Most customers think that businesses’ current self-service offerings are inadequate. Over half of customers say companies don’t provide enough information to resolve issues independently.
This creates a poor customer service experience that can have devastating consequences for businesses. Eight out of ten customers expect businesses to provide customer self-service.
Companies that fail to deliver automated support risk increased customer churn rates.
However, the key isn’t just to offer self-service, but to provide access to a self-service knowledge base that helps them resolve their tech issue fast. Below, we go over the limitations of traditional knowledge bases, the strategic benefits of strong self-support and a few guidelines for providing the best customer self-service.
Table of contents:
- The limitations of traditional knowledge bases
- Core elements of a strong self-service knowledge base
- The strategic benefits of a customer knowledge base
- How to create an effective customer service knowledge base
The limitations of traditional knowledge bases
Traditional knowledge bases that consist of static FAQ articles don’t work for contact centers in 2025. Customers want instant access to reliable self-support. Companies such as Apple, Google or broadband service providers release multiple updates a year, meaning FAQ articles quickly become stale.
Manually updating these knowledge bases takes time, and it’s often time that contact center teams don’t have. As a result, customers are unable to get the answers they need to get back to streaming, gaming, working or generally using their devices. This leads to increased customer rage and the risk for higher churn rates.
Additionally, as customers are unable to resolve tech issues independently, call volume at contact centers increases, leading to longer wait times that can severely impact the customer experience. An increase in call volume leads to higher case burdens for contact center agents, resulting in high turnover and burnout. For this reason, implementing robust self-service tools is crucial to enhancing call center efficiency.
Core elements of a strong self-service knowledge base
Automated support tools are now mission-critical to the success of any broadband or telecom company. So, how do business leaders gauge if their current support offerings are meeting customers’ needs? Below are some of the most critical elements of an effective self-service knowledge base.
Interactive tutorials
65% of people are visual learners, meaning that static FAQ articles aren’t an effective self-service model. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that 43% of customers prefer interactive media over other types of content.
One of the many benefits of interactive tutorials is that they’re step-by-step guides that are more conducive to learning. As a result, customers retain information better, can troubleshoot technical issues quickly and get back to using their devices and services.
Companies that implement these unique automated support tools are well-positioned to enhance the customer experience, making them a crucial component of effective customer retention strategies.
Ozmo interactive tutorial showing how to change home screen wallpaper
Provide customer support during network disruptions
A network outage is a nightmare for any business, but especially telecom or broadband providers. These services are critical for customers to do their jobs, communicate with loved ones and receive vital information about events such as extreme weather in their area.
With networks down, how can companies provide the assistance customers desperately need to navigate these challenges? Self-support tools shine during network disruptions because even if voice services are down, customers can still get the critical help they need.
For example, if voice services are down during a network outage, service providers can share relevant self-service tutorials through apps or via social media. This ensures that customers can obtain the support they need to continue using their devices with minimal disruption. While no one wants a network outage, the right automated support tool can help companies stay prepared when unforeseen events occur.
Scalable and customizable support
A good self-service knowledge base should be scalable to provide support to a growing customer base. This is especially critical for regional service providers (RSPs) to maintain competitive tech support.
These small businesses often have limited staff, which can make it challenging to provide timely responses to customer inquiries and compete with nationwide carriers. Customer self-service tools enable RSPs to deliver fast tech support without the need to hire additional staff, potentially resulting in cost savings.
Additionally, a good customer self-service solution shouldn’t use a “one size fits all” approach. Every business has its own unique needs. Strong support automation solutions allow telecom and broadband providers to white-label support tools and customize them to their individual branding
Multilingual support options
Telecom and broadband companies need to provide personalized customer service that helps customers quickly troubleshoot technical support issues. A critical first step in crafting personalized service experiences is providing multilingual support options.
Not all customers may speak English, or not to a degree they feel comfortable navigating device or service issues with English language instructions. For example, in Canada, one in five people say that French is their preferred language. If a telecom company does business in Canada, it’d be beneficial to provide self-service tutorials in French. Additionally, if the same company did business in areas like Saskatchewan or Alberta, one in four people there speak Cree, one of Canada’s many Aboriginal languages.
The bottom line is that business leaders should avoid creating a knowledge base that is only accessible to English users. 96% of customers leave after a single bad service experience. Therefore, it’s critical to ensure all customers can have a positive tech support experience, regardless of their preferred language.
The strategic benefits of a customer knowledge base
A strong self-service knowledge base can have a critical impact on business success. Let’s dive into some of the strategic benefits of leveraging self-service tools.
Improved vital call center metrics
Automated support, when done right, can have a positive impact on key contact center metrics. If customers can access the answers they need instantly, it can lead to an improvement in the Net Promoter Score (NPS). Also, strong self-service tools can improve average handle time (AHT), which in turn lowers business expenses.
Increased employee engagement
There’s no doubt that employee engagement is critical to good customer service. A high call volume resulting from a lack of or poor-quality self-serve tools can increase case burdens on agents, leading to lower engagement rates and higher turnover. This can make it hard for contact centers to deliver good customer service.
Research shows that engaged employees are three times more confident in resolving customer service issues. By reducing case burdens on agents, companies can help them work more effectively in their roles and provide a better service experience for customers.
Higher first-call resolution rates
First-call resolution (FCR) refers to a company’s ability to resolve a service request within the first interaction. Companies with low first-call resolution rates may experience higher call volumes, longer call center wait times and increased customer churn.
Self-serve solutions can have a significant impact on FCR. At the end of a call, agents can encourage customers to use self-serve options for future tech support cases. This can decrease customer frustration while lowering business costs and improving a company’s bottom line. For example, Verizon Wireless lowered FCR by 1.5% using a tech stack that included self-serve support, saving the business tens of millions annually.
How to create an effective customer service knowledge base
How can companies create a knowledge base that actually works? Here are a few things business leaders should keep in mind:
- Ensure self-support tools are WCAG 2.0 compliant so they’re accessible
- Provide multilingual support options for customers
- Prioritize interactive content for optimized learning
- Make sure content updates dynamically to stay current
- Consider using conversational AI chatbots for timely customer responses
- Harness the power of analytics to track engagement and identify gaps
Self-service knowledge bases give businesses a competitive edge
High-performing customer knowledge bases aren’t a “set it and forget it” tool. Telecom and broadband businesses seeking to differentiate themselves from competitors must prioritize self-service in their business strategy. By ensuring customer knowledge bases are up to date and optimized for the customer experience, businesses can enhance customer loyalty and differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive market.
Self-serve onboarding is key to providing five-star support for customers. Businesses interested in using self-serve onboarding to drive digital adoption, increase NPS and save up to millions of dollars annually should download our checklist today.
