A knowledge sharing platform implemented by organizations for the sole purpose of bringing improvement in their performance. There are several other benefits of establishing a knowledge-based organization but improving customer support is the most important one.
In today’s fast times of competitive businesses and digital trends, provision of perfect customer support and services is essential. Contemporary customers wish to be treated in an individual way. They like to be provided with everything which they think they deserve. Businesses need to keep this thing in mind before doing anything as well.
According to statistics, around 90 percent of organizations today are competing on a better customer experience. A knowledge sharing software makes this easy to achieve for the companies and organizations. However, not every knowledge management software is the best bet. Useful knowledge management software must have some unique and relevant features which are as follows:
Good Search Engine
A good search engine is one of the most significant features of any knowledge sharing platform. Such software must have a separate search engine similar to those provided by web browsers because they are quite large. Since they only get bigger over time, finding the right information can be difficult for the consumers and hence, a good search engine benefits them.
Research shows that 91% of people who use Google do not move past the first page of search results while 37% of people right away click on the very first result that they are presented with. Implementation of relevant keywords, tags, and a good search engine ensures that users of the knowledge base can conveniently search for whatever they are looking for.
Simplicity
A good knowledge sharing tool is as simple as it can be so that it is easy to access, set up and implement for the organization and customers both.
As mentioned before, a knowledge base must be updated regularly to keep the information stored there relevant and simple. Therefore, its operations must be simple so that information can be accessed without any complications whatsoever and without consuming much time. Knowledge sharing software that has a convenient interface and has the capability to add content from front-end with a simple text-editor makes a huge difference.
Conveniently Accessible for all
A good knowledge sharing platform (KSP) is never limiting. Every relevant person must be able to access it easily without any hassles. The biggest issue that companies faced in old times were that these software were optimized and built for certain browsers only. This caused a great amount of damage. Users used to try and access these software but could not find what they were looking for and hence, looked for information somewhere else.
The recent knowledge management software are specially designed so that they are optimized for all the users including desktop users, mobile phone users, tablet users and others with weak devices. A knowledge management software that does not have this feature and is still in use by companies shows that they do not care for their customers.
Comment Option
Every web industry is now moving towards data-driven design from aesthetic design. User insights now hold a grave importance for all companies.
There are several benefits of user insights. First, user insight through commenting allows for a better understanding of what users find useful in the KSP. Moreover, this insight from users can also be used to add the missing information that people need or the useless and irrelevant information that users do not find useful generally. Therefore, a knowledge sharing tool that has a feature of commenting for users is worth investing in by a knowledge-based organization.
A Question and Answer Section
The comment section allows for ample discussion regarding major issues by the users, however, a knowledge sharing tool that also has a section dedicated to question and answers is a better option.
In this section, direct answers can be provided to questions that are asked directly. It allows for engaging in a direct communication with the users. Users can also share answers to questions that they are already aware of and can offer significant information regarding different issues. The company itself can also help customers as it is a great method of communication. The administrators can closely review the users’ queries apart from sharing correct and prompt answers.
Conclusion
Knowledge management software are a great option for companies that want to stay ahead in their business. However, this software must have the above five features, otherwise, it is useless to invest in one.
There are several other features which are also essential for a knowledge sharing software, but these five must-have ones will make an organization’s online customer service a perfect experience for the users and will keep the customers engaged and happy.
Ehsan Memari is a blogger for BoostHQ. The leading knowledge sharing platform for organizations to share, centralize and discuss internal knowledge. Ehsan is a regular contributor to blog posts related to knowledge sharing, L&D, and eLearning. Follow him on Twitter @ehsanmemari.