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How to Create a Knowledge Base That Maximizes Its Benefits

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## How to Create a Knowledge Base That Maximizes Its Benefits

Imagine your company lacks a centralized repository for knowledge. Access to corporate services and instructions are scattered across various files, and only Pete, who has been with the company for 10 years, can navigate the setup. Everyone suffers: new managers who need to familiarize themselves with the service and the support team tasked with answering customer inquiries. At some point, you decide to create a shared knowledge base. A chat emerges where everyone shares articles and snippets of knowledge they find useful. Some of these become outdated over time, and people start discerning what is more relevant. Someone compiles all these pieces into a single document and even starts organizing it. Everyone is granted access to this file. The chat is disbanded, everyone disperses, and gradually, the tool is forgotten.

Of course, the primary function of a knowledge base (KB) is to gather all the useful knowledge for the company and its clients in one space. However, a knowledge base is ineffective if no one uses it. Creating it is not enough.

A knowledge base is a tool that functions as an intellectual asset for the company. A good knowledge base:

  • Replaces the first line of support. Articles in the KB answer repetitive questions and help clients find answers on their own.
  • Reduces support response time. Employees navigate a structured KB more efficiently than sifting through hundreds of spreadsheets, finding answers faster.
  • Generates leads. You can create a comprehensive onboarding process within the KB that helps activate users in your product. Additionally, articles from the KB can appear in search results, attracting potential clients.

# What Business Challenges Can a Strong Knowledge Base Solve

Typically, knowledge bases are used for user support. Managers send links to articles to clients, build onboarding processes based on KB articles, and train new employees. Articles from the KB help answer user questions before they even reach the support team, but this is not the only advantage.

## Reduce User Response Time

With a knowledge base, employees can transfer all their knowledge into articles, supplementing them with videos, code snippets, illustrations, and tables—making instructions more visual. Finding answers to user questions in such a database is much easier than scrolling through chats or asking more experienced managers.

Another tool to reduce response time is delegating user interactions to an AI model. According to Harvard Business School, AI-based chat systems cost companies 30% less than conversations with chat or phone operators.

A bot trained on KB articles in just one day can respond to user inquiries within a minute. You can fully delegate part of the first-line support tasks to the bot, reducing the need to hire new staff. Support teams can then focus more on solving complex customer problems, gathering feedback, and updating and expanding articles.

## Reduce User Churn and Onboard New Employees Faster

The main reason for client churn is a product that’s hard to understand. In such situations, a knowledge base helps clients comprehend the product, accelerate their familiarity with the service, and perform work tasks more efficiently. Instead of contacting support in any unclear situation, clients can learn about the product and set up simple mechanics using the KB.

Links to KB articles can be added to any document or onboarding sequence, helping users who encounter problems find answers independently, without overburdening support.

Detailed articles in the knowledge base also help onboard new employees faster. 22% of new hires admit they don’t fully understand what’s expected of them as specialists, and 15% struggle with company regulations and work principles. A comprehensive KB allows newcomers to find answers on their own rather than distracting more experienced colleagues.

A knowledge base helps reliably store company data. It’s hard to remember everything, especially when things in the company frequently update and change. Oral transmission of knowledge can sometimes distort information, leading new employees to make mistakes. Additionally, people might leave the company along with their knowledge. In a KB, information is never lost and remains current if regularly updated.

## Attract New Clients and Increase Loyalty of Existing Ones

A well-written knowledge base can be an excellent channel for attracting traffic. Knowledge base articles are SEO-optimized. They automatically generate meta tags, and the editor makes it easy to format articles—adding lists, tables, and setting H1 and H2 headings. You can choose to have articles appear in search results or hide them as needed.

Additionally, a detailed knowledge base helps increase the loyalty of existing clients—enabling them to learn about the launch of new features and their configurations through articles.

# How to Find Topics for Articles in Your Knowledge Base

The right way to create a knowledge base that no one will use is to include content that doesn’t meet user needs. Primarily, articles should address the needs of clients and support staff.

What to write in your knowledge base:

  • Provide answers to common user questions.
  • Fill gaps in user and new employee onboarding.
  • Document new knowledge from support and product teams.
  • Save useful document templates.
  • Include records of trainings and webinars.
  • Explain terms specific to your service.

# 10 Tips on How to Create a User-Friendly Knowledge Base That People Will Use

  1. Keep the Content Up-to-Date.
  2. Ensure Accessibility. Make sure any employee or client can access the KB at any time.
  3. Write Concisely and Clearly.
  4. Add More Illustrations and Video Content to Articles.
  5. Implement an Easy Search Function.
  6. Enhance Content Using User Feedback.
  7. Allow Support Operators to Quickly Share KB Materials.
  8. Optimize the Knowledge Base for SEO.
  9. Analyze the Effectiveness of the Knowledge Base.
  10. Automate the Knowledge Base.

By implementing these strategies, your knowledge base can become a vital tool for enhancing support efficiency, reducing costs, and fostering client and employee satisfaction. Tools like Co-Founder Ai can further enhance your knowledge base by integrating AI-driven solutions, making it even more effective for venture capital companies, startup engines, and private equity firms seeking to optimize their internal processes and support systems.

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For more insights on how AI can transform your business operations, visit Co-Founder Ai.