How does it increase satisfaction in customer service?
Even the best customer service team can’t answer every question immediately. Especially in companies where thousands of products are sold at changing prices or new items are put on the market on a daily basis, the challenge is particularly high for employees. What’s more, customers are quick to give the company’s service poor ratings if they are less than impressed with the responses they receive. How can a knowledge management system fix these problems?
At corporate service centers, knowledge is essential in order to provide correct, professional answers to customer inquiries. In addition to training in consultation and service communications, information on company service policies and prices is crucial. Knowledge management can play a key role in helping employees navigate the maze of questions that greets them every day. Time is always a key criterion for customer service — and this is exactly where knowledge management comes in. Workflows become considerably more efficient and customer satisfaction increases as well.
To ensure knowledge management software is able to enhance service efficiency, three properties are essential:
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First, the system must be able to provide answers to staff quickly. This is accomplished using what are known as decision trees, which guide the service reps through the steps to the correct answer. Structured knowledge is always available — it just has to be accessed. An outstanding search feature with filters further simplifies the process of locating knowledge.
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Second, a suitable editorial workflow is required for effective knowledge management. That means the available content is verified at regular intervals by experts and corrected as needed. This guarantees knowledge is up-to-date and can be relied upon by all users.
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The third indispensable quality of a knowledge management system is a connection to the existing service center and the corresponding applications. By combining the software of both systems, agents can access information from within the system they are working in. Knowledge is provided right where the employees can use it, for instance in the CRM application or support ticket system.
Rapid responses save time and money
Of course every company wants to keep the effort required to provide service at a minimum because providing service costs money. What is known as the customer effort score can be significantly decreased by using knowledge management. You save time and money with knowledge management software that gives your customer service representatives fast answers. For instance if a customer wants to know whether the pool at their dream summer vacation destination is suitable for a small child, a travel agent can provide the answer using a knowledge management app in no time at all. This type of prompt, professional response generates trust, and the vacation is quickly booked. In either case, the rapid reply not only increases customer satisfaction, it also has a long-term positive impact on the company’s image.
Increasing customer satisfaction
Ensuring the customer is satisfied is more important in the field of customer service that practically anywhere else. If you feel as though you have been properly advised and received correct answers, you are likely to recommend the company to others. Customer service representatives who know that they have access to important information at all times project a great deal of confidence. That helps keep customers coming back. What’s more, repeat sales are unlikely to call back with the exact same question again, because they’ve already gotten the answer the first time. That means less work for the company’s service team.
Efficiently cataloging customer issues
Knowledge management for service in today’s context means that information, once requested, is never lost. For instance if a customer of a mobile phone company asks which benefits a specific plan offers, this question and the answer can be added to the knowledge management system for future callers. Other employees also access this information when similar questions are placed instead of having to search for an answer.
The fact that the feedback from the customer service representative goes directly into the SABIO knowledge app means that they are helping to make processes more efficient and customers more satisfied. Often, other departments also profit from the stored information, for instance when this explicit knowledge can then be presented on the website, in apps, or in FAQs.
That’s not only a win for the company’s image, but it also saves money that would otherwise be spent on dealing with unhappy customers. With SABIO, customer service benefits from a structured pool of knowledge that is constantly kept up to date. Information is always available. New answers can be added, and the quality of service keeps increasing. It has never been easier to provide customer service employees with the knowledge they urgently need to perform what can be a tricky job — working with customers. Knowledge management makes it possible. Once your service staff gains the self-confidence to start making customers highly satisfied with their rapid responses, you’ll see just how efficient modern service can be.
How can knowledge management improve your customer service?
Find out yourself — take SABIO for a free, no-obligation test drive. Get more information, consultation, and access to a demo version at www.getsabio.com.