems that allow companies to store and share the company’s knowledge both internally and externally. Different techniques focus on different knowledge types, organisations’ strong points and areas of expertise. Some work on inner employee collaboration and support, others track customer behaviour and improve issue resolution. Above all, knowledge management facilitates smooth information flow in all areas of the company, making it the perfect operational model for an ever-changing reality of business and challenges the workforce faces.
There are two main types of knowledge management systems. The first, called Enterprise-wide Knowledge Systems, include all the processes designed for efficiently gathering, storing and sharing knowledge of your business for optimal operation flow. Second, Knowledge Work Systems, aim to discover new information within the organisation that could potentially enhance its current practices. Both systems allow for a much more productive and efficient development of your company and its workforce.
Implementing knowledge management can bring many benefits to your business in all its areas – it thus comes as no surprise that 75% of organisations state that using such software has positively impacted their business and its efficacy.
Through applying the right knowledge management solutions, you can ensure your team can reach the company’s knowledge at any time. This also helps to avoid any information gaps within your workforce, increase their capability and reduce reliance on multiple sources to resolve issues. Taking use of the company’s knowledge to answer most occurring questions and solve most common issues ensures the customer experience is more efficient and potential errors are reduced. Employees have access to the right information at the right moment, which allows for saving time and effort of both the customer and the agent.
Additionally, regular evaluation of the company’s practices and updated industry expertise shows commitment to continuous improvement and strive to reach both the highest customer service value and excellent customer satisfaction. When the customer is presented with well-informed and proactive support staff, they are much more willing to put their trust in the company and refer potential new customers in the future.
Businesses using knowledge management software create not only an all-round smarter, but also a much more proactive and productive workforce. Providing workers with access to the company’s expertise developed through past experiences promotes critical thinking, helping them become more knowledgeable and experienced. The employees have to analyse past issue resolution practices presented to them and evaluate which solution would work best in their current situation.
Apart from the existing workforce, implementing knowledge management techniques is also beneficial for future employee formation. Storing and sharing archived knowledge, such as records of file processing, previous customer interactions, and customer support scores, with new employees is a very efficient way to leverage existing resources for training purposes.
A knowledge management software chosen precisely with your company in mind ensures effective storage and distribution of your business knowledge, thus leading to a smooth and efficient flow of everyday operations. Here are some of the most effective knowledge management techniques you should consider when choosing a software best suited for your business.
Knowledge bases are knowledge management solutions designed to effectively store all the information, documents and data within the business, to always keep the company’s knowledge organised and within reach of the support team. An efficient knowledge base simplifies data access and stores information so that any employee can have quick access to anything they need at any given time. It is essential it includes descriptions of regularly conducted procedures, detailed analysis of past use cases, and answers to frequently asked questions. Internal knowledge base maintenance is of utmost importance to ensure the information is always relevant to the most common issues customers face.
A knowledge map serves as a hub for finding professionals and specialists from any area of expertise. Whether your employees want to brush up their understanding of a particular customer issue or need to seek a second opinion before they evaluate the most relevant and effective customer support, knowledge maps are an efficient way to find the best quality information in real time.
A place of storage of all the best ideas for potential practices that could be implemented in your business. This knowledge management technique not only improves knowledge organisation and monitoring, but also increases employee engagement and proactive performance, giving them an opportunity to pitch ideas for business improvement that could later on be developed. The ideas are collected over time and can come from employees from all areas of the company.
Communities of practice can include online forums or interactive chats where employees with communal goals can share the knowledge gained so far within their professional practice. Discussions about their past experiences, exchanges of useful tips, help with giving second opinions on the matters discussed – this not only makes it easier for the employees to find answers to questions swiftly and expand their knowledge about the industry, but also builds a sense of community and mutual support. The workforce cultivates their up-to-date business knowledge, while cherishing people’s experiences and achievements. Using this knowledge management technique is quicker, more user-friendly, and more efficient than discussing matters by email or in meetings.
Aimed to enhance the company’s productivity and the quality of its practice, LMS is a place where businesses can manage all educational resources needed to keep their employees in the loop of the newest regulations within the industry and most recently occurring customer issues. LMS stores all the resources employees need to keep learning about the company and evolve in their professional practice – be it online courses, training modules, or learning hubs.
A solution focused on content management, CRM monitors all customer experience data, making it smooth and easy to take on resolute initiatives for improved customer prospects within all teams involved, whether it’s marketing, sales, or customer support. Ensuring customer data is visibly stored and widely accessible for all will further alleviate the customer service delivery and keep the business performance of the highest quality.
Effective knowledge management can improve your business’ performance in all its areas, be that multilateral information flow, internal communication, employee expertise, or customer experience satisfaction. By leveraging existing data and accommodating it to the ever-evolving business standards, your organisation can successfully retain its expert knowledge and achieve long term success on the market. After all, the knowledge your business holds and the way your employees manage it defines how your business operates.
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