Building a Knowledge Base: A Step-by-Step Guide for Success

You know that frustration – when you can’t find the information you need to do your job? Believe it or not, you are not alone.

Research indicates that poor knowledge management costs Fortune 500 companies $31.5 billion annually due to inefficient information sharing.

That’s a huge loss and it’s not just big companies that feel the pain. Small and mid-sized businesses also lose time, money, and productivity when information isn’t easily accessible. The good news?

You don’t have to keep struggling. Building a knowledge base where you can organize and access information easily is the perfect solution.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to build a knowledge base in 8 simple steps. Additionally, we’ll share a real-life case study to illustrate these steps in action, enabling you to create a system that saves time, reduces frustration, and keeps your team productive.

What Is a Knowledge Base?

A knowledge base, as the name suggests, is a database for all your organizational knowledge. It is a system where you can store, organise, and share all the information your users need when creating a knowledge base.

There are 2 main types of knowledge base

#1 Internal Knowledge Base is created to help employees easily find information related to their job functions, processes, or company policies. It includes company policies, standard operating procedures, troubleshooting guides, and more.

2 External Knowledge Base is created to provide self-service support to customers or detailed information to partner clients. It includes FAQs, how-to guides, product or service documentation, and other information that helps users solve their problems quickly. 

What Are the Benefits of Building a Knowledge Base?

Building a knowledge base offers numerous advantages for organisations of all sizes:

1. Improved Productivity

Companies that implement knowledge management systems see a 35% improvement in employee productivity. When information is easily accessible, teams spend less time searching and more time executing.

2. Enhanced Customer Support

Organisations with external knowledge bases report a 25% reduction in support tickets, as customers can find answers independently through self-service options.

3. Cost Savings

Studies show that effective knowledge base creation can reduce training costs by up to 40% and decrease support overhead significantly.

4. Better Decision Making

When building a knowledge base, you create a centralised repository that enables data-driven decision-making across all departments.

5. Knowledge Retention

Building a knowledge base ensures that critical organisational knowledge doesn’t leave with departing employees, protecting intellectual capital.

8 Steps to Create a Knowledge Base

Here is the step-by-step guide to building a knowledge base:

1 Define the Purpose of Your Knowledge Base

Determine the main objectives of your knowledge base. Is it for customers, internal employee training, or another purpose?

Understanding who your users are and what they need from your knowledge base will help you decide the content.

#2 Choose the Right Knowledge Management Tools

Select software like a knowledge management system to host your knowledge base. Consider factors such as ease of use, accessibility, scalability, and integration capabilities.

This will help you make your knowledge management more accessible by embedding it into your website, app, or internally used software like CRMs.

#3 Decide on the Content Topics

Identify the range of topics that your knowledge base needs to include. Consider user needs, frequently asked questions and the important policies or procedures that need to be included when building a knowledge base.

#4 Organize Content Topics into Categories

Organize your topics into logical categories, making it easy to navigate. Your categories could be based on product lines, user roles, problem types, or other relevant criteria. This step is crucial in knowledge base design.

#5 Gather the Information You Need

Collect all the information that needs to be included in the knowledge base – and ensure that it is accurate and up to date. 

This can involve compiling existing documents, manuals, FAQs, and insights from subject matter experts. You can even use a building a knowledge base template to streamline this process.

#6 Start Creating the Content

Start creating new content for your knowledge base using the information you collected.

But you don’t have to always start from scratch when building a knowledge base. You can also repurpose existing content into dynamic content formats – like FAQs, step-by-step picture guides, and next-best-action workflows.

#7 Review and Publish the Content

Before going live, review the content for accuracy, clarity, and comprehensiveness. Having multiple reviewers, including subject matter experts and end-users, might be helpful when you create a knowledge base.

#8 Regularly Update and Improve

Lastly, regularly update your knowledge base content to keep it relevant and useful when building a knowledge base for long-term success.

Schedule reviews to revise articles, add new information, and remove outdated content. Monitor usage patterns and feedback to identify areas for improvement. According to research, knowledge bases that are updated monthly see 60% higher user engagement.

How Jupiter Won the CX Game with a Robust Knowledge Base?

Looking for a building a knowledge base example that truly delivers results? Here’s how Jupiter transformed its customer experience (CX) journey with Knowmax.

Knowmax is a guided knowledge management platform powered by AI. It empowers your CX team to deliver mistake-proof service across touchpoints with the right knowledge.

In 2019, Jupiter’s employees were struggling due to:

• Scattered and unorganised SOPs
• Longer agent learning curves
• Outdated and wrong information delivery

Knowmax helped Jupiter overcome these challenges by building a knowledge base for their CX teams through their guided knowledge base creation approach.

As a result, they claim:

“Be it voice, chat, or email, we’ve seen a consistent improvement in overall service delivery. We’ve observed a drop in our AHT, and it has resulted in outstanding CSAT. For our long-term CX goals, Knowmax is one of our most preferred Partners.”

Power Up Your Knowledge Base Journey with Knowmax

Building a knowledge base is no longer optional, it’s essential if you want to boost productivity, reduce costs, and deliver a better customer experience.

Whether you’re just starting or improving your existing setup, success comes from taking action and keeping your content up to date.

That’s where Knowmax can help. It’s an AI-powered platform that makes building and managing a knowledge base scalable and straightforward.

Here’s what you’ll love about Knowmax:

• AI-powered content creation for faster setup.
• Support for all content formats, from articles to visual guides.
• Easy integrations with your CRM and helpdesk.
• Analytics to track usage and improve over time.
• Scalability that grows with your business.

Ready to make knowledge easy to find and use? Schedule a demo with Knowmax today and discover how AI-driven knowledge management can enhance your team’s productivity and customer experience.

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