FAQ pages provide customers with answers to different product or service specifications questions. Instead of calling customer support, they can visualize the questions and answers to find a suitable solution.
Prospective customers can also search for answers if they want to learn more about the product or obtain specific details.
The problem is that sometimes FAQs don’t deliver the expected results and end up frustrating customers when content is not properly delivered or is simply not clear enough, so they have to call customer agents in search of answers.
How can businesses create the perfect FAQ? How can we make them easy to navigate and understand? In the following post, we will explore different tips and tricks that you can use to tailor your very own FAQ.
1. Choosing the right FAQ software
Since there are plenty of options available, companies have to be very careful when deciding which one suits their needs and budget. Open-source options are available, but they require a great deal of customization work, so you need your IT team to do a lot of work to set up the software and provide maintenance.
In this sense, choosing cloud-based knowledge-base software such as Proprofs is a better option since you can avoid various costs associated with storage, maintenance, and support.
2. Deliver content that is easy to read and understand
Focusing on writing great FAQs is a key success factor. You must be very specific and complement content with visual aids such as videos, graphs, and tables. Content should be properly structured and scannable so clients can rapidly obtain the information they need.
3. Focus on the details
FAQs need to be relevant and focused on answering specific questions. Technical specifications or additional information can be added through support links or complementary documentation. Never try to stuff too much content; otherwise, people won’t become motivated to read it.
4. Make sure that your designers also get involved in FAQ writing
The design team has specific knowledge of the product or service since they have participated in various development and trial stages. Therefore they know the product better than anyone. It’s important to get them involved in writing the answers to questions that might require specific technical details and advice.
This is important so that vital information won’t be left out. Making them responsible for content curation and generation is also a good way to ensure that content is updated and revised regularly.
Provide context-specific search options
Providing users with search facilities can help find them find content easily. FAQs that only focus on creating content won’t be of assistance unless sufficient search capabilities are in place. In this sense, it’s important to look for FAQ software that provides users with Google-like search engine facilities so that it helps users look for content.
Adapt to your organization’s identity
FAQs should mirror the corporate identity so that visual users won’t feel that they are navigating in a separate system. FAQ software allows companies to visually adapt the tool to suit their company’s brand identity, aligning it with colors, placing the company logo, and other important aspects that relate to the brand.
The above points provide companies with some important aspects to be considered when implementing FAQs. But there is one key element that also needs to be considered and that we need to explore in more detail: using knowledge bases to create the perfect FAQ site to reach out to customers and employees.
Knowledge bases allow companies to centralize access to vital documentation and provide organizations with the option of co-creating content across teams that might not be able to come together due to physical barriers as offices now become increasingly global. Knowledge bases come packed with various tools and options for organizations looking to expand knowledge management efforts. Creating FAQs is one of those options.
Linking your FAQ with your knowledge base is an essential element that will guarantee team success and improve collaboration efforts. Let´s consider the following advantages:
- Teams can access vital information to create or curate FAQs
- Collaboration options mean that teams can connect with other peers so that content can be co-created regardless of location and time.
- Knowledge bases integrate with chat options and forums so that teams can consult with one another before realizing changes or creating documentation.
- Workflows can be managed so that teams can approve revisions and responsibilities for content creation.
- Tracking content history is also important in order to monitor changes and content updates.
As for customers, providing access to knowledge bases with FAQs helps improve proactive customer service as it gives companies the following key advantages:
- Customers gain centralized access to information such as manuals, reports, videos, and other relevant information that complements the FAQ site.
- Navigation is easy and intuitive. This means that clients will effortlessly adapt to the site in comparison to other software, where navigation can be quite burdensome.
- Gaining access to the FAQ site means reduced bottlenecks since clients can access answers themselves. This point is particularly important for the help desk and customer service staff.
- Content can be rapidly updated so this means that clients will access relevant content on demand.
- Customer service staff can gain a better understanding of the client’s behavior as knowledge bases provide access to analytics and reports that give companies a clear view of what each customer does when accessing the site.