Did you know that customers prefer knowledge bases over all other self-service channels? Crazy right? According to the Zendesk Customer Experience Trends study,  69% of consumers try to resolve their issues independently, but less than one-third of companies offer self-service options such as knowledge base systems. So, what’s the catch?

Currently, SaaS customers are looking for answers in companies’ information archives to solve their problems. However, not every company is aware of this. It’s still believed by most businesses that telephone customer service and chatbots are the most important customer strategies. To better understand this switchover in the SaaS industry, we’ll explain why users demand knowledge base systems and the best practices for providing your users with successful knowledge bases. Let’s dive in!

This article will cover: 

  • What is a knowledge base?
  • Why do you need a knowledge base?
  • Knowledge base examples
  • Knowledge base best practices

What is a Knowledge Base?

Okay, folks, first of all, you need to know what a knowledge base is. 

A knowledge base (KB) is an online digital library of information about your product or service. Its main purpose is to help users find the answers to solve their issues independently. 

The information collected on your KB can come from multiple sources, such as contributors, HR team members, developers, or the company’s content creators. It might include FAQs, manuals, guides, ebooks, and other information your users might need when using your product. 

According to Indeed, knowledge bases use AI concepts to solve problems, which may help assist with human learning and making decisions. They’re usually made of those three components: knowledge base, interface engine, and user interface. 

It’s also important to note that a knowledge management system allows you to create, share, utilize, and manage knowledge across your entire organization. 

Now that you already know what’s a knowledge base, let’s explore why it might be necessary in your own product.

Why do you need a Knowledge Base?

In today’s world, users demand information instantly. They want to solve problems without waiting and with all the knowledge available at their fingertips. They’re not used to waiting hours for a company to reply to their emails or phone calls. For this reason, your company needs to create a knowledge base that users can access from anywhere and at anytime.

Here are the main reasons why knowledge bases are important: 

  • Easy access to information: Knowledge base systems allow your customers to find information easily and quickly through articles, manuals, guides, ebooks, and more. 
  • Fastest way to solve customer service problems: When users have a question or doubt, they can access different information on your KB instead of calling your call center or reaching out to your customer service teams. 
  • Includes different types of content: Whether it’s a quick explanatory video or an extended ebook, customers can find it on your knowledge base.
  • Lower onboarding costs: Users who navigate through a knowledge base system with the latest articles and quality content can better understand your product or service. Doing this will ensure they receive the correct information during their onboarding process, and your company can lower the costs of your customer support team. 
  • Consistent service: Your knowledge base not only helps users, but it also helps your team. As everyone in your company can access the same information, your service will be consistent and coherent.
  • Discoverability: A knowledge base will help you rank well on Google by boosting your SEO efforts. 

Most important characteristics of a Knowledge Base

Knowing your knowledge base’s characteristics is crucial to make it 100% effective for your customers. Here are the most important ones: 

  • Proactive support: Providing proactive support instead of reactive means you should give your customers the help they need before they actually need it while reducing ticket time. 
  • Self-Serve support: Your KB should be intuitive enough for the user to navigate through it independently. As a result, your user’s interaction with it will guide them to access the right solution based on their needs. 
  • Educate and upsell: Businesses can cultivate a more educated customer by providing educational articles within KBs that are attached to powerful widgets. This allows users to explore new features, advance their skills, and see the value in add-ons. 

Knowledge Base examples

Let’s dive into the best knowledge base examples to help you illustrate all the information we’ve explained in this article. 

Canva

If you’re into design, you probably know Canva. The Australian design company is a free-to-use online graphic design tool that creates social media posts, presentations, posters, videos, logos, and more. 

Even though their web app is super intuitive, they have created a successful knowledge base that drives users to specific answers as quickly as possible. Their KB allows users to move from general topics to more specific ones, and covers a vast majority of subjects from installation to project management tips. What’s more, they tailor their KB to the level of each customer.

 

Mailchimp

Mailchimp is the king of email marketing campaigns. Due to their amazing acquisition rate of 25 new account users in a 24-hour period, the company needed to build an amazing knowledge base to help new users understand how the product works and to solve each question a user might have. And they did. 

In their KB, users can find information, using their search bar, about their most interesting topics, with clear, concise writing highlighting the most relevant concepts without having to search. They also use small steps in lists formats for the users to follow each process, and provide them with multiple formats such as videos, tools, or podcasts. 

Dropbox 

As you probably know, Dropbox is a well-known cloud storage company. It stores your files and allows you to share them and collaborate with others on different projects. They have 700 million registered users and generate $1.91 billion in annual revenue. They’ve created a KB full of illustrations and user-friendly interactions in which users can fully understand each process while having fun. 

Knowledge Base best practices

With the demand of our customers, knowledge base systems are getting more and more popular, especially in the SaaS industry. Setting a quality KB can boost your company’s customer base by providing them with easy access to information, quality articles, and resources in multiple formats 24/7. As a result, your customer success organization can reduce costs, improve customer satisfaction, and boost returns on investment.

Looking to build a knowledge base? Here are our top resources to help!