Terms

Knowledge Base

A knowledge base is a centralized, self-serve online library of information designed to help users understand a product, service, or topic. It contains a range of materials, such as FAQs, troubleshooting guides, and manuals, enabling customers or employees to find answers and solve problems independently.

Benefits of a Knowledge Base

Implementing a knowledge base offers significant advantages for both your team and your customers. It acts as a single source of truth, streamlining operations and enhancing the user experience.

  • Efficiency: Frees up support teams from repetitive questions to focus on more complex issues.
  • Satisfaction: Empowers customers with self-service options and improves employee morale.
  • Savings: Reduces support ticket volume and lowers costs associated with training new hires.
  • Consistency: Ensures standardized, up-to-date information is used across the entire organization.
  • Accessibility: Provides customers and employees with 24/7 access to information from anywhere.

Best Practices for Maintaining a Knowledge Base

A knowledge base is a living resource that requires ongoing attention to remain effective. To ensure it continues to provide value, you must treat it as a dynamic tool that evolves with your business and customer needs. Regular maintenance guarantees accuracy, relevance, and usability for everyone.

  • Audit: Regularly review and update content to ensure it remains accurate and relevant.
  • Feedback: Implement user feedback mechanisms and use analytics to identify areas for improvement.
  • Consistency: Maintain a style guide to ensure a uniform tone, voice, and format across all articles.
  • Organization: Use clear categories, labels, and tags to make information easy to find and navigate.

Knowledge Base vs. Knowledge Graph

While both systems manage information, they differ fundamentally in how they structure and connect data to answer questions.

  • Knowledge Base: This is a collection of documents, like articles and FAQs, designed for human readers. It excels at providing direct answers for self-service support, making it ideal for enterprises and mid-market companies looking to centralize information. However, the content is often siloed within individual documents.
  • Knowledge Graph: This is a network of interconnected data points that models relationships between entities. It powers more complex queries and AI-driven insights, making it preferred by enterprises for recommendation engines or advanced analytics. Its complexity and cost are its primary disadvantages.

Tools and Software for Building a Knowledge Base

Choosing the right software is crucial for building an effective knowledge base. Many platforms offer a range of features to streamline content creation and management, from simple document-sharing systems to sophisticated, dedicated applications.

  • Dedicated Platforms: Specialized software designed specifically for creating, managing, and hosting knowledge bases.
  • Collaboration Suites: Tools that combine knowledge management with project tracking and internal documentation.
  • Integrated Systems: CRMs or help desk software that include knowledge base features as part of a larger customer support ecosystem.

Common Challenges in Managing a Knowledge Base

One of the biggest hurdles is aggregating information from disparate sources like support tickets, internal documents, and individual team members. This scattered knowledge must be organized into a logical structure. Keeping this content accurate and relevant requires continuous effort, as outdated information can quickly render the entire system useless.

Maintaining a consistent voice and format across articles from multiple contributors is also a significant challenge. If the knowledge base is difficult to search or navigate, users will abandon it. Without regular audits and a system for user feedback, the content can easily become untrustworthy and irrelevant over time.

Frequently Asked Questions about Knowledge Base

How do you measure the ROI of a knowledge base?

ROI is measured by tracking key metrics like reduced support ticket volume, faster resolution times, and improved customer satisfaction scores (CSAT). For internal use, look at decreased onboarding time and fewer repetitive questions from employees.

Can a knowledge base be used for internal teams too?

Absolutely. An internal knowledge base centralizes company processes, training materials, and best practices. It empowers employees to find information independently, streamlines onboarding, and ensures consistent operations across all departments, not just customer-facing ones.

How do you ensure content stays up-to-date?

Establish a regular content audit schedule and assign ownership for different sections. Use analytics to identify underperforming or outdated articles, and implement a user feedback loop to catch inaccuracies quickly, making maintenance a proactive process.

Other terms

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Product-Led Growth

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Product-Led Growth

Big Data

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Big Data

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B2B Marketing Attribution

Lead Scoring Models

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Lead Scoring Models

Dark Funnel

The Dark Funnel describes customer buying activities that are untrackable by companies, such as private chats and word-of-mouth referrals.

Dark Funnel

Sales Automation

Sales automation uses software to streamline and automate repetitive, manual sales tasks, freeing up reps to focus on selling.

Sales Automation

Sales Enablement Technology

Sales enablement technology refers to software and tools that equip sales teams with the resources they need to close more deals efficiently.

Sales Enablement Technology

End of Day

End of Day (EOD) refers to the close of business hours. It's a common deadline for tasks and reports to be completed before the workday ends.

End of Day

User-generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) refers to any form of content, like images, videos, or text, created and shared by users on online platforms.

User-generated Content

Customer Relationship Marketing

Customer relationship marketing is a strategy for building lasting connections with customers to foster long-term loyalty and engagement.

Customer Relationship Marketing

Intent leads

Intent leads are prospects who show buying signals through their online actions, indicating they're actively looking to make a purchase.

Intent leads

Objection Handling in Sales

Objection handling in sales is the process of responding to a prospect's concerns about a product or service to move the deal forward.

Objection Handling in Sales

Psychographics

Psychographics categorizes people by their attitudes, interests, and lifestyles, revealing the 'why' behind their purchasing decisions.

Psychographics

Lead Qualification

Lead qualification is the process of determining which prospects are most likely to become paying customers based on predefined criteria.

Lead Qualification

Commission

A commission is a service charge paid to an agent for a transaction. It's typically a percentage of the sale, rewarding performance directly.

Commission

Sales Partnerships

Sales partnerships are strategic alliances where two companies co-sell products to expand their reach, generate new leads, and increase revenue.

Sales Partnerships

No Cold Calls

No Cold Calls is a sales strategy that replaces unsolicited calls with warm outreach to prospects who have already demonstrated interest.

No Cold Calls

Retargeting Marketing

Retargeting marketing is a digital advertising strategy that targets users who have previously interacted with your website or brand online.

Retargeting Marketing

B2B Data Enrichment

Learn about B2B data enrichment, including benefits of B2B data enrichment, implementing B2B data enrichment strategies, B2B data enrichment vs. data cleaning.

B2B Data Enrichment

Account Management

Account management is the post-sales practice of building and nurturing long-term relationships with a company's most valuable clients.

Account Management

Workflow Automation

Workflow automation uses rule-based logic to run a sequence of tasks that would otherwise require manual human effort to complete.

Workflow Automation

GPCTBA/C&I

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GPCTBA/C&I

Target Account List

A Target Account List (TAL) is a focused list of high-value companies that a business specifically aims to convert into customers.

Target Account List

Sales Workflows

Sales workflows are a set of automated actions that streamline the sales process, helping teams engage leads consistently and close deals faster.

Sales Workflows

SEO

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search results.

SEO

Regression Testing

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Regression Testing

Business Development Representative

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Business Development Representative

Process Builder

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Process Builder

Marketing Operations

Marketing Operations (MOps) is the engine of a marketing team, managing the technology, processes, and people to run campaigns effectively.

Marketing Operations

Stress Testing

Stress testing is a type of software testing that determines a system's robustness by pushing it beyond its normal operational capacity.

Stress Testing

Letter of Intent

A Letter of Intent (LOI) is a document declaring the preliminary commitment of one party to do business with another, outlining the chief terms.

Letter of Intent

No Spam

“No Spam” is a commitment to sending only relevant, solicited messages. It means avoiding bulk, unwanted emails to respect the recipient's inbox.

No Spam

Objection Handling

Objection handling is the process of responding to a prospect's concerns or hesitations about a product or service to move a deal forward.

Objection Handling

Sales Objections

Sales objections are reasons or concerns raised by a potential customer as to why they are hesitant or unwilling to make a purchase.

Sales Objections

AI Data Enrichment

AI data enrichment uses artificial intelligence to automatically enhance and update raw data, making it more complete, accurate, and valuable.

AI Data Enrichment

Chatbots

Chatbots are AI-powered programs that simulate human conversation. They interact with users via text or voice, typically for customer support.

Chatbots

Use Case

A use case is a detailed description of how a user interacts with a system to achieve a specific goal, outlining the steps from start to finish.

Use Case

Marketing Mix

The marketing mix is the set of marketing tools a company uses to sell products, defined by the 4Ps: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.

Marketing Mix

Ideal Customer Profile

An Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is a detailed description of the perfect, hypothetical company that would get the most value from your product.

Ideal Customer Profile

Webhooks

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Webhooks

Operational CRM

An Operational CRM is a system that automates and improves customer-facing business processes like sales, marketing, and customer service.

Operational CRM

B2B Sales

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B2B Sales

Revenue Forecasting

Revenue forecasting is the process of estimating a company's future revenue, using historical data and market trends to guide strategic planning.

Revenue Forecasting

Canary Releases

A canary release is a deployment strategy where new software is rolled out to a small user group first, minimizing risk before a full release.

Canary Releases

Marketing Qualified Opportunity

A Marketing Qualified Opportunity (MQO) is a lead vetted by marketing as a genuine sales opportunity, ready for direct sales follow-up.

Marketing Qualified Opportunity

Consumer

A consumer is an individual or entity that buys products or services for personal use, not for resale. They are the final user in a supply chain.

Consumer

Data Appending

Data appending is the process of adding new data fields to your existing database records to enrich and complete your information.

Data Appending

Intent-Based Leads

Intent-based leads are potential customers whose online actions—like searches or content engagement—signal a clear interest in buying a solution.

Intent-Based Leads

Customer Retention

Customer retention refers to the strategies and activities a company uses to prevent customer churn and encourage them to continue buying.

Customer Retention

Pipeline Coverage

Pipeline coverage is a key sales metric. It's the ratio of your total open pipeline value to your sales quota for a specific period.

Pipeline Coverage

FAB Technique

The FAB technique is a sales framework connecting product features to advantages and then to the specific benefits for the customer.

FAB Technique

X-Sell

X-Sell, or cross-selling, is a sales strategy of selling additional, related products or services to an existing customer base.

X-Sell

Sales Development Representative (SDR)

A Sales Development Representative (SDR) is a sales specialist who finds and qualifies new leads, building a pipeline for the sales team.

Sales Development Representative (SDR)

Customer Acquisition Cost

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is the total cost a business spends to gain a new customer. It includes all sales and marketing expenses.

Customer Acquisition Cost

Buying Signal

A buying signal is any action from a prospect that indicates they are interested in making a purchase, helping sales teams prioritize leads.

Buying Signal

Contact Data

Contact data is the set of details, like names, emails, and phone numbers, used to get in touch with a person or business for outreach.

Contact Data

Firmographic Data

Firmographic data is information used to classify firms. It includes attributes like industry, employee count, location, and annual revenue.

Firmographic Data

Warm Outbound

Warm outbound is a sales strategy for contacting prospects who've shown interest in your brand through prior engagement, like website visits.

Warm Outbound

Business-to-Business (B2B)

Learn about B2B, including what is it, its key elements, the benefits of B2B partnerships, the differences between B2B and B2C, and strategies for effective marketing.

Business-to-Business (B2B)

Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is the emotional commitment an employee has to their organization, motivating them to contribute to the company's success.

Employee Engagement

CRM Enrichment

CRM enrichment is the process of adding third-party data to your existing customer profiles to make them more complete and accurate.

CRM Enrichment

Sales Intelligence Platform

A sales intelligence platform is software that provides sales teams with data and insights about prospects to help them sell more effectively.

Sales Intelligence Platform

Point of Contact

A Point of Contact (POC) is the designated individual or department that serves as the main hub for information and communication on a matter.

Point of Contact

Cohort Analysis

Cohort analysis is a behavioral analytics tool that groups users with common traits to track their actions and engagement over time.

Cohort Analysis

Net New Business

Net new business is revenue from customers who have never purchased from your company before. It’s a crucial indicator of sustainable growth.

Net New Business

Sales Coach

A sales coach is a mentor who trains and guides sales reps to enhance their skills, boost performance, and ultimately close more deals effectively.

Sales Coach

Closed Lost

Closed Lost is a sales term for a deal that didn't go through. The prospect decided not to buy, or the sales team disqualified them.

Closed Lost

De-dupe

De-duping, or data deduplication, is the process of eliminating duplicate copies of data within a dataset to improve accuracy and save space.

De-dupe

Account

An account is a company or organization that you're targeting for sales. It can be a prospective, current, or even a past customer.

Account

Demand

Demand is the economic principle describing a consumer's desire and willingness to purchase a specific good or service at a particular price.

Demand

Channel Partners

Channel partners are third-party firms that help market and sell a company's products or services, acting as an indirect sales force.

Channel Partners

Lead Generation Funnel

A lead generation funnel is a systematic process that guides potential customers from initial awareness of your brand to becoming qualified leads.

Lead Generation Funnel

Buyer Intent Data

Learn about buyer intent data, including sourcing and interpreting buyer intent data, & key metrics in buyer intent analysis.

Buyer Intent Data

Programmatic Display Campaign

Programmatic display campaigns use automation to buy and sell digital ad space in real-time, targeting specific audiences across the web.

Programmatic Display Campaign

Buying Criteria

Buying criteria are the specific requirements and standards a customer uses to evaluate products or services before making a decision.

Buying Criteria

Customer Buying Signals

Customer buying signals are the actions, behaviors, or statements a prospect makes that indicate they are moving towards a purchase decision.

Customer Buying Signals

Lead Scrape

Lead scraping is the process of automatically extracting contact information and other relevant data about potential customers from online sources.

Lead Scrape

GTM

A go-to-market (GTM) strategy is an action plan that outlines how a company will reach target customers and achieve a competitive advantage.

GTM

Accounts Payable

Accounts Payable (AP) is the money a company owes its suppliers for goods or services bought on credit. It's listed as a current liability.

Accounts Payable

Cold Calling

Cold calling is a sales tactic where reps contact potential customers by phone who haven't previously expressed interest in their product or service.

Cold Calling

Revenue Intelligence

Revenue intelligence is the process of collecting and analyzing customer data to provide insights that help sales teams make smarter decisions.

Revenue Intelligence

Warm Outreach

Warm outreach is contacting prospects with whom you have a pre-existing connection, like a mutual contact, making your message more personal and effective.

Warm Outreach

Closed Won

Closed Won is a CRM status for a sales deal that has been successfully concluded, resulting in a signed contract and a new customer.

Closed Won

Account-Based Selling

Account-Based Selling is a B2B strategy where sales and marketing treat high-value accounts as markets of one, using personalized outreach.

Account-Based Selling

Cross-Site Scripting

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Cross-Site Scripting

Average Revenue per User

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Average Revenue per User

Direct Sales

Direct sales involves selling products directly to consumers in a non-retail setting, such as at home, online, or person-to-person.

Direct Sales

Sales and Marketing Analytics

Sales and marketing analytics involves measuring and analyzing performance data to maximize effectiveness and optimize return on investment (ROI).

Sales and Marketing Analytics

Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface

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Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface

Data Security

Data security protects digital information from unauthorized access, corruption, or theft throughout its entire lifecycle.

Data Security

Microservices

Microservices is an architecture where apps are built as a collection of small, independent services that communicate with each other over APIs.

Microservices

Docker

Docker is a tool that packages applications and their dependencies into isolated environments called containers for easy deployment and scaling.

Docker

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)

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Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)

Customer Data Platform (CDP)

A Customer Data Platform (CDP) centralizes customer data from all sources to create a complete, unified profile for each individual customer.

Customer Data Platform (CDP)

Single Sign-On (SSO)

Single Sign-On (SSO) is an authentication method allowing users to access multiple applications with one set of login credentials.

Single Sign-On (SSO)

Marketing Play

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Marketing Play

Account Mapping

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Account Mapping

Salesforce Administrator

A Salesforce Administrator is a certified professional who manages and customizes the Salesforce platform to meet a company's specific business needs.

Salesforce Administrator

Behavioral Analytics

Learn about behavioral analytics, including implementing behavioral analytics successfully, & key metrics in behavioral analytics.

Behavioral Analytics

Scrum

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Scrum