5 Ways Knowledge Sharing Tools Can Improve Customer Service

Customer service is one of the most discussed matters in the corporate world today. Over the past few decades, this terminology has increasingly appeared in a range of deliberations focused on business policy, customer experience and overall corporate management.

Year after year, new statistics are reported that identify the growing importance of customer service and experience for businesses. According to a report by Forrester, more than 70 percent of corporations claim that improving their customer service endeavors is their chief concern. After all, as NewVoiceMedia reported that companies can lose more than 60 billion dollars if their consumer services are not adequate.

Ways Knowledge Sharing Tools Can Enhance Customer Service

Knowledge sharing tools have gradually become an important part of the knowledge management strategies within companies. While majority of the organizations utilize dedicated knowledge sharing platforms for breaking down corporate silos and preventing information hoarding, these tools can also facilitate companies in improving their customer service practices.

Here are 5 ways using a knowledge sharing tool in your company can help you enhance your customer service endeavors:

1. In-house knowledge base to equip your representatives with information

Companies today realize that customers are in the driver’s seat and this is how it is going to stay. Moreover, social media has given them a voice which did not exist in the past. Therefore, it is essential for company reps to be armed with the right information, at the right time. Having a knowledge sharing tool will allow your employees to stay up-to-date about the corporate knowledge, practices and procedures at all instants.

2. Easy to use, portable and location-independent

Whether seated in an office or on customer premises, your employees will need access to certain information in order to provide better service to the customers. A knowledge sharing platform allows users to access information whenever they want, whether online or offline, and through any device. Moreover, these advanced tools also permit knowledge sharing across different locations. Therefore, no matter in which part of the world your company reps are, they’ll have easy access to the right information within a matter of minutes.

3. Cost and Time Saving

Using a knowledge sharing tool allows employees to share all the knowledge they have in their heads as well as their successes, failures and experiences with their colleagues. Hence, this will facilitate your company reps to come up with the right solution, at the right time, without re-inventing the wheel. They can easily learn from the past practices and experiences of their coworkers and avoid committing the same mistakes. This will not only save the time required in sorting out customers’ issues but will also save the cost that a company may incur in case of inaccurate problem-solving attempts.

Moreover, many advanced software provide Q&A feature that can considerably reduce the time to call resolution. Now, your reps can have all the right answers at their fingertips to improve consumer satisfaction.

4. External support for consumer self-service

Today, customers enjoy autonomy and prefer self-service options instead of relying on the company reps for support. Hence, many knowledge sharing tools provide companies with external tools to share information with their clients so that they can solve their own issues without waiting for the customer care center to respond.

5. Insight to improve work performance

Apart from knowledge sharing and management among employees, these tools go further than offering elementary analytics and provide all the information a company needs to come up with better resolutions to prosper its business.

Final Thoughts

Regardless of the frequency with which this topic is discussed, companies often find it difficult to connect the dots between external aspects that affect their customer service and the day-to-day processes and procedures within the corporation that influence their customer service activities.

Gone are the days when customer service was focused on exchanging smiles and answering customers’ calls in a timely manner. Today, customers are more demanding and the advent of multiple social media networks has made it trickier for companies to satisfy their escalating expectations on every platform, without taking them out of their comfort zone. However, using a knowledge sharing tool can help companies improve their customer service along with effectively managing knowledge in the workplace.