Did you know more than 70% of consumers are at least somewhat likely to buy based on experiences alone? It's no wonder to find customers moving away from a brand after just one bad experience. One-third of consumers agree they would change brands after one bad customer experience. Clearly enough, Customer experience is becoming a fundamental competitive differentiator, making it essential for businesses to prioritize their customer services. 

Your customers likely use more than one channel to reach out to you. One of the key ways to achieve excellent customer experiences is by providing adequate services across multiple customer touchpoints with the help of knowledge management software. All these various channels for customer support, including email, social media, website, physical store, or your call center, provide an opportunity for your business to attract, delight, and retain customers. It depends on your CX strategy and how well it is oriented to achieve your brand objectives. 

While it is vital to provide your customers with as many channels as possible to engage with you, it is equally important to map your customers' journeys and measure their satisfaction across every touchpoint. Therefore, having a multichannel approach to CX is essential but not enough in itself. In an age of growing digitalization, brands can combat all their CX challenges and even thrive by adopting an omnichannel customer support strategy.

Before we delve into how omnichannel customer support boosts CX, it is crucial to understand what it exactly is.

What is Omnichannel customer support?

Like multichannel CX, omnichannel customer service includes several channels customers use to communicate with brands. The critical difference is the integration and relatedness between different channels that omnichannel customer support provides. When these multiple channels integrate, customers get seamless experiences across all touchpoints.  

Having multiple channels for your customers to communicate with you is not enough. Providing seamless customer experiences across all the channels is the key. Here is why omnichannel customer support is the best way to boost CX.

Seamless customer engagement

When customers interact with your brand on one channel, they expect the same services from you on another one. They do not like it when your customer support agent gives them information that is different from the one they see on your website. Customer engagement, therefore, depends on providing consistent information across all channels.  

An omnichannel customer service connects all the channels to make it easy for your customers to switch from one channel to another while completing a purchase. If a customer makes an initial purchase offline and does not want to revisit your store for further assistance, your agent should rise to provide appropriate support through digital channels and make it easy for the customer. In this case, having a robust knowledge management system in place could be of great assistance.

The customers need not think which channel is best suited to their needs. Instead, they should be convinced of the adequate support your brand will provide them, irrespective of the channel they use. Omnichannel customer support tracks customer journeys across multiple channels to provide the right engagement at the right time to your customers.

Integrated channel approach

As the discipline of Customer Experience continues to evolve with new technologies like AI-backed knowledge base software, brands must focus on providing exceptional CX that creates an impact in customers' minds. 

Unlike the multichannel approach, where different channels operate separately, omnichannel customer support integrates all the channels under one centralized location. All the channels coordinate with one another to improve customer experiences.

During a particular customer journey, a customer using a live chat knowledge base management system to solve a problem may shift to a voice call with an agent for better clarity. Since the information is retrieved from the channel last used by the customer, there is no need to repeat the problem. 

The agent, therefore, is aware of the challenge faced by the customer and resolves the issue quickly. This reduces the average handle time (AHT) an agent takes to resolve a customer query and improves the quality of customer support across all touchpoints. 

An integrated channel approach gathers customer data from different channels, which gives you insight into your customers' specific needs. This can help you customize experiences for your customers and increase customer retention.  

Assistance through the customer journey

To boost your CX, you should be ready to support your customers wherever they are. It is undoubtedly beneficial to increase engagement by giving your customers multiple options to communicate with you. However, the quality of support you provide them at each platform is more important. An omnichannel CX tracks customer journeys from beginning to end and ensures that customers receive assistance through every stage.  

There are certainly newer sets of challenges that CX poses for brands every day. However, as long as your customers feel valued, they will stay with your brand. The key, therefore, is to strengthen the foundation of your CX strategy, which should prioritize your customers' satisfaction & having next-gen knowledge management software can be of great help. An omnichannel customer experience removes friction across multiple platforms so customers can move seamlessly from one channel to another and receive quality support throughout their journey. 

Improved Brand trust

Exceptional customer service ranks number one in creating customer loyalty for brands. 

To retain your customers' trust, you need to value their time and care for their convenience at every step. An omnichannel strategy with the help of a knowledge management tool uses data integrations to unify customer information. You can leverage this customer data to create personalized experiences for your potential and existing customers. The unified customer data also increases your agent productivity, enabling them to resolve customer queries at the first go.    

Customers trust brands that are clear and consistent with their message across all channels. Being omnipresent across all channels can help you increase brand awareness among your customers, and consistent brand messaging can help you strengthen brand-customer relationships for improved CX. Omnichannel customer service focuses on improving customer satisfaction by tracking customer interaction at every touchpoint. 

When customer needs are taken care of at their desired channel, it elevates customer experiences and increases brand loyalty.  

Conclusion

An omnichannel customer service equips you to utilize opportunities that data holds, empowers your customers to communicate with you through their preferred channel, and creates a consistent and solid brand image across multiple channels. With the right knowledge management software that promotes omnichannel support, you can enhance the resilience of your CX strategy to embrace challenges and improve customer experiences across all touchpoints.  

Nonaka & Takeuchi developed the SECI model by introducing the Japanese concept of 'Ba', which roughly translates as 'place'. Ba can be thought of as a shared context or shared space in which knowledge is shared, created, and utilized.

Through this article I intend to help my readers understand how vital KM is as an enabler in helping you realizing and tap into honing your competences to magnify your personal brand.

Conference badges - how many of them do you have? If you’re a leader in sales, a marketer or even a business consultant, I am sure you have traveled often and have a collection over the years!

Many times we attend conferences to network and learn about new markets, industry upcoming advancements in technology and many more such events for keeping ourselves updated. Over the years we display our badges from these events as a sign of knowledge we have gained to our surrounding teams.

The larger question I reflect on in this article is how Knowledge Management can help us re-invent ourselves through ensuring we part-take in being a co-speaker rather than just another participant at a Masterclass in a conference.

Let's introduce you to the four quadrants of the SECI model to learn more.

• Socialization (Tacit to Tacit) – Socialization is about capturing knowledge by physical proximity; wherein direct interaction is a supported method to acquire knowledge. The tacit knowledge is transferred by common activity such as being together in the same environment.
• Externalization (Tacit to Explicit) – Externalization is the process of making tacit knowledge explicit, wherein knowledge is crystallized and is thus able to be shared by others, becoming the basis of new knowledge. This includes publishing or articulating knowledge. Concepts, images, and written documents, for example, can support this kind of interaction.
• Combination (Explicit to Explicit) – Combination involves organizing and integrating knowledge, whereby different types of explicit knowledge are merged. Here explicit knowledge is collected from inside or outside the organization and then combined, edited, or processed to form new knowledge.
• Internalization (Explicit to Tacit) – Internalization involves the receiving and application of knowledge by an individual, enclosed by learning-by-doing. On the other hand, explicit knowledge becomes part of an individual's knowledge and will be assets for an organization. Internalization is also a process of continuous individual and collective reflection, as well as the ability to see connections and recognize patterns, and the capacity to make sense between fields, ideas, and concepts.

I am sure you can now relate each of the four quadrants of the SECI model on how our tacit knowledge can help us better re-invent our personal brand in-time.

The obvious next question however is how does one role-model and hone such a change and how does one identify the right opportunities in-time.

While there are many models I would like you to read more in detail the Four stages of competence as I relate it to the Quadrant graphic above.

• Quadrant-I > Quadrant-II : As you participate in the Masterclass as an audience the first-time you know very little about the topics as most of the content is new to you. So, in such instances its ok to just keep an open mind and have a few grey areas to which you relate in which your skilled over the years. This is the base for moving from a stage of 'Unconscious Incompetence' to 'Conscious Incompetence'.
• Quadrant-II >> Quadrant-III : As you move away and reflect on the key takeaways you are slowly realizing what areas of the conference for which you need to develop your own subject-knowledge and possibly invest in reading more. You start moving from a stage of 'Conscious Incompetence' to 'Conscious Competence'.
• Quadrant-III > Quadrant-IV : You are beginning to discover yourself and with time by volunteering for expert field work, participating in key research projects & giving talks to smaller communities of practice. You begin to develop mastery of presenting on similar topics and relating content with right examples and resources.

To become a professional speaker requires the right opportunity and one can start with taking professional course as a Certified Learning Champion at work and engaging audiences based on professional opportunities-at-hand.

Knowledge management tools can improve employees' capabilities, contribution, and efficiency provided they have access to the appropriate information at the right time. Your employees may develop and unleash new prospects within your organization when you have valuable internal data. Better performance also can be achieved with the use of knowledge-sharing technologies. 

With a knowledge-sharing solution in place, you'll be able to provide your employees with all essentials they need to achieve their professional goals while also maximizing their contribution to your bottom line.

A robust knowledge management system will simplify locating and reusing essential data and resources throughout your organization. A knowledge management platform helps you: 

- Develop better products and services

- Develop better strategies

- Increase profitability

-Repurpose existing skills and expertise

-Improve operational efficiency and staff productivity

- Identify market trends early and gain a competitive advantage

-Set a benchmark against your competitors 

- Maximize your collective intellectual capital.

Following are 5 ways in which the right km tools empower your customer service teams: 

As mentioned above, knowledge management tools help around several areas in the organization as a whole. Below are listed ways in which knowledge management tools help customer service teams exclusively. 

• Aids the customer service team with reasoning and understanding:

Knowledge sharing technologies provide your staff with access to and visibility into company-wide data, which in many cases gives context to the decisions they make. 

This is crucial at times because management decisions might make certain employees' jobs more complex. It makes sense to assist them in understanding why a decision was taken to minimize problems. 

Employees can understand how the organization runs and use that information to inform their decision-making in the future by looking at the bigger picture. 

This is crucial for comprehending how the business operates and why specific procedures perform the way they do. The customer care team is more effective when they have access to the proper information.

• Helps create and understand opportunities:

Your staff will be able to take control of their personal growth if they have the correct knowledge-sharing tools at their disposal. Your employees will be able to pick and choose what they wish to learn and pursue their own development goals utilizing your internal knowledge if you provide them access to vital information. 

This implies that they improve their understanding of the company's operations. They aren't acquiring material from an unaffiliated third party; therefore, they learn how to grasp the theory and apply it in your company.

Employees can increase their value and contribution to the organization by expanding their skill sets. Learning new abilities can sometimes lead to new opportunities and efficiencies.

Furthermore, your staff becomes more adaptable with a broader skillset, allowing you to relocate resources between business units as needed. Sometimes all it takes is a little more visibility to give employees more authority. A knowledge base can help you take advantage of this potential.

Helps fill the gap between Teams and Business Units:

Knowledge-sharing solutions aid in the dispersal of information across the typical knowledge gaps that most businesses face. Increased sharing can help decrease barriers to collaboration by allowing all employees access to critical information.

This will enable individuals to understand and empathize with the internal issues that others in the business experience. This is crucial for establishing a positive working relationship that maximizes production and efficiency. 

Information can be aggregated into a single centralized area using a knowledge base, allowing employees from around the company to access the same data. 

This helps to bridge the inherent gaps that exist across teams, allowing for even more collaboration chances. Teamwork, communication, and coordination become easier to achieve when everyone is working from the same information.

• Improves the decision-making process:

Every day, your employees make decisions. These are based on their personal experiences and knowledge. While this is usually sufficient, there is likely additional information in the industry that could assist them in making the best selections.

You can help your employees make the best decisions for the company and their coworkers by implementing the correct knowledge-sharing tools in the workplace. 

Employees can further defend their actions and ideas by using information from various knowledge-sharing systems, such as content repositories and knowledge bases. This allows them to go above and beyond their degree of ownership and open up new business prospects.

• Helps the team members understand their role: 

You may encourage your staff and help them appreciate their contributions by giving them a better understanding of what they do, how it affects and benefits the firm and its position in the systems that offer value to your consumers. 

This is especially crucial when things go tough; if your employees understand why and what their hard work contributes, they'll be even more inspired to work hard. 

A knowledge base software can help with this by providing insight into the company's overall operations. Employees will appreciate what is going on around them as documentation is written and preserved, and they will be able to change accordingly. This is significant because it allows them to see processes and infrastructures that would otherwise be hidden

With the proper information sharing technologies in place, you can boost your employees' productivity, empower them to grow and diversify at their own speed, and guarantee they have everything they need to learn what they want when they want it. This is critical for keeping your employees happy, allowing for professional development, and fostering continued growth.

Conclusion 

Knowledge management tools have shown their value throughout time. They provide a new way of doing things and a better experience for both customers and staff. Choosing the right knowledge management platform for your firm streamlines the process, saves time, and increases team efficiency.

One of the major aspects of customer service is agent productivity that as a result helps the company in improving its customer experience (CX). Agents (users, employees) should be given access to all the necessary information and documents that are stored in an organized manner. In the training duration, it might happen that agents do not know what the next exact step should be taken while solving a customer’s query. 

This can be prevented with the help of knowledge management tools like decision trees, picture guides, augmented reality, learning management systems (LMS), and more. Hence, it is important to boost agent productivity and thus, increase customer satisfaction (CSAT) and this can be done with the assistance of knowledge management software. 

What is knowledge management? 

Knowledge management is a platform that helps in managing the company’s information and helps in creating and sharing information. It helps the company with various aspects like improving customer experience, increasing customer satisfaction, boosting agent productivity, and more. 

If all the information is not easily accessible to the employees then it might bring great loss to the organization along with a lot of valuable time spent in finding the required information. A knowledge management system (KMS) collects all the information of that organization and stores them in an organized way which makes it easier for the employees to find what they are looking for instantly. 

Why is it necessary for business?

Training the customer agents can be a tough and time-consuming activity. But with the advancement in technology and the significant increase in customer expectations, it is very much important that the agents are well-trained with the right skills. This is where the knowledge management system (KMS) comes to the rescue. The KMS helps the agents in learning the right skills, keeping a track of their training progress, and also helps in self-learning. 

Agents can be trained with KMS tools like knowledge base, augmented reality, and learning management system (LMS), etc., with much more ease. There can come up situations where the customer agent is under the training process and is unaware of the next step to be taken while resolving customer queries. In these situations, the knowledge management system becomes useful by guiding the agents with tools like decision trees, picture guides, etc., that provide a step-by-step guide. 

How to boost agent productivity? 

As discussed earlier, how the knowledge management system (KMS) helps the agents with tools like augmented reality, learning management systems, decision trees, FAQs, knowledge base, and more, also helps to boost agent productivity. 

There are other points as well such as ensuring that the agents are well-trained and that agents have access to well-organized information, their workload is reduced with the assistance of automated support and feedback from the agents are collected. Now let us look into these points more briefly. 

Make them well-trained 

With the help of decision trees, customer agents would know the exact next step to be taken while solving customer queries during their training process or even after that. Also, call centre heads have to make sure of the fact that the agents are well-trained with the knowledge of the company's services to their customers. Trainers, with the help of picture guides, make the agents familiar with the company’s services. 

Agents can have the access to all the information stored in an organised manner with the help of a knowledge base. This helps the agents to quickly resolve customer queries. It is also essential to track the agents' training progress which can be done with the help of a learning management system (LMS). 

Organize all the cluttered information 

All the information in an unorganized way might bring great loss to the company. Information, when needed by the agents and cannot be found quickly, increases the average handling time (AHT) and also decreases customer satisfaction (CSAT) as the customers will have to wait for more for getting their issues resolved. 

Hence, it is crucial that all the information and documents of the company must be collected and stored in an organized manner through which agents can easily find any particular information when needed while solving customer queries. Thus, boosting agent productivity and increasing customer satisfaction. 

Automate support 

Leaving all the customer queries to be resolved, at the hands of the customer agents might not only take a lot of their time but also decrease their work efficiency. This issue can also be prevented with the deployment of self-service systems with the assistance of a knowledge management system. 

Customers can solve their problems with self-service easily and thus, the agents do not have to spend their time on some common or the same repeated questions. They can focus on more complex queries. Implementation of a self-service system would be a win-win for the company as this helps in increasing their work efficiency and boosts their productivity and also helps in increasing customer satisfaction. 

Gather feedback

Feedback must be collected not only from the customers about how well the company’s services are but also from the customer agents about their work. They might have some creative suggestions in their mind that can help the company to improve their services. This will increase agents' work efficiency and also help in increasing customer satisfaction. 

Conclusion 

This can be said that for the betterment of the company it is important to boost agent productivity. The knowledge management system (KMS) along with the learning management system (LMS) has many key benefits for the company which improves training, enhances operations and overall ROI.