Can a Knowledge Base application deliver what is claimed in the “brochures”?

• Ensure consistent answers to your customers?
• Enable customer-facing agents as if they were you’re “best agent”?
• Excellent return on investment?
• Ensure “knowledge” is used consistently?
• Increase front-line customer agent resolution?
• Achieve that “First call” customer resolution?

Know the answers?……NO……lets tear up the brochure and show you the real world of Knowledge Base.

Despite some excellent Knowledge Base application solutions out there it is much about the way in which you organise yourselves, your attitude towards your existing knowledge  and how you want to present this to your front-line customer agents.

Areas to concentrate on:

Project team members: Who are the right resource and why?

Target Technical Architecture: Vendor driven or Customer driven?

Define the Critical Success Factors: keep it simple, one eye on the business case.

Consider a “Pilot”: quick win proves the application and shows “your boss” some results for the effort expended.

Most of the Knowledge Base applications out there have functionality   that will enable agents with differing skill sets to consistently use and    come back again and again for the knowledge during a customer query/enquiry interaction.

But which approach suits? Decision Trees, Case based Reasoning or    Search?

Can existing knowledge contents or Intranets be used.

Can they run side by side?

What about “ look & feel”, navigation & training?

Whatever Vendor is chosen pay close attention to the ease of publishing & reporting.

Continuous improvement based on “actual usage and feedback”.

Knowledge Base isn’t a “magic wand” but it is a very useful and flexible tool to consistently provide the “single version of the truth” to your customers.

Support that with the right CRM system access and your front-line customer facing agents will not want it taken away……….unlike what they may say about the current “Intranet” content?

Enforce this with the “strategic” picture of linking Knowledge Base with such fundamental “building” blocks as CTI/ICR, CRM, Trouble-Ticketing,  Content  Management & Internet Suite (Web chat, eMail, VOIP).  

Throughout all this remember……….who gains most from a Knowledge Base? 

Your customers of course…

Call Bryan Gale on 07802 407 986 for a FULL copy of this report
”Effective Knowledge Base in a customer contact centre by experience....”