“Knowledge is power.” It may be cliche, but it’s true – especially for go-to-market teams.
Customer-facing teams must be equipped with the right knowledge and information to be successful in their roles. But accessing the right information is easier said than done.
Modern businesses have an abundance of information. It’s often siloed, and sellers struggle to find what they need when they need it.
The right knowledge management system ensures your teams can access the right information quickly and easily at the right time.
But what is it?
In this post, we’ll explore knowledge management, why it matters, and why the right tools are critical to any strategy. We’ll also share a list of must-have features to look for when choosing a knowledge management system for your business.
What is knowledge management?
Perhaps you have a clear idea of what enterprise knowledge management is. Or maybe you’re not so sure. Either way, let’s start off by answering this foundational question: What is it?
Simply stated, knowledge management is the practice of gathering, organizing, and sharing knowledge and information with the right people.
Why is knowledge management important?
If you’re like most businesses, you have a huge volume of information spread across the organization. Some examples of the types of information include:
- Fact-based, straightforward information. For example, a list of features of a specific product offering.
- Formalized knowledge. Key knowledge and skills delivered through channels, including onboarding, ongoing training, and sales enablement.
- Experiential knowledge. Information and knowledge employees gain through practice and on-the-job experiences.
- Procedural information. Information that describes how to do something. For example, how to log in to the CRM for the first time or properly route a contract for approval.
Most organizations have a large amount of knowledge and information, and the volume continues to increase as the organization grows.
But often, knowledge and information are siloed. It lives in different places throughout the organization, it’s not organized, and employees struggle to find what they need.
Your customer-facing teams must be able to find the right information to do their jobs well. They shouldn’t have to spend endless time hunting down what they need.
A knowledge management practice (paired with the right system) ensures employees can always access the right information at the right time – quickly and easily.
What is a knowledge management system?
Organizations house an abundance of information, and this information is often siloed. Enterprise knowledge management is all about controlling the chaos so employees can find what they need, when they need it.
A knowledge management system makes this possible.
But what is it?
A knowledge management system is a tool or platform that enables organizations to find, store, organize, and share knowledge and information.
Knowledge management system examples
Organizations use different types of knowledge management systems. Broadly, they can be divided into two categories: internal and external.
Here’s a closer look at these two examples.
- Internal system: This system consolidates, organizes, and shares knowledge and information internally. For example, the go-to-market team may have a knowledge management system that serves as a single source of truth for all information.
- External systems: Some systems are used by external audiences. For example, you might use a one to ensure customers can access the information they need to get the most from your products and services. Or, you might use a knowledge management system to equip your partners with information and resources.
For this post, we’re focusing on internal systems – specifically those used by go-to-market teams.
The benefits of knowledge management systems
Knowledge and information accumulate. And often, it lives in multiple disparate systems.
A knowledge management system connects all information so teams have a single source of truth for knowledge and information.
These systems have some significant benefits. Let’s look at some that top the list.
Increased seller productivity
For sellers, the search for information can seem endless. They spend time hunting down information for one scenario just to turn around and do it all over again.
Unsurprisingly, reps spend less than 30% of their time selling.
Reps spend less than
With a knowledge management system, teams have a single source for all the information they need. That means they can spend less time searching and more time engaging with customers and winning deals.
Better buyer experiences
Modern B2B buyers have high expectations for great experiences. And when they have questions, they expect timely, accurate answers.
A knowledge management system equips sellers with the knowledge and information they need to deliver consistent experiences that delight customers. And when a rep gets a question from a customer, they no longer have to wait around for an answer from a subject matter expert. They can find the information they need on the enterprise system.
Improved collaboration
Chances are, knowledge floating around your organization is not being shared. For example, you might have a top-performing sales rep that employs certain best practices to close more deals.
A system helps cultivate a culture of learning. Teams have the opportunity to come together to exchange best practices and knowledge, which helps the entire team grow their skills.
Increased sales performance
With the right knowledge management system, sellers can easily access the knowledge they need to reach their full potential. Furthermore, buyers are more likely to have great experiences. That means your sellers will close more deals faster, and your revenue will grow.
Must-have features of knowledge management systems
Which knowledge management platform is right for your business? There’s no easy answer. You must consider your goals and find a tool with features and functionality that’ll help you achieve those goals.
When shopping for a system, be sure your options have these must-have features.
#1 An outstanding user experience
Your employees won’t use a knowledge management system if it’s hard to use. And that means your efforts (and investment) will be for nothing.
Be sure to find an option that’s intuitive and easy to use. Users should be able to easily navigate the knowledge management platform and find what they need within a few clicks.
#2 Mobile-friendly platform
The need for information doesn’t always hit when a seller sits at their desk. Instead, they might need to access knowledge and information while on the field, at a trade show, or waiting for a flight.
It’s important to ensure your chosen platform is accessible and easy to navigate, regardless of the seller’s device.
#3 Robust organization capabilities
You might have a lot of great information, but it’s useless if users can’t find it.
Be sure your chosen knowledge management tool has features and functionality that allow you to tag and organize different knowledge assets. Then, your sellers can easily run queries to find what they need and when needed.
#4 AI capabilities
Today, winning knowledge management systems are leveraging artificial intelligence to make it even easier for users to find the information and knowledge they need to do their jobs well. For example, a platform may leverage AI to offer sellers knowledge and information assets based on their unique needs.
Some platforms also incorporate an AI sales assistant, which enables sellers to ask questions and get real-time answers and information.
#5 Integrations with existing technology
Chances are, your revenue teams already use several tools and technology to do their jobs. About 63% of sales leaders indicate they have 10 or more tools in their current tech stack.
Sales leaders say that they have
It’s important to find a tool that integrates with your current tools. Otherwise, users will feel bogged down by yet another disparate solution they must learn to use daily.
#6 Support for a variety of knowledge formats
Knowledge can take many different forms. It could be a training video, a live discussion, or a written piece of sales content, just to name a few examples.
It’s important to ensure your chosen knowledge management system supports various formats. Otherwise, you’ll be forced to store different types of content in different places, which can cause chaos.
#7 Simple course creation
Chances are, your organization has plenty of existing knowledge and information. But there will be times when you need to create new sales training content.
Ensure your knowledge management system offers templates and other capabilities that make it easy to create new learning content quickly and easily. For example, Mindtickle includes out-of-the-box program templates that you can populate with content and launch quickly. A recent report found that, on average, it takes organizations up to four weeks to launch a new program, but starting with a program template reduces that number to seven days.
The average time to launch a program
In the future, AI will make it even easier for organizations to quickly and easily develop and deploy learning content. As such, it’s important to look for a knowledge management platform committed to continuous innovation.
#8 Role-plays
Often, information learned in training is forgotten. It’s important to provide opportunities for your sellers to put their knowledge into practice and sharpen their skills.
AI-powered role-plays are a great way for sellers to practice before money is on the line.
With AI role-plays, sellers can practice their skills in a realistic scenario with an adaptive AI bot. AI delivers real-time feedback, which the seller can use to perfect their skills and master knowledge.
#9 Robust analytics
Organizations need to understand how users engage with knowledge and information and how that engagement impacts outcomes.
Find a knowledge management system that provides robust data and analytics. Use these insights to optimize your knowledge management strategy.
#10 Knowledge sharing opportunities
When an organization builds a learning culture, teams and individuals often share feedback and best practices. Be sure your knowledge management software allows for this type of collaboration.
For example, some knowledge management platforms enable sellers to record role plays and share them with peers for feedback. Other organizations may incorporate best practices from top sellers in their video content.
It’s time to see what a knowledge management system can do for your revenue organization
Sellers rely on information to do their jobs—and do them well. For example, they need information to master the skills and behaviors they need to succeed. And when prospective customers ask a question, they need to get an accurate answer—and fast.
But often, sellers spend time and effort hunting down the right information. This time would be better spent delivering outstanding experiences that win customers.
With the right knowledge management system, your teams can find all the information and knowledge they need – whenever and wherever they need it. Sellers can spend less time searching for information and more time engaging with buyers. And that means they’ll close more deals – faster.
Better Knowledge Management with Mindtickle
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