Providing exceptional customer service is crucial for any company, but it can be challenging to scale while maintaining quality. Two tools that can help immensely are creating a frequently asked questions (FAQ) page and building out a knowledge base.

Well-crafted FAQs and knowledge bases allow customers to self-serve for common questions and issues, freeing up support staff to handle more complex inquiries. They also ensure customers can get consistent, accurate answers at any time of day. 

However, simply having an FAQ page and knowledge base isn’t enough. You need to put care and strategy into developing these resources so they truly provide value. 

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover best practices for creating effective customer service FAQs and knowledge bases that improve customer satisfaction and loyalty while making your support team’s job easier.

Why FAQs and Knowledge Bases Are Important for Customer Service

FAQs and knowledge bases should be core components of your customer service strategy because:

They reduce support volume. According to Oracle, FAQs can deflect 20-40% of support inquiries. Customers will take the time to search for an answer rather than contacting you directly if they know they’ll find what they need.

They enable 24/7 self-service. Your team can’t be available around the clock, but your FAQs and knowledge base can be. This gives customers access to support whenever they need it.

They decrease response times. Simple questions don’t have to wait in a queue. Customers can immediately get answers from a FAQ.

They improve customer satisfaction. Customers prefer self-service for common issues so they don’t have to wait on hold or exchange multiple emails. FAQs and knowledge bases give them the autonomy they want.

They ensure consistent messaging. Reps won’t have to rely on memory alone. Customers will get the right answers no matter who they talk to.

They reduce training time for new hires. Onboarding materials are built into the knowledge base. Reps don’t have to learn everything from scratch.

They contain tribal knowledge. Veteran team members eventually leave. FAQs and knowledge bases preserve their expertise so it’s never lost.

They allow scaling without sacrificing quality. As your business grows, your FAQs and knowledge base will allow you to handle increased volume without overburdening staff.

Given these significant benefits, taking the time to develop strong FAQs and knowledge bases is one of the highest ROI investments you can make to improve customer service. But how do you go about creating FAQs and knowledge bases that truly add value?

Best Practices for Creating FAQs

Follow these best practices when putting together your customer service FAQ page:

Identify your most frequently asked questions

Don’t try to guess what customers might ask. Look at actual questions that have come in via phone, email, chat, and social media. Identify themes and trends in customer inquiries to spotlight the issues to address in your FAQ.

Tools like Zendesk and Intercom have analytics that allow you to see which questions come up most. Review these regularly as your FAQ evolves.

Organize your FAQs into logical categories 

Group related questions together into categories like Returns, Payments & Billing, Technical Issues, Cancellations, etc. Breaking up your FAQs into sections makes it easier for customers to quickly scan and find what they need.

Use clear, conversational language

Write FAQ answers as if you were explaining something to the customer in person. Don’t use overly formal language with technical jargon they may not understand.

Keep answers concise yet thorough

Be brief, but include all key details the customer needs to resolve their issue. If an answer requires more lengthy explanation, break it into digestible paragraphs and use headings.

Include visual aids when helpful

Videos, images, tables, or flowcharts can help demonstrate a complex process or idea better than text alone. But only use visuals that truly enhance the explanation. Don’t add them just for the sake of it.

Make sure to cover the basics 

Don’t make assumptions about customers’ baseline knowledge. Include FAQs that explain your products, services, policies, and processes at a basic level. These will help novice users.

Address different levels of user knowledge

Some customers will need beginner-level answers. Others may require more advanced troubleshooting. Try to provide tiered responses where appropriate to meet all users’ needs.

Review and update FAQs regularly

New questions will emerge over time. Remove outdated FAQs that are no longer relevant. Update ones that need better explanations. Treat your FAQ as a living document.

Following these best practices will produce a frequently asked questions page that makes it fast and easy for customers to find solutions to common issues on their own. But an FAQ alone isn’t enough. You also need a knowledge base.

Building a Robust Knowledge Base 

While your FAQ focuses on common customer questions, your knowledge base contains more expansive information on products, services, processes, and policies. 

Here’s how to build out a knowledge base that provides value:

Determine the structure

Organize your knowledge base content logically, with intuitive navigation and search. Allow for different levels like:

– Main categories: Sales, Product Usage, Troubleshooting, Billing, etc.

– Subcategories: Claims, Renewals, Upgrades, etc. under Billing 

– Articles: Individual help articles within each subcategory

Include different types of content

Incorporate a variety of content types that work best for each topic, including:

– Step-by-Step Tutorials: For processes like setting up accounts, making purchases, troubleshooting errors, etc.

– FAQs: More in-depth than the basic customer FAQ page. Common but complex questions.

– How-To Articles: Quick answers to “How do I…” questions.

– Definitions: Concise explanations of key terms. 

– Videos: Demonstrate processes visually.

– Downloadable Resources: Manuals, datasheets, whitepapers.

Make it easily searchable

The knowledge base should have a search bar prominently displayed on every page. Optimizing content for findability is key. Include common keywords users would search for.

Maintain and expand the knowledge base

Appoint team members to be in charge of managing the knowledge base. Set a schedule for reviewing and updating content to keep it current. Check analytics to identify gaps and add new content as needed.

Building a comprehensive knowledge base takes time, but it’s worth the investment for the greatest customer self-service capabilities.

Promote Your FAQ and Knowledge Base

Creating a great FAQ and knowledge base is only the first step. You also need to make customers aware of these resources by promoting them across channels, including:

Make them easy to find on your website

Link directly to your FAQ and knowledge base from prominent spots on your site like the header or footer navigation. Don’t bury them deep where customers might not think to look.

Link to them from other materials  

Whenever you’re communicating with customers via email, live chat, etc. provide links to your FAQ and knowledge base as resources to help them. 

Train support agents on using them

Ensure agents know the FAQ and knowledge base inside and out so they can point customers to helpful articles during service interactions.

Track usage analytics

Use tools like Google Analytics to see how many people access your FAQ and knowledge base, which articles get viewed most, and where traffic is coming from. Then optimize accordingly.

The more awareness you drive to your self-service resources, the more customers will use them, increasing CS efficiency.

Conclusion

Developing comprehensive, well-organized FAQs and knowledge bases takes time upfront but pays off exponentially through improved customer satisfaction, reduced support contacts, lower training needs, and easier scaling.

Following the best practices outlined here will help you create FAQs and knowledge bases that actually provide significant value. The key is keeping them robust, up-to-date, findable, and promoting them across channels.

With effective FAQs and knowledge bases in place, your team can spend less time answering repetitive questions and more time building meaningful relationships that turn customers into passionate advocates of your brand.