Three great knowledge management examples to help you and your customers

What company doesn’t want to offer its customers practical, dynamic and efficient self-service?

The knowledge management examples you can find in this post strengthen the idea behind this strategy, which is to bring together the company’s knowledge and make it easily available to its customers to help them resolve their problems.

This makes sense, as most consumers want to find the answer to any questions they have by themselves, but they lack the knowledge they need to do so.

That’s why we are giving three of our favourite knowledge management examples and explaining the different types of knowledge base which might be useful to your company.

Knowledge management: importance and examples

You may have the best self-service tools available, but they won’t be of much use if your customers (or employees) don’t know where to find them.

From the smallest of companies to mid-sized enterprises and multinational corporations, making it easy for customers to find the content they need using an effective knowledge management tool can be an enormous strategic advantage.

After all, as TV cooking shows always say, presentation is key!

Design and user experience are not just fashionable expressions, but useful assets when you want to make knowledge available to your audience.

The impression your customers have of your company and its customer service is affected by their interaction with your brand resources – for example, if using your site is a confusing experience, it is very likely that your customers will be frustrated.

Anyone browsing your pages wants them to be organised sensibly and in a straightforward way, along with being easy to browse.

So plate up your web content as clearly as possible, and add a good dash of knowledge management! Find out how with the examples below.

1. Evernote

Evernote is at the head of our list of top knowledge management systems because of the elegant and simple way it organises information.

First, the search bar is clearly visible. Customers can easily search for specific questions and issues instead of wandering around an endless labyrinth of resources.

Evernote’s Help Centre also includes a list of the key articles, as well as a clear option to find other help resources, when needed.

See how knowledge management works in practice.

2. Canva

Canva’s knowledge management system helps users find basic information about the getting started or problem resolution.

However, the company also offer something unique: an incentive to innovate by allowing customers to suggest new resources to include.

Canva clearly understands that its customers’ interactions with its products and site are one of the biggest indicators of its success. This contact with its customers provides a mountain of good data which can be used to develop and improve its products.

By giving its customers a voice, the company can learn from its customers and improve its overall commercial process.

In addition, Canva’s knowledge management system comes with a sidebar full of clearly labelled and well-organised information that focuses on creating designs, as well as the basic information they need about Canvas user accounts and commercial use of the product.

3. Instacart

Our third example of a knowledge management system is from Instacart, which uses a solution that is easy to implement, even for those without a technology background.

The company provides a clearly visible search bar and simple graphics with customer FAQs, details of how Instacart works, the prices and information on orders and new products.

Instacart’s Help Centre organises knowledge clearly in simple content categories, helping self-sufficient customers find answers on their own.

The way that knowledge is presented is key

The three examples of knowledge management systems we have shown follow recommended best practices for the design of the knowledge base.

These companies gain a competitive advantage by displaying an easily-accessible search bar, material with short, clear titles, and a clear path to finding more help.

These are practices worth following, given that by using technology that helps customers resolve their own problems, companies earn good results from their investment.

Gartner reports that organisations with the right knowledge management systems can reduce their support costs by 25%.

In addition, 94% of Zendesk Guide users reduce their support costs by 50% or more.

Browsing an unfamiliar site can be challenging, but managing and showing the knowledge it contains simply and elegantly can make the lives of a company’s customers easier (as well those of its employees), especially if they are already looking for answers.

A complicated Help Centre causes more problems than it solves. So, remember: keep it simple!

If you’re looking for assistance with this, you can count on our help centre software, a self-service system and knowledge base that supports customer service agents and their customers. Find out more!