In general, a knowledge base is a centralized repository of information. A well-organized knowledge base can save a business money by decreasing the amount of employee time spent searching for information about issues, company policies and procedures or just about any other subject. A knowledge base can give customers access to information that would otherwise require contact with an organization's staff. This capability simplifies interaction for both the customer and the organization.

Knowledge bases usually contain self-service reference data that employees or customers can use to troubleshoot and learn about a product, service, department or other topic. The data contained in a knowledge base can be gathered from various sources.

There are internal and external knowledge bases. Internal knowledge bases contain data to help employees of a company, including information such as the following:

  • human resources onboarding material for new employees;
  • content creation guidelines for writers;
  • company legal or benefits policies;
  • templates and forms;
  • archived content;
  • instructions for using internal applications; and
  • best coding practices for various tasks and jobs.

External knowledge bases contain information that people outside the company (such as customers and distribution partners) can access to learn about products, services and a company. External knowledge bases may contain the following types of information:

  • billing information;
  • software documentation and specifications;
  • how-to instructions and videos;
  • tutorials;
  • troubleshooting information;
  • company knowledge or "about" pages;
  • shipping information;
  • frequently asked questions, or FAQs;
  • account settings;
  • product screenshots and information;
  • copyright and legal information; and
  • archived content.

External knowledge bases are also included as part of customer relationship management (CRM) software. They may link to additional customer support for customers who can't resolve their issues using the knowledge base.

There are several benefits to using a knowledge base, including the following:

  • Customer satisfaction. Customers can find their own answers through the self-service information provided in customer-facing knowledge bases. This approach can be faster and more efficient than trying to get through to a person on the customer service team.
  • Employee satisfaction. When customers are empowered to find their own answers, customer support teams have more bandwidth to handle complex queries and take on other tasks. Employees provided with a self-service knowledge base can get their own questions answered faster as well.
  • Productivity. Employees spend less time looking for answers themselves instead of waiting for technical support.
  • Cost-savings. Knowledge bases free up company time and resources from having to provide training programs for employees.
  • Customer experience analytics. Useful insights and metrics can be derived from knowledge bases with built-in reporting capabilities. Companies can see what information team members and customers are searching and use that information to improve content and knowledge base management.
  • Customer acquisition. Online knowledge base content can boost an organization's search engine optimization capabilities. Better SEO functionality helps draw in new customers.
  • Accessibility. Knowledge bases are available to provide answers 24 hours a day. This is a benefit when compared to contacting traditional customer support agents whose availability may be restricted to specific hours.

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