7 Best Knowledge Management Systems For Building All ...

A knowledge management system can be defined in many ways. For some, it's a teaching and learning platform. For many others, it's a platform for solving ... Aknowledgemanagementsystem(KMS)isanessentialpartofalmosteverysuccessfulbusiness.Yetwhydomanynewbusinessesandstartupsdisregarditasanoptionalcomponent? Theexpensivecostsofmanagingaknowledgebaseandmaintainingitregularlyarethemainreasons.Thestruggleofupdatingknowledgearticlesusingcomplicatedtoolsisanotherreasonwhybusinessesavoidbuildingknowledgebases. However,withtherightKMS,youcanavoidalltheseissues.Andbuildaneasilymanageableknowledgebaseonatinybudget. Wefoundseveralknowledgemanagementsystemsthataremadeforbusinessesjustlikeyoursandmanymore.Inthisguide,wetakeacloserlookatthesystemstofindtherightKMSforyourproject. Let’sgetstarted. CreateaKnowledgeManagementSystem-TheEasyWay! BuildasearchableKMSandkeepyourteamonthesamepage. GettheTheme WhatIsAKnowledgeManagementSystem(KMS)? Aknowledgemanagementsystemcanbedefinedinmanyways.Forsome,it’sateachingandlearningplatform.Formanyothers,it’saplatformforsolvingproblemsefficiently. Simplyput,aknowledgemanagementsystemistheplatformorthetoolyouuseforsharingknowledge. Forexample,withaknowledgemanagementsystem,youcancreatearticles,documents,andguides.Youcanthenmakethemavailabletoyourcustomersoremployeestoletthemfindsolutionstocommonissuesrelatedtoyourproduct. Whetherit’stoeducateyourcustomersonhowtouseaproduct.Orteachyouremployeeshowtohandledifferentsituations.Wecanallagreethataknowledgebasecanbebeneficialforalltypesofbusinessesinmanyways. BenefitsOfKnowledgeManagement&Sharing Ifyouneedfurtherconvincing,herearejustafewofthemanybenefitsofknowledgemanagement. ReducetheCostsofCustomerSupport Withaknowledgebase,youempoweryourcustomersandemployeestofindsolutionsbythemselves. Ifacustomerishavingaproblem,theycansearchforananswerintheknowledgebase.Employeescanusetheknowledgebasetofindguidesonhowtohandlecertainsituationslikerespondingtocustomerinquiries. Eitherway,itcanhelpcutdownthetimeandcoststhatgointoansweringemailsandphonecalls. TrainEmployeesandTeams Privateknowledgebasesarecommonlyusedbycompaniestotrainandeducatetheiremployeesandteams.Youcancreatemultipleknowledgebasesforeachdepartment.Fillitwithcourses,solutions,andguides.Sothattheycanfindtutorialsguidestocommonproblemsallontheirown. FasterProblemSolving Knowledgebasesalsohelpyousavetimebyprovidingon-demandsolutions.Customersnolongerhavetocallandwaitonholdforhourstofixaproblem.Employeesdon’tneedtogothroughmonthsoftrainingtoanswersimplequestions.It’sallintheknowledgebase.It’sjustasinglesearchaway. ShareExpertKnowledge Consultanexpertisnowathingofthepast.Withaknowledgebase,youbecomeanexpert.Knowledgebasesarefilledwithguidesanddocumentsmadebyexperts.There’snoneedtoseekhelpelsewhere. BetterSearchEngineRanking PublicknowledgebasescanalsobeusedasagreatsourceforSEO.Youcanoptimizeknowledgearticlesandcontenttorankhigheronsearchenginesforspecifickeywords. DifferentTypesOfKnowledgeManagementSystems Thefirststepindevelopingaknowledgemanagementsystemistosetcleargoals.What’sthemainpurposeofyourknowledgebase?Isittoservecustomersormanageyourowndepartments? Onceyouhaveacleargoal,youcanfindtherightKMSbasedondifferenttypesofknowledgebases. CustomerSupportSystems Thesearepublicknowledgebasesystemsyoumaketoservecustomers.Customersupportknowledgebasesincludetutorialsandguides.Especiallyanswerstocommonissuesrelatedtoproductsorservices.Thisallowscustomerstofindsolutionswithoutneedingtocontactcustomersupport. ExpertKnowledgeSystems Expertknowledgesystemsareoftenmadeprivatetoserveacompany’steamoradepartment.Forexample,thecustomersupportdepartmentcanuseanexpertknowledgesystemtoquicklyfindanswerstocommoncustomerproblems.Thistypeofknowledgebasesincludesexpertguidesmadeonspecifictopics. DocumentManagementSystems Justasthenamesuggests,documentmanagementsystemsareknowledgebasesformanagingdocuments.It’sespeciallyusefulforbusinessesthatoffermultipleproductsorservices.Documentmanagementsystemshelpyoucreateonelargemanualforallyourproductsinoneplace. DatabaseManagementSystems Databasemanagementsystemsareusedtostoreandsharedifferenttypesofdatarelatedtoaproductorbusiness.Whetherit’sdatarelatedtocustomersorproducthistory,databasemanagementhelpskeepeverythingwellorganized. BestKnowledgeManagementSystems&Solutions Wewantedtofindthebestknowledgemanagementsystemsandsolutionsyoucanusetobuilddifferenttypesofknowledgebases.Belowyou’llfindourtoppicks. 1.KnowAllonWordPress BestFor:CustomerSupportandEducationPrice:from$149 KnowAllisacompletesolutionforbuildingallkindsofknowledgemanagementsystemsforbusinessesandeducation. ThemainbenefitofusingKnowAllisit’seasytostartwith.It’sbasicallyaplugandplaythemeforWordPress.Everythingismadetohelpyoubuildyourknowledgebaseinnotimeandtocustomizeittoalignittoyourbrand. WithKnowAll,buildingyourknowledgebaseisaseasyasstartingablog.Youcancreatenewarticlesinafewclicks,orderthemandorganizethemincategoriesandsubcategories.Thethemeoffersmultipledesignoptionstocatertoyourneedsintermsofuserinterface. Butthat’snotall,thevalueaddedontopoftheknowledgebaseisthestatistics.WithKnowAllyou’llbeabletoseewhatareyourmostviewedarticlesandaskyourreadersforsomefeedbacksoyougettoseewhicharticleswereusefulandwhichonesneedimproving. BestFeaturesOfKnowAll Easytostart:installthethemeandyou’rereadytopublishyourfirstarticles.Easytoorganize:createmultiplecategoriesandsubcategoriestoorganizeyourarticlesanddisplayyourarticlesintheorderofyourchoosingMultipleDesignOptions:youcanchoosefromseveraldesignsandcustomizethemtomatchyourbranding.Analyticsandreports:getuserfeedbackonyourarticles 2.Document360 BestFor:PublicorPrivateknowledgebasesPrice:$49permonth(Free14-dayTrial) Document360isaself-serveknowledgebasesoftwarethatfallsunderthedisciplineoftheknowledgemanagementsystem.Itisacompletesolutionforcollecting,organizing,retrieving,andsharingknowledgeforyourcustomersandinternaluserswhichyoucandefine. BestFeaturesOfDocuments360 MultipleDashboards:Itsupportsnumerousprojectsordocumentationwebsitessothatyoudonothavetolookanywhereelsewhenyourproductlistexpands.PowerfulEditor:SupportMarkdowneditorandWYSIWYG(WhatYouSeeisWhatYouGet)editorforefficientandstructurewriting.Google-like-Drive:Storeandmanagefiles,images,videosandinsertthemtoyourknowledgebaseatanytime.Versioning&Rollback:Theabilitytorollbacktopreviousversionofthearticlewithease.Third-PartyIntegrations:ItcanbeintegratedwithIntercom,Freshdesk,MicrosoftandZendesk,andmanymore.SecurityatCategoryLevel:Document360comeswithadvancedsecurityaccessatmultiplelevelstocoverallyourscenarios.YoucanprovideaccesstoyourReadersatdifferentlevels.Analytics&Reports:Powerfulinsightsgivingdetailedreportsoncustomergeography,performance,andsearchoverview. 3.ZendeskGuide BestFor:LargeenterpriseknowledgebasesPrice:$89peragentpermonth Zendeskisknownasoneofthebestsoftwareforcustomersupportmanagement.But,itcanhandlemuchmorethansupportticketsandlivechat. ZendeskalsofeaturesasmoothknowledgemanagementsystemcalledZendeskGuide.Whichyoucanusetosetupbothprivateandpublicknowledgebasestoservecustomersandemployees. ZendeskGuideisapartoftheZendesksoftwaresuite.WhenyousubscribetoZendeskyougetaccesstoseveralothertools.Thismakesitamoresuitableoptionforlargerbusinessesandenterprises. BestFeaturesOfZendesk Beginner-FriendlyInterface:Zendeskfeaturesaverybeginner-friendlyuserinterface.Itallowsyoutomanageyourknowledgebasewithoutcomplications.ManageEverythingFromOnePlace:Zendeskalsohasanomnichanneldashboard.Withit,youcanmanageyourknowledgebase,supporttickets,chat,calls,andmorefromasingleplace.WYSIWYGEditor:ZendeskGuideincludesaWhatYouSeeIsWhatYouGetstyleeditor.Youcancreaterichcontentdesignsusingthiseditor.Built-InCRM:ZendeskusesSunshine,itsownCRMthatallowsyoutoprovidepersonalizedexperiencestocustomers. 4.HelpJuice BestFor:PublicknowledgebasesPrice:$369permonth HelpJuiceisamodernandeasytouseknowledgebasesoftwarethat’sidealforstartupsandsmallbusinesses.ThesoftwareisbeingusedbymanyreputablebigbrandssuchasWalmarttostartupslikeMonday. UnlikemostotherKBsoftware,HelpJuiceiseasiertosetupandmanage.Italsohasaninnovativeeditorthatallowsyoutocreatewell-structuredcontentwhilekeepingchangehistory. BestFeaturesOfHelpJuice PowerfulEditor:Thecontenteditorsupportsmanyusefulfunctions.Likecollaborationandcontrollingaccess.EasySetup:HelpJuiceissoeasytosetup.Youcanactuallyhaveaknowledgebaseupandrunningwithinminutes.ThemesAndCustomizations:Youcanalsocustomizethedesignofyourknowledgebaseusingpre-madethemes.Third-PartyIntegrations:HelpJuicealsosupportsSlack,Zendesk,SalesForce,andotherintegrations. 5.HubSpotServiceHub BestFor:KnowledgebaseforlargercompaniesPrice:ServiceHubstartsfree.KnowledgebaseavailableinProplan($400/mofor5users)andhigher. HubSpot’sServiceHubisafullsuiteofcustomerservicesoftwarethatprovidesyouwitheverythingfromlivechatandhelpdesktoknowledgebaseandcustomerfeedbacksurveys.AllofthesetoolsarebuiltonHubSpot’sCRM,givingyourbusinessoneunifiedviewofcustomerinteractions.ServiceHub’sKnowledgeBasemakesiteasytocreatearticlestohelpcustomershelpthemselves.Convertfrequentlyaskedquestionsintoasearchablelibraryofhelparticles,videos,anddocumentation.  BestFeaturesOfHubSpot  Easy-to-use&intuitive:GettingstartedwithHubSpotisabreeze.Createtemplatestomakearticlecreationeasier&automaticallyimportexistingknowledgebasearticles. Customizable:Adjustthedesign,footer,header,categorization,andmoreonyourknowledgebasepages.Multi-languagesupport:Createandmanageaknowledgebasetoansweryourcustomers’intheirpreferredlanguage.Powerfulanalytics:Seewhattermscustomersaresearchingfor,monitorperformanceofarticles,andseevideoengagement—toanalyzeyoureffortsandseewhereyouneedtocreatenewarticles.   All-in-oneplatform:ServiceHubincludestoolslikelivechatandhelpdeskinadditiontoknowledgebase.AndsinceeverythingisbuilttointegratewithHubSpot’sothertools,youcangetaunifiedviewofcustomeractivityfrommarketingtosalestoservice. 6.ZohoWiki BestFor:Wiki-styleprivateknowledgebasesPrice:$3peruserpermonth Zohoisaplatformpopularforitssuiteofaffordablebusinesstools.Zohoischeapbuttheirtoolsarealsoverybasic. Similartomostoftheirsoftware,ZohoWikiisaknowledgemanagementsoftwarewithbasicfeatures.Ithaseverythingyouneedtosetupawiki-styleknowledgebase.Nothingmore. Duetoitslimitedfeaturesandfunctionality,it’smostsuitableforcreatingprivateknowledgebasesforsmallteamsandbusinesses. BestFeaturesOfZohoWiki SimpleContentManagement:Easilycreateandmanagedifferenttypesofcontent.CategorizeContent:Usecategoriestoproperlyorganizeyourcontent.ControlUserPermissions:Youcancontrolwhichindividualsorgroupscanviewcontent.Third-PartyIntegrations:ZohoWikisupportsintegrationwithmanyservices.IncludingmanyoftheotherZohoproducts. 7.Lessonly BestFor:PrivatetrainingknowledgebasesPrice:Notspecified Lessonlyisaknowledgemanagementsoftwaremadespecificallyforcreatingemployeetrainingandprivateknowledgebases. Itcomeswithasetoftoolstomakethingseasierforyoutotrainteams.Likeallowinguserstopracticehandlingsupporttickets,livechatpractice,andmuchmore. Lessonlyisavailablein2pricingplans.However,thecompanyhasn’tspecifiedthepricesonthewebsite.Thepricingwillbecalculatedbasedonthenumberofusersandthetoolsyouneedforyourknowledgebase. BestFeaturesOfLessonly Beginner-FriendlyDashboard:Lessonlyisextremelyuser-friendly.Contentcreatorscaneasilymanageknowledge.Anduserscanlearnwithoutfrustrations.SimpleCourseBuilder:Theintelligentandsimplecoursebuildersupportsmanyusefulfunctions.Suchasscreenrecordingandwebcamrecording.StatsAndReports:Withbuilt-inanalytics,youcantrackprogressandstatistics.Andusethedatatofurtherimproveyourknowledgebase.Third-PartyIntegrations:YoucanintegrateSalesforce,Zendesk,andmanyothertoolswithLessonly. WhichKnowledgeManagementSystemShouldYouUse? Findingtherightknowledgemanagementsystemthatincludesallthenecessarytoolsforyourbusinessisnotthatdifficult.Here’soursuggestion. WordPressistheidealchoiceforbuildingknowledgebasesforsmalltomedium-sizedbusinessesandstartups.Youcanuseittobuildallkindsofpublicandprivateknowledgebases.Itsupportsthousandsofpluginsforextendingfunctionality.Andit’sextremelyaffordable. Forlargeenterprisesandcorporations,werecommendgoingwithanall-in-onesolutionlikeZendesk.Managingyourcustomerserviceandknowledgebasefromoneplacewillbeworththeprice.Especiallywhenyouhavetooverseemanydepartmentsandteams. Ofcourse,youshouldn’tjusttakeourwordforit.DomoreresearchandexploremoreoptionstofindtherightKMSforyourbusiness.Youcanalsocheckoutourownknowledgemanagementproducts.Wehavealineupoftoolsmadejustforbuildingalltypesofknowledgebases. RelatedArticles ProductDocumentationUltimateGuide:EverythingYouNeedtoKnowtoCreateGreatDocs HowtouseSearchWPwithHeroicKnowledgeBase 10BestCustomerSupportToolsin2021forAllNeedsandBudgets LeaveAComment?CancelReply Δ