What are the benefits of using information systems for customer relationship management and knowledge management?

Is CRM a knowledge management system? What is it all about? To know more about that, you should read this article until the end.

Table of Contents Show

CRM System: Components
What is Knowledge Management?
What is a KMS and how does it help in the Customer management process?
Knowledge in CRM Processes –
Features of a Knowledge Management System –
What is the significance of knowledge management in CRM?
How a knowledge management system could help increase customer service –
How does knowledge management affect customers?
How KMS can help Customer service as Self-serve portals
How does customer knowledge management help?
How CRMs like Kapture provide a competitive advantage –

CRM, which stands for Customer Relationship Management. It is a system that helps to manage the relationship between the company and its customers. It covers a wide range of activities and processes, including acquisition, retention and loyalty management, and advocacy, that are used to meet the requirements of the customer.

Also, it provides a centralized database in which information can be stored and managed centrally with other departments. This database is designed to provide access to all employees who have contact with customers so they can serve them better. By doing this, the CRM can increase sales, improve service levels and reduce costs.

CRM System: Components

The CRM system is composed of six components:

1) The customer database stores information about customers (name, address, phone number, history, product preferences, etc.). In order to create a profile that can be used for future activities.

2) The lead database stores information about leads or potential customers. That have not yet been contacted by sales representatives or are not yet customers of the company.

3) Prospecting module which also identifies new prospects through purchase history analysis. Or data mining techniques used by predictive analytics software. It classifies them according to factors like company size and industry type. Allowing sales team members to contact them in a more precise way and improve their results.

4) The marketing module manages marketing campaigns aimed at promoting products and making sales through different channels like telemarketing, web marketing (e-mail campaigns), social media marketing (sharing content on social networks), trade shows, or direct contact with some potential clients.

5) The sales module which handles incoming inquiries from potential clients; allows you to manage tasks such as setting appointments or follow-ups with potential clients through different channels (phone calls or emails).

6) The service module handles customer support requests through different channels like phone calls or emails; it allows you to manage tasks such as setting appointments or follow-ups with current clients through different channels (phone calls or emails).

What is Knowledge Management?

Knowledge management is a set of processes applied in an organization in order to capture knowledge created by employees during their daily work processes and then make that knowledge available throughout the organization so it can be reused by employees when they need it (Wikipedia). In other words, it is the process of capturing and storing knowledge that has been created by employees in the organization in a central database so it can be reused at any time.

In order to define if CRM is a knowledge management system, we must first know what knowledge is. Knowledge is the ability to use existing knowledge to apply it in a new situation. For example: knowing something about music allows you to apply that knowledge in a new situation when you are playing an instrument.

There are three types of knowledge: explicit, tacit, and procedural. Explicit knowledge comes from the conceptual level, it is codified in documents, manuals, and other written forms. Tacit knowledge comes from the experiential level, it is everything that you know but you cannot explain in words or write it down. Procedural knowledge involves skills that you acquire through practice and training.

Does this sound familiar?

“ I am sorry ma’am but I am unable to find any information regarding your previous purchase” or they say

“ I will get back to you regarding this” and the agent never calls back

We have all once had that call with a customer service rep who has no idea about your product-related information or purchase-related information or even information regarding your transaction history.

Creating and sharing information is an important part of any organization or a business. Not keeping a track of customer data can cause a lot of problems. But organizing customer data and making the same data easily accessible and available to your employees for further use can be a time-consuming task.

From handling customer-related information to product-related data, organizing bits of information can become challenging. With the right CRM with the right features, you can easily handle these customers’ data.

And this is where knowledge management systems or KMS become lifesavers for organizations and businesses across the globe. They make excellent customer relationship management tools that cater to the needs of customers as well as customer service agents.

What is a KMS and how does it help in the Customer management process?

Simply put, Knowledge Management can be defined as the process of distributing, organizing, creating, storing, and understanding knowledge about organizational policies, processes, customers, and even products. Knowledge Management systems are software that helps organizations organize, and transfer knowledge and skills that are a part of the organization’s history.

CRMs like Kapture that facilitate Knowledge management systems make excellent customer relationships tools as they allow businesses to not just sell customers products and services, but also to access their information and knowledge. They help you categorize customer data related to purchase history, transaction records, reviews, customer service tickets, and much more.

Knowledge in CRM Processes –

Information related to the requirements of customers in order to address them, known as “knowledge about customers.”
Catering to the Information needs of customers in their interactions with the enterprise requires “knowledge for customers.”
Customers possess knowledge about the products and services they use and also about how they perceive the offerings they purchased. This is “knowledge from customers” and is as valuable as it can be used as feedback.

Features of a Knowledge Management System –

Helps you collect customer data
Makes the customer data collection process automatic and quick
Effectively organizes huge amounts of data
Creates a one-stop database solution that is easy to access
Enhances interdepartmental cooperation

What is the significance of knowledge management in CRM?

Many CRM processes rely on knowledge resources, including:

Knowledge about customer behavior, personal preferences, and customer knowledge regarding product use or service quality
Employee knowledge, such as sales practice and client care insight
Business partner knowledge, such as complementary services and products of interest to customers
Knowledge about business processes
Knowledge of contracts or partner agreements
Skills and competencies of employees
Wants, needs, and aspirations of employees

How a knowledge management system could help increase customer service –

Knowledge-based maintenance and access: This is the first step of enterprises into KM and focuses on designing, organizing, and providing access to a knowledge base.
Expertise Management: They facilitate experts’ knowledge and help gain more insightful and contextual knowledge than static data.
Collaboration: Facilitating the creation of new knowledge has higher business benefits by improving the interaction of groups by enabling them to work with a wider scope.
KM business applications: This supports certain knowledge-based processes, for example, e-learning and business intelligence.

How does knowledge management affect customers?

Efficient knowledge management helps businesses –

Provide better customer experience through informed customer service agents.
Improve customer ticketing and make the remediation process quick.
Provide customers a better brand experience leading to positive brand visibility.
Increase customer satisfaction levels that lead to better brand loyalty.

How KMS can help Customer service as Self-serve portals

Self-serve portals are knowledge management systems that can be accessed by customers to help themselves out. Self-service portals are extremely easy to use and accessible. These platforms act as an electronic automated helper for customers looking to solve customer service tickets without any assistance.

Self-service portals help service desk teams significantly reduce customer service costs.
Can help businesses provide round-the-clock support
Customers are able to solve problems and other product-related issues on their own.
Make it possible for customer service teams to decrease the number of customer support tickets registered every day.

How does customer knowledge management help?

The CKM or the customer knowledge management process models four Knowledge Management aspects, i.e. content, competence, collaboration, and composition. It helps customer service teams in –

Installing a proper communication channel and helping in gaining customer-related data like preferences, purchase history, website activity, etc.
Summarizing and documentation of knowledge and diffusing it to other employees within the enterprise
Transferring this knowledge to the highest management of the organization so that subsequent top-level decisions regarding products and services can be tailored to customer needs
Translating this knowledge to customers by presenting products and services according to their requirements

How CRMs like Kapture provide a competitive advantage –

Enhanced productivity: While responding to customer requests in CRM, employees are able to easily access company information and answers to frequently asked questions directly from the knowledge management system.
Enhanced effectiveness: It is possible to keep track of how useful the knowledge base has been in terms of resolving calls, emails, and questions.
Reduces redundant tasks: The CRM system can be constantly updated with information learned during each interaction, and solutions to repetitive issues can be stored as valuable reckoners in the company’s knowledge base.
Better customer satisfaction rates: Customers who visit a company’s website can search through the knowledge management system and go through online FAQs which can help narrow down their problems to an appropriate response making the process easy and quick.
Enables self-service. Customers are not exactly fond of waiting. Knowledge Management systems also make it possible for customers to help themselves out by getting answers to common questions or customer support tickets.
They are available 24/7. Some businesses provide 24/7 live customer agent support, but for those who don’t, KMS allows them to offer round-the-clock customer service assistance to people wherever they are whenever they need it.
Consistency: Having a centralized repository of knowledge helps in ensuring the consistency of the information. When data is scattered, multiple documents covering the same topics can exist in multiple places leading to confusion and ultimately poor customer experience.
Agility: Intelligent CRMs like Kapture make it easier to gather customer feedback and reduce the time taken to introduce new products in the market.

Having a customer management system that facilitates an effective KMS helps customers benefit from consistent and accurate information and reduces the time taken to research for information, discuss with other employees, and switch between applications while the customer is waiting.

In addition to the above Knowledge management systems also provide real-time accountability and help track the effectiveness and productivity of the front-end employees or customer service agents. Want to know more about how you can leverage support through CRMs like Kapture?

Book your demo today and mark your brand’s identity in this competitive market with efficient CRM software.