Knowledge Portals are tricky to get right. If they do not solve customers’ queries, they are not worth investing in.
The basic purpose of any Knowledge Portal should always be to:
– Enable users to find the information they REALLY need
– Provide updated and fresh information
While we live in a digital world, it is important that your knowledge portal carries the basic features for a great user experience. Because there will be new trends, but the essential features would always remain the same.
Delete Outdated Content
A Knowledge Portal means the bank of the organization’s documents. And when we hear that, we all imagine – a bunch of unorganized stuff.
Even if there is an in-built search engine in place, it will sort the data by relevance, and not as per the quality. That means if your customer is looking for a particular report, and the search engine finds 4 different copies, how they will be able to distinguish which one is the latest?
Hence, it is important that the content in your database is updated from time to time and curated.
Simply, delete the outdated content.
However, if you think deleting outdated content is not the solution, then you can also update the content using a Paraphrasing tool online. It will update the information in the content according to SEs requirements and provide you with a fresh version.
So, does your knowledge portal enable you to do that?
You can also enable users to comment, tag, and rate content, flag outdated, and erroneous information. Based on the feedback, content admin can hide or delete “bad data”. Also, the ratings will help users to identify relevant content easier.
Is your “Find” feature good enough?
When thinking about helping users, it is important to understand that “find” is much more than just search. As Seth notes, “A knowledge management portal with the correct information architecture allows users to both search and browse.”
Do your customers have access to all the information they require? It is important that your portal provides a 360-degree view of the information. Otherwise, users will have to visit other references. It should be capable enough to provide easy access to people, expertise, communities, collaborative content, structured data, and rich media such as images and video.
In addition, a properly configured knowledge portal should enable you to “push” information directly to users’ desktops, mobile devices via email, RSS, or any other medium. It enables users to spend zero time in seeking information, and have it delivered directly to them in real-time.
Now it is your turn to find out how your knowledge portal provides information to users. Does it provide access to all the information your users need? Does it enable multiple forms of information discovery that help them find the right information at the right time?
Mobile Access
At times of crisis like COVID-19, remote work and BYOD adoption are picking up the pace. Hence, your users require a quick, easy, way to access information from any device they’re using. Also, the solution should be integrated allowing knowledge access without switching apps.
Customer Communities and Sharing
If no one is reading your material, then it won’t be effective as anticipated. Hence, your knowledge sharing solution should let you send information to external users. This way, you can successfully drive prospects in the funnel and track which content is working, and which is not.
Also once a lead converts, it is still important to build customer loyalty. A KMS with a “community of learning” for customers can quickly establish your name as an industry leader and customers would keep coming back.
Reporting and Analytics
Tangible results are important for a business’s impact. Unfortunately, many organizations do not focus on the value being created with the Knowledge portal and focus on other metrics to measure success.
It is important for you to know which data enables employees to become more productive? Are your team members actively collaborating and sharing knowledge with each other? Are the answers actually helping them?
Robust analytics can help you identify such insights making the elimination of outdated data easier.
Now you know!
Investing in a knowledge management portal is like buying a new house. You need to double-check and make sure to have all the important aspects in place before making the purchase. And now you know which ones can be your success formula.
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