vendor landscape plus: customer service knowledge...
TRANSCRIPT
Info-Tech Research Group 1
Vendor Landscape Plus:
Customer Service Knowledge Management Provide agents and customers with solutions, not search engines.
Info-Tech Research Group 2
Executive Summary
• Providing best-of-breed customer service is no accident: it requires a concerted strategy for leveraging relevant knowledge
throughout the organization. Customer Service Knowledge Management (CSKM) is about facilitating timely solutions to
customer service problems by getting the right information to the right person at the right time.
• Organizations with a high degree of product complexity and/or customer service complexity should strongly consider
adopting a standalone platform for Customer Service Knowledge Management. CSKM platforms provide a host of tools for
successfully resolving customer service issues. Common tools include knowledgebases, advanced search, and resolution
workflow tools like decision trees and service wizards.
• Tier-1 customer service representatives are not knowledge workers – they are process-oriented. Therefore, it’s important
to equip them with solutions focused on expedient resolution of customer problems rather than unfocused knowledge
sharing or internal collaboration. CSKM solutions must be integrated directly into service channels to succeed, such as
Web self-service, e-mail, chat, and phone support.
• Standalone CSKM platforms can improve a variety of key customer service metrics, such as customer retention and cost-
to-serve. Larger organizations with significant customer service operations and deep product lines are the most likely to
realize a high ROI from adopting a standalone platform that is integrated across all service channels.
• The market for CSKM tools is rich, with a variety of vendors and products to choose from. In its Vendor Landscape
evaluation process, Info-Tech found that KANA provided the most well-rounded platform. eGain provided the best
knowledgebase solution, while Moxie was the leader in social channel integration.
• Implementation considerations include putting together the deployment team, establishing points-of-integration, creating
platform security policies and executing initiatives aimed at end-user adoption. Organizations must also dedicate full-time
resources to ongoing management of the knowledgebase content and structure.
Info-Tech Research Group 3
Customer Service Knowledge Management (CSKM) can be a daunting task:
select the right platform to support users and agents across all channels.
Introduction
IT managers and technical staff who support
call center operations, including upkeep of
customer support Websites.
Customer Service Managers involved in the
selection process for customer service
applications.
Product and knowledge professionals
responsible for service resolution content.
Senior management involved in customer
service steering committees.
Understand how effective knowledge
management is a critical customer service
activity, and how a dedicated CSKM platform
can improve key customer service metrics.
Build an effective strategy for leveraging
customer service knowledge across all service
channels.
Evaluate and select from a shortlist of vendors.
Implement and optimize the selected platform.
This Research Is Designed For: This Research Will Help You:
Info-Tech Research Group 4
The Info-Tech Customer Service Roadmap
Customer Service
Strategy
Taking Customer
Service Social
Customer
Service Solution
Selection
Design a Customer Service Strategy that Services the Social Customer
• Providing world-class customer service is a critical differentiator in a competitive marketplace.
Organizations are taking advantage of both traditional and social interaction channels to serve
customers (though adoption of Web 2.0 channels for service lags behind sales and marketing).
• Building a robust customer service strategy that addresses issues like channel switching, migration, and
escalation is a critical starting point.
Customer Service
Management Suites
• Customer Service Management (CSM) suites
provide a range of functionality for effectively
resolving service inquiries, such as skills-
based routing and case management tools.
Customer Service Knowledge
Management Platforms
• Supporting knowledge management in the
customer service organization is critical for
successful resolutions.
• This set will help you select the right CSKM
platform.
Leverage Social Media for Enhanced
Customer Interaction
• New customer interaction channels (social
media) require alignment with your existing
CRM strategy.
• Build a plan for leveraging these channels in
marketing, sales and customer service.
Implement a Social Media Strategy
• Implementing wide-scale social initiatives
requires moving from “listening post” to
“command center.” Organizations must
embed opportunities for social engagement
at various touch points (including customer
service).
Info-Tech Research Group 5
What’s in this Section: Sections:
Build a Strategy for Customer Service Knowledge Management
Build a CSKM Strategy
Create a Selection Roadmap
Select the Right Platform
Implement and Optimize
• Understand what CSKM is and why it’s a necessity
for organizations with complex service requirements.
• Understand how using a standalone CSKM platform
can improve key customer service metrics.
• Decide whether a standalone CSKM platform is right
for your organization.
• Develop a set of best practices for supporting multi-
channel customer service with specific CSKM tools.
Info-Tech Research Group 6
You need a strategy for managing & leveraging organizational knowledge in order to resolve service issues
• Many organizations face market pressures that make
providing world-class customer service a necessity. In a
competitive marketplace, the ability to quickly and
accurately address customer issues is a prerequisite for
ensuring customer satisfaction and retention.
• Knowledge Management (KM) is the stewardship of
information, ideas and insights. KM practices can be
applied to a variety of an organization’s processes, both
internal (i.e. employee collaboration) and external (for
customer/partner relationship management).
• CSKM is focused on how to leverage organizational
knowledge to effectively and efficiently resolve customer
issues. There are a number of standalone software
platforms available to assist organizations with this facet of
KM. KM crosses many business domains. This research
focuses on external-facing KM for customer service.
Customer Service Knowledge Management (CSKM) is the capture, retention, categorization, and
dissemination of information to resolve customer issues: It’s all about getting the right information
to the right person at the right time (and with the right amount of cost and effort).
Partner-Facing
Knowledge Management (i.e. strategic partnerships)
Internal-Facing
Knowledge Management (i.e. employee collaboration)
External-Facing
Knowledge Management (i.e. customer
service)
Enterprise Knowledge Management
Organizations that excel at customer service have a common dedication to developing processes and
systems for organizing and managing service-relevant knowledge. If your firm has sizeable customer
service operations that warrant a standalone platform, this research will help you select a vendor.
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A breakdown in CSKM means poor resolution of problems – and customer defection!
Organizations need to give consistent resolutions to queries and
problems across all channels, from self-service to assisted-
service. The lack of a common knowledgebase across service
channels causes frustration for both agents and customers
because it leads to inconsistent and uneven solutions.
As product lines grow in size and complexity, simple search
solutions and FAQs cannot support customer demands.
Not having effective practices or solutions for Customer Service
Knowledge Management leads to excessive service times,
increased cost to serve, and high customer churn. A
standalone CSKM platform can remedy many of these concerns
by providing unified knowledgebase, advanced search and
resolution workflow capabilities.
Enterprises are investing considerable resources to provide service that exceeds customer
expectations. Don’t get left behind: poor customer service results in decreased customer
satisfaction, high attrition and – if left unchecked – anemic top-line revenue growth.
Negative Impact of Poor Customer
Service Knowledge Management:
Resolutions to the most common problems are
not easily available, resulting in manual hunting
for the “right” answer: this wastes agents’ time
and increases labor costs.
Agents do not give uniform answers to similar
service inquiries. If these inconsistencies are
brought to light (i.e. via social channels), it
undermines the service organization’s credibility
and damages brand equity. This increases
customer defections and retention costs.
Information can’t be easily transferred between
representatives. If your agents can’t reference a
common knowledge base, there is no unifying
point-of-reference. This increases
administrative and overhead expenses.
Proper CSKM can be beneficial for all organizations, because
customers are what make organizations exist in the first place.
Without customers, where would businesses be? Nowhere!
IT Manager, Legal Services
Info-Tech Research Group 8
Don’t design your CSKM processes around Tier-1 Customer Service Agents like they are knowledge workers!
Cases may occasionally be escalated to traditional knowledge
workers, but Tier-1 agents are process-driven: traditional
enterprise knowledge management and search solutions,
designed for researchers, are inappropriate for CSKM: a
specialized platform is required.
Design to support transactions: the goal is to provide process
workers with the embedded tools they need to resolve customer
service issues. Select tools that are designed with ease-of-use,
process and channels integration in mind – CSKM platforms are
not designed for internal collaboration (look to this Collaboration
& Teamware research for information on internal collaboration).
To create and maintain a professional knowledgebase requires a
specific skill set above that of the typical call center agent.
Degreed library science professionals often excel at this job.
The majority of workers in any given
organization are process-oriented. This holds
particularly true for call center operations.
Customer Service Representatives in call centers are process-centric: they need a platform that
embraces this reality and enables rapid problem identification and solution retrieval.
Sr.
Mgmt.
Knowledge Workers
Process Workers
Deploying traditional knowledge management tools to front-line customer service representatives is a
strategic mistake: Tier-1 reps must focus on expedient processing and resolution of customer service
issues, not activities like research, ideation and knowledge-sharing. Select a dedicated CSKM platform
with a toolset that reflects this reality: do NOT extend traditional search tools to these workers.
Info-Tech Research Group 9
Don’t rely on search engines alone if your organization has a high degree of product and service complexity
• There are two approaches to CSKM content management:
search indexing of external sources and using a built-in
CSKM knowledgebase.
• A common mistake is simply adding a search engine layer
over top of existing content (i.e. from a product page or
SharePoint site). This approach is unsuitable for any
company that considers customer service to be a core
activity.
• Having a discrete customer service KB means that
resolutions are always being pulled from a common
source. There is “one version of the truth”. It also makes
authoring, updating, organizing and retiring content a
straightforward task, since articles in the KB are managed in
a single place.
• Most CSKM platforms do provide indexing of content other
than that found in the knowledgebase – this is fine (in fact,
desirable). But external context indexing should be used
in conjunction with a dedicated knowledgebase, not as
a substitution to one.
Successful customer service requires a discrete knowledgebase in which to
author, manage, and optimize content specifically for service resolution.
Info-Tech Research Group 10
Opt for a centralized CSKM platform to gain access to a variety of powerful features for enhancing customer service initiatives
Standalone CSKM platforms offer a variety of features
aimed at facilitating quick resolutions to customer problems.
These features go “above and beyond” what is offered in
Customer Relationship Management platforms.
There are five broad feature categories that are included in
most CSKM platforms:
• Content Repositories: knowledgebases that hold
customer service resolution articles; typically include tools
for authoring and editorial workflows.
• Advanced Search and Indexing: allow queries to be run
against internal knowledgebases and external content
that’s been indexed; provide ability to easily navigate
search results.
• Resolution Workflow Tools: tools that aid agents and
customers in rapidly resolving issues – common examples
include decision trees and wizards.
• Reporting and Analytics: provide information on CSKM
knowledgebases (e.g. highlighting gaps in the taxonomy).
• Social and Mobile Tools: social sharing, social analytics,
mobile platform access.
CSKM platforms bring many features under one roof.
CSKM Platform
Content Repositories
Advanced Search and
Indexing
Resolution Workflow
Tools
Reporting and Analytics
Social and Mobile Tools
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Base your strategy for service knowledge management on the myriad of benefits provided by standalone CSKM platforms
External Facing (Self-Service): Internal Facing (Assisted-Service):
Eff
ecti
ven
ess-B
ased
: E
ffic
ien
cy-B
ased
:
CSKMs allow agents to more effectively handle customer
service inquiries. Clunky searches are replaced by well-
organized knowledgebases that can be continually
updated and refreshed with the most accurate content.
Key metrics improved by a CSKM platform:
Increased customer satisfaction rate through all
assisted service channels
Increased consistency of resolutions
Customers using self-service channels want to get at the
information they need with a minimal amount of headaches.
Supporting your self-service initiatives with a CSKM back-end
means that they can quickly access relevant information.
Key metrics improved by a CSKM platform:
Increased customer satisfaction through self-service channels
Increased customer retention rate
Decreased coverage gaps in critical self-service taxonomies
Having a CSKM platform also increases agent
productivity. Agents spending less time worrying about
processes will have more time to directly serve customers.
Key metrics improved by a CSKM platform:
Decreased time-to-resolution for customer service
inquiries through assisted-service channels (chat,
telephony).
Increased agent-utilization rates
Decreased average cost-to-serve for agent-assisted
customer service.
CSKMs cut down the time it takes for customers to get at “need-
to-know” information. They also provide customers with tools for
providing feedback to the organization on the usefulness of their
support (i.e. ability to rate and comment on knowledgebase
articles).
Key metrics improved by a CSKM platform:
Decreased time-to-resolution for customer service inquiries
through self-service channels.
Avoid assisted service as first contact or escalation to assisted
service through good self-service.
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Use knowledge tools for mobile self-service or to support field technicians in order to have higher CSKM tool success
The overall customer service knowledge management tool success was calculated
by taking the average of the following questions:
•Customers are able to solve problems on their own
•Consistency in solutions conveyed by service agents has improved
•Average time to resolution has decreased
•It is easier to capture and retain service knowledge
•It is easier to disseminate service knowledge across the enterprise
•It is easier to detect potential product defects based on service queries
•Our customer service costs have been reduced
To increase the amount of success you have with your
customer service knowledge management tools you
should leverage two things:
Support mobile customer self-service
Support field technician assisted customer service
85% of companies are not using
CSKM tools for mobile service and
69% fail to leverage them with their
field technician assisted customer
service. They are losing out.
Among all customer service channels,
Info Tech found these two had the
highest customer service success
correlations. If your organization isn’t
currently leveraging CSKM tools in
mobile or field assisted service, it’s
worth considering.
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The majority of organizations are lagging in knowledge tool adoption. Don’t follow their example.
This does NOT mean you should disregard the value of knowledge tools for your service
channels. Being one of the few companies to use them will give your organization a
competitive advantage. With this low adoption rate, knowledge tools offer your company a
chance to establish a competitive advantage through customer service.
Don’t follow the path others have taken; chart your own course and arrive ahead.
Leverage the CSKM Platform to create competitive advantage!
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Determine fit first: adopting a standalone CSKM can be extremely valuable, but it’s not for every organization
Not all organizations will find a CSKM equally valuable. Segment by product and service complexity to
determine if using a dedicated platform is the right option for your organization.
Adopting a standalone CSKM platform can positively impact a number of key customer service metrics.
However, not all organizations will see the benefits of adopting a standalone. For example, smaller firms with
a relatively straightforward product line are unlikely to realize a positive return on investment. Follow
these guidelines for assessing if a standalone CSKM platform is a natural fit for your organization.
Adopt a standalone CSKM platform if: Bypass a standalone CSKM platform if:
• Your organization is smaller. B2B firms that rely on only a
few key clients are unlikely to require a standalone
CSKM platform due to a low volume of customer
service interactions.
• Your product line is straightforward and
uncomplicated: you sell relatively few kinds of products.
Organizations that sell commodities or near-commodities
fall into this category.
• Service complexity is low: most customer service
inquiries are of a process-related nature, such as
RMAs. Inquiries can be handled by a small team, or
passed directly to relevant employees in the business.
• Your organization is a medium-to-large enterprise that focuses predominantly on the consumer marketplace (either directly or through channel partners). Firms that use the B2C and B2B2C model are good candidates.
• Your organization has a high degree of product complexity: multiple business units, brands, and product lines are offered.
• Your organization a high degree of service complexity: there’s a high volume of customer service requests, and/or requests tend to be of a technical or domain-specific nature. Organizations with a large, dedicated contact center are high on the support complexity dimension.
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Use your organization’s product complexity and customer service complexity as a guideline for assessing CSKM fit
• Nearly all organizations need some degree of customer service, but a standalone CSKM option is not always the right fit.
Realizing business value through a standalone CSKM solution will only occur under given circumstances.
• Organizations can gain clarity around the “go, no-go” decision by focusing on where they fall on a scale of product
complexity and customer service complexity. Those with a high degree of both product and customer service
complexity are strong candidates for acquiring a standalone CSKM platform.
Product Complexity encompasses both the
breadth and depth of the organization’s product
portfolio. Firms that rate highly for product
complexity exhibit the following characteristics: a
large number of brands and individual SKUs,
technologically complex products (i.e. industrial
or consumer electronics) or products with a large
number of potential add-ons or complementary
products.
Customer Service Complexity refers to the
degree of effort involved with providing customer
service. Low complexity organizations have
primarily transactional inquiries. High complexity
organizations handle service workflows requiring
symptom analysis, problem identification and
solution delivery.
Product and Customer Service Complexity Product Complexity
Custo
mer
Serv
ice C
om
ple
xity
Standalone
CSKM Platform CRM or CSM Built-in
Functionality
Manual Customer
Service Management
CRM or CSM Built-in
Functionality
+ - +
-
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Organizations with a shoe-string budget should consider using an IT Service Management Platform as a CSKM substitute
Some organizations have recruited internal helpdesk software to the customer service battle.
If your organization needs more functionality than your CRM solution offers, but does not
require a dedicated CSKM platform, this could be your ideal middle ground.
For information on choosing Help Desk Software Solutions,
please refer to Vendor Landscape Plus: Help Desk Software Solutions
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Assess which CSKM opportunities exist for your organization with an opportunity assessment
Use Info-Tech’s Customer Service Knowledge Management Opportunity Assessment Tool to determine, based on
your unique criteria, where opportunities exist for your organization.
1. Organizations with complex product
offerings or customer service goals
will be most likely to benefit from the
adoption of a standalone CKSM
platform.
2. Medium to large organizations are
typically better positioned to take
advantage of a standalone platform,
especially when they have rate
highly on product and service
complexity.
Info-Tech Insight
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A CSKM platform must complement your existing channel interaction strategy– use it to support your channel mix!
• As more customer interaction channels become available, organizations must ensure that all channels are aligned into a cohesive multi-channel strategy. For customer service, this means allowing customers to easily transition between different channels for migration and escalation purposes.
• A customer should be able to start in one channel (for example, Web self-service or social media) and seamlessly transition to another. Information should be handed off at each transition point. If a customer has to reiterate the same information each time they jump channels, the process is inefficient and bound to be frustrating to customers. Avoid this by establishing clear points-of-integration between channels.
• A multi-channel customer service strategy should be supported by a unified CSKM platform. It is absolutely critical that ALL customer interaction channels are using the same underlying CSKM platform (knowledgebases, resolution tools, etc.). Failing to have a unified CSKM platform supporting these channels results in solution inconsistency, inefficiency and low customer satisfaction.
Developing a multi-channel customer service strategy comes first: the next step is to support this strategy
with a unified knowledgebase and tools from a dedicated CSKM platform. See this research for more
details on crafting a strategy that optimizes escalation, channel switching, and channel economics.
An optimized framework for
customer interaction:
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Support e-mail and live interaction with a CSKM platform to strengthen resolution consistency & time-to-results
Different channels will leverage the CSKM platform in different ways. Follow the best
practices below to achieve the full potential of your tools.
Live Interaction (voice, chat, face-to-face)
CSKM Platform
E-mail is a mainstay of most customer service organizations, and one that
benefits significantly from having a full knowledge base in place. A unified KB
allows consistency between representatives answering e-mail. It also allows for
auto-reply from a KB lookup, before allowing the customer to submit their inquiry
to assisted service.
Resolution workflow tools are indispensible for telephony-based assisted
service. Use an agent-facing decision tree or support wizard to guide your
Tier-1 customer service representatives in capturing symptoms. A
designated knowledge manager should engineer the resolution workflow
in the CSKM platform, then make the tools (decision trees/wizards)
available for all service representatives. When a customer calls in, the
tools can be used to quickly pinpoint relevant solutions.
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Web Self-Service, Social and Mobile channels are optimized by backing them up with a dedicated CSKM platform
Different channels will leverage the CSKM platform in different ways. Follow the best
practices below to achieve the full potential of your tools.
Web Self-Service
Social and Mobile
CSKM Platform
Beyond a certain size, providing Web self-service via a list of Frequently Asked
Questions or individual KB pages is inappropriate. Implement a CSKM in order to
provide a powerful front-and-back end to your Web self service channels. The front end
should utilize self-service portals with the ability to favourite and suggest content; the
back-end should be a well-categorized knowledgebase with robust search capabilities.
CSKM provides customers with an easy method to share helpful articles via one-click
social sharing functionality. Some CSKM platforms are notable for providing the
ability to build micro-portals on social networking services like Facebook. On the
mobile side, integrate dedicated customer-facing mobile apps with CSKM knowledge
bases in order to ensure consistency for resolutions.
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Senior management at a mid-sized provider of consumer
electronics fingered poor service as a major source of
customer churn: a CSKM platform helped turn that around.
Example: One consumer electronics provider realized a dramatic boost in customer satisfaction with a CSKM platform
Industry:
Segment:
Consumer Electronics
Specialized Audio Recording Devices
• A mid-sized provider of
specialized audio recorders had
a significant problem with
customer churn. Customers
frequently defected to other
brands after purchasing the
company’s products.
• Customer service was
haphazard: a small list of FAQs
was the only real source of Web
self-service. E-mail and
telephone inquiries were
handled by a dedicated call
center, but one that lacked
formal CSKM processes.
Situation: High Customer Churn
• Following a report from a well-
known consulting film, senior
management realized that
customers were simply not
getting the basic level of support
they needed to use their
products. The recorders were
often complicated enough that at
least one service touch point
was required.
• A standalone CSKM platform
was adopted, and a full-time
knowledge manager was hired
to resolve the situation.
Action: CSKM Adoption
• Although initial deployment was
not without its obstacles (for
example, populating the KB took
longer than expected), the
results were highly encouraging.
• Resolution consistency was
heightened within product lines
and representatives. Customers
were substantially more satisfied
with the service they were
receiving.
• After one year, churn
decreased more than 40%.
Results: Decreased Churn
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What’s in this Section: Sections:
Create a Roadmap for Platform Selection
Build a CSKM Strategy
Create a Selection Roadmap
Select the Right Platform
Implement and Optimize
• Follow Info-Tech’s model for selecting a CSKM
platform.
• There are three pillars to the section process:
◦ Knowing your end-users.
◦ Understanding your goals.
◦ Selecting a platform that aligns that business
needs and technical requirements.
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Follow Info-Tech’s model for Selecting a CSKM Platform
Determine business
requirements
Translate into functional
requirements
Determine evaluation
criteria
Evaluate vendors against criteria
Perform vendor
review & select a vendor
Before evaluating and selecting vendors, be sure to sit down with relevant
stakeholders in the business (call center managers, front-line service personnel, etc.)
to ascertain the necessary business requirements that the platform must meet.
Even if IT is leading the charge on CSKM selection, the process MUST involve
ongoing consultation with different departmental stakeholders!
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Selection of a CSKM Platform falls to call center technical staff, but needs involvement of business stakeholders
• The selection of a platform for CSKM typically falls to the technical staff supporting call center or contact center operations.
These staff have intimate first-hand knowledge of the processes and culture of the call center, and are well positioned to
serve as a valuable technical advisor.
• However, the business MUST be a partner in the selection – after all, it’s the business (service organization) that will be
using the platform. Don’t lose sight of the business objectives that the platform must meet (superior customer service).
• The selection committee must consist of representatives from both the business (e.g. customer service managers) and IT
(e.g. call center technical staff).
Business
• Responsible for high-level requirements (preferably in relation to specific metrics).
• Ultimately responsible for chosen solution – ownership of the platform rests with the business.
IT
• Translate business requirements into functional criteria.
• Identify points-of-integration.
• Serve as technical advisor.
• Assist with implementation and training.
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Choose the right platform by having a thorough understanding of user & business requirements
Select a platform that aligns with the
needs of your users and business
goals and requirements. Evaluation
criteria must be clearly linked to an
understanding of your workforce dynamics
and the goals of the customer service
organization.
The next section of this solution set
outlines a number of vendors and
provides a series of tools for aiding you in
selecting a vendor that meets your
business needs and technical
requirements.
Recall: the vast majority of Tier-1
customer service representatives are
NOT knowledge workers. They are
process-oriented: CSKM solutions
need to focus on expedient customer
service resolution, rather than
employee collaboration or new content
generation.
Common considerations that stem
from this paradigm should include:
• Ensuring that knowledgebases
support an intuitive and easy-to-
understand taxonomy.
• A focus on resolution workflow tools
like decision trees that take the
guesswork out of problem-solving.
The return is proportional to the effort and planning put in; resourcing this properly can be a challenge.
- IT Manager, re: requirements and deployment “ ”
Define specific business goals (end-
user requirements) and translate them
into functional criteria that will be
supported by the platform. Common
business goals that are encountered for
CSKM deployments include:
• Increasing customer service
effectiveness (i.e. resolution efficacy
and consistency)
• Increasing customer service
efficiency (i.e. time-to-resolution and
cost-to-serve)
• Increasing key growth and retention
metrics (i.e. customer churn and new
acquisitions)
Know your users Understand your goals Select a platform
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Issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to ensure that the vendor fits your needs; not the other way around!
Use Info-Tech’s CSKM RFP Template to conduct
this critical step in your vendor selection process.
The Statement of Work
Proposal Preparation Instructions
Scope of Work
Basic Feature Requirements
Advanced Feature Requirements
Sizing and Implementation
Vendor Qualifications and References
Budget and Estimated Pricing
Vendor Certification
Approval Sign-Offs
Info-Tech’s CSKM RFP Template is populated with
critical elements including:
Issue RFP Score RFP Conduct
Vendor Demo
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Evaluate RFP Responses!
The CSKM RFP Scoring Tool is pre-built with
essential criteria complementing the CSKM RFP
Template.
Use the tool to drive the procurement meeting
with your procurement department
To get the most value out of the RFP process, use the RFP Scoring Tool as a benchmark for evaluation
Use Info-Tech’s
CSKM RFP Scoring Tool to:
A standard & transparent process for scoring individual vendor RFP
responses will help ensure that internal team biases are minimized.
Issue RFP Score RFP Conduct
Vendor Demo
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The CSKM Vendor Demo Script provides
evaluators with a consistent set of
instructions for examining different feature
sets. The script is segmented by three user
scenarios, asking that vendors demonstrate
capabilities and functions for each group:
1. Customer Service Knowledge Managers
2. Customer Service Agents
3. Customers
Take charge of vendor finalist demos with the CSKM Platform Vendor Demo Script
This tool is designed to provide vendors
with a consistent set of instructions for
key scenarios from the perspective of IT
and departmental managers.
A product demo helps enterprise decision-makers better understand the
capabilities & constraints of various solutions.
Issue RFP Score RFP Conduct
Vendor Demo
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What’s in this Section: Sections:
Evaluate and Select the Right Platform
Build a CSKM Strategy
Create a Selection Roadmap
Select the Right Platform
Implement and Optimize
• Overview of how the CSKM platform market has
grown and where it’s going.
• Review of the major vendors in the CSKM platform
space, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses.
• Info-Tech’s Vendor LandscapeTM and evaluation of
collaboration vendors.
• Scenarios for selection.
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CSKM Market Overview
• Customer service organizations started adding
searchable “notes” to mainframe CIS platforms, in
addition to providing agents with service call scripts.
• Eventually, dedicated collections of notes were
maintained by product specialists for agent use.
• Then best of breed vendors began to recognize the
need for a specific product that addressed companies’
organizational pain. They began to offer
knowledgebases, search and structural (taxonomy,
category) capabilities.
• Later, vendors began to merge external sources into the
query layer, along with more complex service and
support.
• Major CRM and CSM vendors now have “good enough”
built-in, basic CSKM capabilities for low to medium
complexity needs.
• Vendors are beginning to recognize mobile as a
rapidly emerging area of customer service and are
extending their offerings to account for it. Some
dedicated mobile applications have already entered
the market, and more are on the horizon.
• Social media is another area gaining attention in
customer service. Consequently, vendors have turned
attention toward that as well in the form of social
listening and social-sharing of popular service
resolutions
• SaaS is making CSKM more affordable for smaller
organizations, but the best fit for CSKM remains high
product complexity and high service complexity
scenarios, not organizational size alone.
• Convergence of self-service and assisted service at
the smartphone level is the next big trend that will
impact CSKM, and will require agents to have access
to a customer’s self-service history before escalating
to assisted service.
How it got here: Where it’s going:
Basic CSKM has become a commodity feature of CRM and CSM platforms. However, the market demand
for high complexity service needs of larger organizations is strong and being reinforced by social
collaboration and the use of mobile devices as service points of interaction.
Info-Tech Research Group 31
Feature Basic/Adv. What we looked for:
Content Repository
(Knowledgebases)
Basic Native knowledgebases are present in the platform.
Advanced Knowledgebases support rich media; content syndication capabilities present.
Advanced Search Basic Able to search the platform’s knowledgebase.
Advanced Able to index and search other content repositories (for example, SharePoint).
Taxonomic Navigation Basic Content repositories organized by specific taxonomies (administrator or user-defined)
Advanced Ability to actively refine search results through taxonomy.
Resolution Workflow Tools Basic Guided search results are provided.
Advanced More symptom capture tools, such as decision trees and service wizards, are provided.
Authorship and Editorial
Controls
Basic Ability to define authorship and editing permissions by user level.
Advanced Support for advanced editorial and approval workflows.
Reporting and Analytics Basic Provides reports demonstrating knowledge gaps and content utilization.
Advanced Real-time analytics and an interactive dashboard is provided.
Customer Involvement and
Peer to Peer Support
Basic Customers are able to rate and comment on individual pieces of content.
Advanced Forums and communities are provided where customers can help each other.
Web Portals Basic The platform supports customer-facing and agent-facing portals.
Advanced Portals are highly customizable; they can be tailored to user needs (i.e. search histories)
Social and Mobile Support Basic Provides a mobile-optimized site; provides social sharing
Advanced Provides access via dedicated mobile applications
Globalization Basic Applications are available in multiple languages.
Advanced Search engine and knowledgebase can support multilingual content.
Info-Tech evaluated a range of features: basic points were awarded for table stakes, more for advanced functionality*
*See appendix for scoring methodology
Info-Tech Research Group 32
CSKM Platform Criteria & Weighting Factors
15%
20%
15%
50% Features
Usability
Affordability
Architecture
40%
60%
Product
Vendor
Vendor Evaluation
Vendor is committed to the space and has a
future product and portfolio roadmap. Strategy
Vendor offers global coverage and is able to
sell and provide post-sales support. Reach
Vendor is profitable, knowledgeable, and will
be around for the long-term. Viability
Vendor channel strategy is appropriate and the
channels themselves are strong. Channel
Product Evaluation
The solution’s dashboard and reporting tools
are intuitive and easy to use. Usability
The delivery method of the solution aligns with
what is expected within the space. Architecture
The three year TCO of the solution is
economical. Affordability
The solution provides basic
and advanced feature/functionality. Features
40%
15% 15%
30% Viability
Strategy
Reach
Channel
Info-Tech Research Group 33
Info-Tech’s vendor shortlist includes market and product-leading vendors of CSKM platforms
• Consona Veteran vendor with strong search and categorization capabilities.
• eGain An established vendor with best-of-breed knowledgebase and resolution workflow tools.
• Endeca Excels at e-commerce support and supporting federated service knowledge needs.
• InQuira Strong candidate for organizations requiring robust application integration features.
• KANA An established market leader that provides a comprehensive CSKM feature set.
• Moxie A vendor that excels in the social CSKM space.
Included in the Vendor Landscape:
• The CSKM marketplace is mature, and organizations have various options to meet their needs. A number of vendors offer
solutions that span the full gamut of features: knowledgebases, advanced search, resolution workflow tools, and social
and mobile functionality.
• For this Vendor Landscape, Info-Tech focused on those vendors that have a strong market presence and/or reputational
presence among mid-to-large organizations (i.e. those most likely to require a standalone CSKM solution).
Info-Tech Research Group 34
The Info-Tech Customer Service Knowledge Management Vendor Landscape
Champions receive high scores for most
evaluation criteria and offer excellent value.
They have a strong market presence and
are usually the trend setters for the industry.
Market Pillars are established players with
very strong vendor credentials, but with
more average product scores.
Innovators have demonstrated innovative
product strengths that act as their
competitive advantage in appealing to niche
segments of the market.
Emerging players are newer vendors who
are starting to gain a foothold in the
marketplace. They balance product and
vendor attributes, though score lower
relative to market Champions.
For an explanation of how the Info-Tech Vendor Landscape is created, please see Vendor Evaluation Methodology in the appendices.
Consona
eGain Endeca
InQuira
KANA
Moxie
Info-Tech Research Group 35
50 50 50 50 50 50
What is a Value Score?
The Info-Tech CSKM Market Value Index
The Value Score indexes each vendor’s
product offering and business strength
relative to their price point. It does
not indicate vendor ranking.
Vendors that score high offer more bang for
the buck (e.g. features, usability, stability,
etc.) than the average vendor, while the
inverse is true for those that score lower.
Price-conscious enterprises may wish to give
the Value Score more consideration than
those who are more focused on specific
vendor/product attributes.
Only KANA and Consona
provided pricing for this market.
As a result, an accurate value
index could not be reliably
calculated.
Sources:
1. To calculate the Value Score for each vendor, the affordability raw score was backed out, the product
scoring reweighted, and the affordability score multiplied by the product of the Vendor and Product scores.
Champion
Moxie KANA InQuira Endeca eGain
Consona
Info-Tech Research Group 36
Every vendor has its strengths & weaknesses; pick the one that works best for you
Product Vendor
Features Usability Price Viability Strategy Channel Reach Platform Overall Overall
For an explanation of how the Info-Tech Harvey Balls are calculated, please see Vendor Evaluation Methodology in the appendices.
Legend =Exemplary = Good = Adequate =Inadequate = Poor
KANA
Endeca*
eGain*
InQuira*
Moxie*
Consona
* Vendor declined to provide pricing.
Product Vendor
Features Usability Afford-
ability Viability Strategy Channel Reach
Architec-
ture Overall Overall
Legend =Exemplary = Good = Adequate =Inadequate = Poor
Info-Tech Research Group 37
Each vendor offers a different feature set; concentrate on what you need
Content
Repository
Advanced
Search
User-facing
Portals
Agent-
Facing
Portals
Resolution
Workflow
Tools
Taxonomic
Navigation
Consona
eGain
Endeca
InQuira
KANA
Moxie
Legend = Feature fully present = Basic feature available = Feature limited/absent
Info-Tech Research Group 38
Each vendor offers a different feature set; concentrate on what you need (continued)
Consona
eGain
Endeca
InQuira
KANA
Moxie
Reporting
and
Analytics
Mobile
Features
Authorship
and Editorial
Controls
Personalization
Capabilities Globalization
Social
Features
Legend = Feature fully present = Basic feature available = Feature limited/absent
Info-Tech Research Group 39
$1
Info-Tech Recommends:
Organizations with vast amounts of content will see a lot of value in KANA’s extensive service
resolution capabilities. However, those wishing to leverage social media will have to look elsewhere.
Product:
Employees:
Headquarters:
Website:
Founded:
Presence:
SEM Knowledge Management
362
Sunnyvale, CA
kana.com
1996
Privately held company
KANA provides organizations with extensive personalization, service resolution, authorship and editorial capabilities
Champion • KANA was one of the first vendors to enter the CSKM space
and define the market. They have stayed strong over the years
and still offer a best-of-breed solution that covers a number of
important bases.
Overview
• Offers the ability to crawl content both internally and externally.
• Has industry leading service resolution capabilities, as well as
authorship and editorial controls.
• Extensive personalization of web portals allows customers to
create UIs that seamlessly match their own website.
• Strong reporting and analytics capabilities.
Strengths
• Social features have yet to be fully developed, but their recent
acquisition of Overtone (a social media listening and analytics
vendors) suggests this will be greatly strengthened in future
releases.
Challenges
3 Year TCO: Tier 7; between $100k and $250k
$1M+
Info-Tech Research Group 40
$1
Info-Tech Recommends:
Organizations making a strong play to dominate social channels will definitely want to look at Moxie.
Product:
Employees:
Headquarters:
Website:
Founded:
Presence:
Customer Spaces
220
Mountain View, CA
moxiesoft.com
2006
Privately held company
Moxie Software proves to be a solid choice for organizations with social customer interaction as a priority
Champion • Founded in 2006, Moxie Software plays in both the customer
collaboration and employee collaboration arenas (with its
Customer Spaces and Employee Spaces, respectively).
• Strong emphasis on the “friend-of-a-friend” model.
Overview
• Moxie is extremely strong on social features. It provides many
options for peer-to-peer and social sharing tools, as well as
tools for agents to interact with customers over social
channels. Also offers social monitoring and analysis.
• Moxie also provides best-of-breed mobile support, with a
number of dedicated mobile applications.
Strengths
• Moxie is not as strong on the traditional knowledgebase and
search side of the equation. Enterprise search capabilities are
limited to internal platform knowledgebases and some
integration with SharePoint.
• Knowledgebase authorship and editorial controls are also not
as strong as some of its competitors.
Challenges
$1M+
Vendor declined to provide pricing.
Info-Tech Research Group 41
Info-Tech Recommends:
Organizations that are Oracle shops or need strong integration capabilities should look at InQuira,
those needing social and mobile capabilities need not apply.
Product:
Employees:
Headquarters:
Website:
Founded:
Presence:
Knowledge Platform
180
San Bruno, CA
inquira.com
2002
NASDAQ: CSCO
FY2011 Revenue: $43B
InQuira is a strong candidate for organizations requiring robust application integration features
Market Pillar • In July 2011, InQuira was acquired by Oracle. Their product
has three main core capabilities: knowledge base
management, natural language search, and advanced
analytics and reporting.
Overview
• Strong integration capabilities, including out-of-the-box
integration with Siebel and Oracle CRM on Demand.
• Product is designed around KCS principles.
• Oracle’s vast resources are there to support customers – very
few vendor-specific deficiencies.
Strengths
• Social features have no listening or monitoring capabilities.
• No indication of mobile support.
• No strong ability to set entitlements between different users.
Challenges
Vendor declined to provide pricing.
$1 $1M+
Info-Tech Research Group 42
$1
Info-Tech Recommends:
Organizations with extensive product or service lines that are in need of strong categorization abilities
will find a lot of value in Consona.
Product:
Employees:
Headquarters:
Website:
Founded:
Presence:
Consona KM
504
Indianapolis, IN
crm.consona.com
1986
Privately held company
Consona is a veteran vendor with strong categorization and search abilities, but lags in the reporting and analytics areas
Emerging Player • Consona is one of the oldest vendors in this market. Their
product is largely developed around the “Knowledge-Centered
Support” (KCS) methodology.
Overview
• Offers the ability to crawl content both internally and externally
– for example, internal service resources as well as material
that exists on the Web.
• Strong categorization and natural language capabilities.
• Provides superior service resolution capabilities.
Strengths
• Aging content authoring abilities.
• No dedicated mobile apps or mobile-optimized browser,
though plans for it are in progress.
Challenges
3 Year TCO: Tier 10, Over $1M+
$1M+
Info-Tech Research Group 43
Info-Tech Recommends:
Endeca is a good fit for resellers who need e-commerce guided navigation as well as searching
across multiple manufacturers’ service knowledge sources, but lacks a native knowledgebase.
Product:
Employees:
Headquarters:
Website:
Founded:
Presence:
Endeca InFront
494
Cambridge, MA
endeca.com
1999
Privately Held Company
Endeca excels at e-commerce support and supporting federated service knowledge needs
Emerging Player • Endeca InFront is a comprehensive suite for CSKM. The
company focuses more on search capabilities (i.e. crawling
existing content) than it does on standalone KB functionality.
Endeca was recently acquired by Oracle.
Overview
• Strong vendor product focus on guided navigation.
• Very good fit for organizations needing one solution for both
service and e-commerce related search.
• Federated indexing approach fits organizations that cannot
control service knowledge in a single location, like channel
resellers that get service content from many suppliers.
Strengths
• Endeca does not have native knowledgebase support: rather,
it indexes existing content from other sources and emulates a
single source of content by strong organization at the query
level. Organizations looking for a platform that has a full-
featured knowledgebase will want to look elsewhere.
Challenges
Vendor declined to provide pricing.
$1 $1M+
Info-Tech Research Group 44
Info-Tech Recommends:
Organizations that need strong knowledgebase and search capabilities coupled with robust workflow
resolution tools will want to look at eGain.
Product:
Employees:
Headquarters:
Website:
Founded:
Presence:
eGain KnowledgeAgent
314
Mountain View, CA
egain.com
1997
EGAN:OTC BB
FY10 Revenue: $29.9M
eGain is a strong choice for those looking for best-of-breed knowledgebase and resolution workflow tools
Emerging Player • eGain is a well-established market leader in providing
knowledgebase and customer service solutions – the firm has
been in operation since 1997, and offers a variety of tools for
CSKM and service management.
Overview
• eGain’s core strength remains its knowledgebase and search
capabilities. The vendor excels at providing federated search
capabilities across multiple information sources
• eGain also excels at providing guided resolution workflow tools
like decision trees and service wizards, making it a good pick
for organizations that need tools for agent-facing service.
Strengths
• eGain is weaker at social and mobile functionality vis-à-vis its
competitors.
• Recent performance in the market has been uneven. But it is
not possible to compare performance to privately held
competitors, who may have experienced the same swings
during recent recession.
Challenges
Vendor declined to provide pricing.
$1 $1M+
Info-Tech Research Group 45
The Info-Tech CSKM Platform Vendor Shortlist Tool is designed to generate a
customized shortlist of vendors based on your key priorities.
Identify leading candidates with the CSKM Platform Vendor Shortlist Tool
• Overall Vendor vs. Product Weightings
• Top-level weighting of product vs. vendor
criteria
• Individual product criteria weightings:
Features
Usability
Affordability
Architecture
• Individual vendor criteria weightings:
Viability
Strategy
Reach
Channel
This tool offers the ability to modify:
Info-Tech Research Group 46
Organizations that need best-of-breed internal knowledgebases for customer
service should consider KANA the leader, with eGain a close second.
Scenario #1: Internal Knowledgebase Functionality
Internal Knowledgebase
Advanced Search
Social and Mobile Support
1
2
3
Exemplary Performers
Viable Performers
4 KCS Methodology
Compliant 4
Info-Tech Research Group 47
With its versatile abilities to index a wide range of external content, Endeca
leads the pack for organizations needing advanced search capabilities.
Scenario #2: Advanced Search Capabilities
Internal Knowledgebase
Advanced Search
Social and Mobile Support
1
2
3
Exemplary Performers
Viable Performers
4 KCS Methodology
Compliant 4
Info-Tech Research Group 48
Moxie offers best-of-breed social monitoring and response capabilities, while
Endeca’s native Facebook service portals allow easy channel integration.
Scenario #3: Social and Mobile Support
Internal Knowledgebase
Advanced Search
Social and Mobile Support
1
2
3
Exemplary Performers
4 KCS Methodology
Compliant 4
Info-Tech Research Group 49
Firms looking to stick with a vendor with a proven adherence to Knowledge
Centered Support methodologies should go with Consona or InQuira.
Scenario #4: KCS Methodology Compliant
Internal Knowledgebase
Advanced Search
Social and Mobile Support
1
2
3
Exemplary Performers
Viable Performers
4 KCS Methodology
Compliant 4
Info-Tech Research Group 50
What’s in this Section: Sections:
Build a CSKM Strategy
Create a Selection Roadmap
Select the Right Platform
Implement and Optimize
Implement and Optimize the CSKM Platform
• Successfully navigate the deployment, integration
and pilot phases of the project.
• Ensuring adoption with adequate training programs.
• Best practices for optimizing customer service
initiatives.
Info-Tech Research Group 51
Managing and learning from the pilot project
Assigning a dedicated FTE resource
Supporting the content lifecycle
Optimizing search results
Best practices for customer service
Promoting adoption through training
Compiling the different training programs
Putting together the Selection Team
Planning maintenance strategy and
performance tracking
Securing the environment
Identifying integration points
Follow these steps for effective CSKM implementation
The Platform’s Place
Preparing the Users
Proceeding with
Deployment
Planning for Optimal Use
4
3
2
1
Info-Tech Research Group 52
While you don’t want the selection team to be so
large that you are unable to make efficient
decisions, getting involvement from multiple user
groups has a number of benefits:
• A diverse team provide different perspectives
on how employees will be using the platform
as well as how customers will use it.
• Securing their involvement in the early stages
will help with adoption in the later
implementation stages, especially the initial
population of the KB with service articles.
• Don’t forget that customers are an important
stake-holder as well. Conducting surveys on
current gaps in self-service knowledge can be
very valuable information for the CSKM
implement stage.
Bring users from all levels onto the selection team in order to secure buy-in and future adoption
- Mike Kelly, Director of Enterprise Applications
CSKM Platform Selection Team
Call Center
Agents &
Managers
Field Service
Agents and
Managers
IT Staff
Sales Staff
The end-users need to want it at the end of the project; if they
are not involved in the selection process, they will just feel like
it’s pushed down their throat.
Generate enthusiasm for the project by
involving all user levels in the selection.
4
3
2
1
Customers (via
surveys and
focus groups)
Info-Tech Research Group 53
Consider your organization’s place in the value chain when designing the details of your CSKM platform
4
3
2
1
Place yourself in one of the scenarios below to gain an idea of what kind of service processes
and functional requirements are most relevant to your organization:
Business to
Consumer
Business to
Business
Business to Business to
Consumer
Process
Functional Requirements
The relationship is a simple one. To
be most cost-effective, CSKM
should focus on supporting self-
service options for customers.
Consider these features:
Simple and intuitive UIs
Attractive external Web portal
Strong service resolution and
search capabilities
More of a relationship-centric
position, so customer service will be
more complex and CSKMs should
focus on assisted-service.
Consider these features:
Peer to peer support – these
forums take pressure off of agents
Decision trees and support wizard
to facilitate quick resolutions.
OEM and reseller will play roles in
customer service. Content
management will be an important
issue, since it can come from both of
these sources.
Consider these features:
Joint authorship and editorial
controls
Content syndication, by
entitlements, to downstream.
The business is the single entity
responsible for content creation,
maintenance and delivery of all
service to consumers.
Product support is typically more
complex and customers are of
higher individual value, so high-
touch service and collaboration are
often required.
Manufacturers create and maintain
most content then deliver to
resellers based on which products
the partner sells. Reseller may also
create some service content.
Functional Requirements Functional Requirements
Process Process
Info-Tech Research Group 54
1
Establish a plan for ongoing platform maintenance and performance tracking
Leverage the reporting and analytics built into your CSKM to maintain effectiveness of your solutions as
well as look for potential product defects. Take a proactive stance toward problems – don’t wait for them to
get worse. If a performance metric is lagging, conduct a root-cause analysis to find out why.
Searches
with no
solutions
(gaps)
Make sure to monitor the platform going forward, both in terms of maintenance and
performance tracking and benchmarking.
2
The metrics you want to analyze in order
to track performance:
3
4
Technical Maintenance
(troubleshooting of platform)
Responsibility: IT
End-User Skill Development
(keeping users up-to-speed)
Responsibility: Call Center/Service Org
Ongoing Solution Maintenance
(upkeep of Web pages, articles,
content pruning, taxonomy)
Responsibility: Business
Escalation
from self to
assisted
service
Issues by
product (e.
g. for defect
tracking)
End user
content
ratings
Volume of first-
contact
resolutions
Peer-to-peer
solutions (e.
g. in forums)
Physical Maintenance
(infrastructure and storage upkeep,
physical search index heath)
Responsibility: IT
4
3
2
1
Info-Tech Research Group 55
Create a secure environment: establish access rights, authorized users, and guard against breaches
• The organization may not want every customer to have complete access to all articles, or may have articles specifically intended for staff use. Safeguard the company’s proprietary information by restricting customer access to agent-centric articles (these articles may divulge confidential intellectual property).
• Different levels of access will also ensure editing/approval power is only given to those the company authorizes. This restriction keeps the knowledgebase free of any unverified or contradictory information.
• Keep a roster of active, authorized users: when an employee leaves the company, promptly remove their access to the internal system. Integration with directory services can speed this up.
• On-premise CSKM platforms should be secured behind the firewall in order to reduce the platform’s vulnerability to external threats. Cloud-based solutions must meet necessary compliance requirements.
• Secure the software from external threats by keeping it up-to-date with the most current patches and hot fixes at all times. For more information on security strategy, see Info-Tech’s research storyboard, Build a Security Architecture & Roadmap.
Access
Restrictions
Patches and
Hot Fixes
Security
Environment
(i.e. firewalls)
CSKM
Security
4
3
2
1
- Thomas Uyehara, IT Director, Independence First
You have to know what the business model is in order to dictate what you
restrict and what you don’t, along with knowing what the risk[s] to IT and
the infrastructure environment are.
Info-Tech Research Group 56
Establish points-of-integration between CSKMs & CRM suites for the organization’s service channels
Successful integration requires assessing a channel’s
ability to deliver value for your business model.
You can’t run a service organization or call center by throwing in more standalone channels that are not
integrated with other CRM systems. Not integrating is equivalent to squandering the inherent unity
and consistency of your CSKM platform.
Customer
Service
Channel
Face-to-
Face
Telephony
/IVR
E-mail Social
Web-Chat Co-
Browsing
Mobile Web Self-
Service
CSKM Platform
Use metrics
& knowledge
gaps
Consistent &
quick
solutions Every customer service channel your
company is using should be integrated with
the CSKM platform for two reasons:
• Providing access to a single, complete
knowledgebase allows for quick,
consistent resolutions to customer
problems
• Every channel offers new customer
interactions which should be used to build
your knowledgebase and identify article
gaps that need to be addressed
Points-of-integration are the junctions between
the CSKM platform and other enterprise
applications or platforms. Many popular CSKM
platforms offer native points-of-integration with
popular enterprise software, while other POIs
may need to be enabled through third-party add-
ons or custom development.
4
3
2
1
Info-Tech Research Group 57
Plan out end-user training: the CSKM Platform will be of no value if end-users don’t know how to use it
4
3
2
1
Properly trained end-users promote adoption and improve results. Remember to also keep
training materials updated and on-hand. New hires, new products, and internal promotions to new
roles all create new students that need to be trained on the CSKM platform.
Don’t forget to train IT staff as well. They may not be end-users, but they will need to be familiarised with
the software, its integration with other enterprise applications, and the technical support needed to maintain
the system in the future.
• The primary goal is to train agents
on how to collect symptoms
quickly and use those symptoms
to identify solutions in the
knowledgebase. Therefore,
training should focus on the
advanced search features, the
taxonomy being used, and any
resolution workflow tools provided.
• Depending on the level of
responsibility being assigned to
agents, you may want to invest
time into teaching them to edit
incomplete articles when they
come across them in the course of
providing resolutions.
• Customers will never want to sit
through formal training in order to
receive support. Training must be
implicitly worked into the
customers’ use of the system.
• Keep the customer-facing Web
portal simple and intuitive, have
clear explanations/instructions
under important functions (i.e. brief
directions on how to search for
articles), and provide examples of
proper uses (i.e. search
examples).
• Make sure they’re aware of
escalation options available to
them if self-service falls short.
• The main duties of the knowledge
managers will concern the creation
and management of content.
Therefore, training should focus on
the authorship and editorial
functions of the platform.
• They should also be familiarized
with the reporting and analytics
capabilities of the platform since
they will be the ones to monitor
them and will be the best
positioned to address knowledge
gaps that appear.
Call Center Agents Customers Knowledge Managers
Info-Tech Research Group 58
If your organization feels it truly needs a
CSKM platform, then it also truly needs a
full-time Knowledge Manager.
If your organization cannot justify dedicating
a full-time resource, then they should
reconsider the entire project.
The CSKM market is a niche one that many
organizations don’t fall into. If your
organization is one of the few who actually
do, don’t squander what you invest by not
staffing a resource to properly manage it.
A dedicated Knowledge Manager is critical if you want the CSKM platform to operate at peak efficiency
With great knowledge comes great responsibility.
The Customer Service Knowledge Manager’s
responsibilities will include:
Collect, synthesize, organize, and manage corporate
information and information services for business units
providing internal and external service support.
Ensure that the storing, archiving, and taxonomical
layout of information resources are consistent across
and throughout the organization.
Develop and implement cataloging systems, as well
as preserve the freshness and accuracy of cataloged
items.
The decision of whether to hire, or roll the CSKM
responsibilities in with an existing position depends
on your business goals, and the complexity of your
organization’s chosen CSKM platform.
4
3
2
1
This is not the kind of
project you can manage
with a partial resource.
Staff a dedicated
Knowledge Manager to
make the project a success.
Refer to the Customer Service Knowledge Manager
job description for more details.
Info-Tech Research Group 59
Troubleshoot potential problems by using a pilot project before full deployment
Use current customer service architecture when forming your pilot project.
Platform selection
Pilot Project
Company-Wide
Deployment
Identify
Platform Issues
Track common
questions and
popular
functions
Develop end-
user training
around results
Find
Resolutions
Collecting end-user feedback from both customers and agents is essential. Weaknesses in solution
design, information architecture and knowledge management policies can be highlighted and improved by
carrying out ongoing surveys and targeted interviews with staff from persistent teams.
4
3
2
1
Try to choose a sub-group that already has substantial knowledge content
that needs to be managed so the platform can be truly tested. After you
have chosen a pilot group, you should define the goals of the project,
decide what metrics will be measured, how they will be tracked, and what is
intended for the results. Next, you must train the relevant agents, product
specialists, and/or target customers and begin the pilot project. When you
begin full deployment, rollout one customer segment or product line at a
time to minimize disruption during implementation.
Pilot projects mapped to
interaction channels are not a
good way to pilot because it
can cause maximum disruption
in customer experience.
Most customer service
organizations are aligned by
product, customer segment, or
channel. Mapping a pilot project
to a specific customer segment
or product line makes for the
best pilot because it causes the
least disruption.
Do This: Don’t Do This:
Info-Tech Research Group 60
Create the initial knowledgebase by setting content boundaries, priorities, and time limits
4
3
2
1
The initial content the CSKM will draw
from will be taken from two sources:
1. The internal knowledgebase
2. The crawler of external sources
Organizing the internal knowledgebase
will involve setting our content
boundaries, revising and structuring, and
tagging.
Setting boundaries on what the crawler
is able to access is more difficult. Do
NOT allow it to draw on marketing,
sales, PR or investor material as that will
be of no interest for a frustrated
customer.
Structuring Content
Fit existing articles to templates and couple with metadata
(e.g. Product model, version, symptoms, etc).
Rewrite
articles when
necessary to
ensure they
are directed
at the
appropriate
audience.
Terminology familiar to staff
may be baffling for
customer.
Customer-focused articles
may not be comprehensive
enough for internal agents.
Create a
forward-
looking
taxonomy.
Finally, fit
structured
content into it.
1
2
3 4
For knowledgebase creation and maintenance best practices, refer to the “Knowledge-Centered Service”
methodology of the Consortium for Service Innovation.
Info-Tech Research Group 61
The organization has identified a common confusion
customers are having with a new product. An article is
written addressing it and providing the resolution.
Most search results will list articles in terms of popularity
and relevance (based on tags and word occurrence).
Since this is a new article, its popularity will be recorded
as very low. This will delay its appearance until later in
the list, wasting time and causing frustration for an
already upset customer.
The CSKM should come with the ability to bypass the normal system when the manager specifies it,
usually referred to as something like “best bets.” So, for some articles, a specific search word will
summon the chosen article regardless of popularity or other listing metrics.
Optimize search results by rigging prioritization: An algorithm isn’t infallible; ensure you can override it
You know your products best, so
manipulate taxonomy and search
results to ensure the most
relevant articles are getting
placed at the top of the list.
Traditional relevancy algorithms
aren’t infallible, and key articles
can get pushed to the bottom of
the list, leading to customer
frustration. Make sure you can rig
the system when you know the
search engine won’t cut it.
The problem:
The solution:
The situation:
Things to consider when looking at the search algorithm and deciding when to bypass it:
• Can you define the criteria for displaying articles (i.e. hot topics, newly added, recently changed, etc) ?
• A search on a specific product should always generate its user and installation manuals
Optimizing the search engines to support the business goals is not cheating, it is practical and necessary.
4
3
2
1
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Ensure the CSKM platform supports content throughout its entire lifecycle
The Knowledge Centred Support (KCS) Methodology
can guide the content lifecycle process.
Content is created in two ways:
1. Proactively by knowledge
support workers
2. Reactively from resolutions
already in progress.
Content can either be
immediately injected into the
knowledgebase, or it can go
through an approval process.
In any case, all content should be
supporting workflows, and should
be available for manipulation
within that workflow until it
reaches a form that best
supports the organization’s
agents and processes.
Once the content is no longer
applicable (i.e. concerning a
product no longer supported, or a
patch renders the resolution
redundant), a retirement system
needs to be in place.
4
3
2
1
Content Creation
Reactive Proactive
Approval
Revision
Retire
Workflow
Tech Review Rework
CSKM Platform KCS has four basic concepts:
1. Integrate the creation and
maintenance of
knowledge into the
problem solving process
2. Evolve content based on
demand and usage
3. Develop a knowledge
base of our collective
experience to date
4. Reward learning,
collaboration, sharing,
and improving
For more information visit, the
“Consortium for Service
Innovation.”
Info-Tech Research Group 63
Don’t forget to review hybrid-channel customer service best practices when deploying a CSKM platforms
Communicate response times to customers at the beginning of the service interactions.
Establishing this expectation, and meeting it, will start the service experience down a positive path.
In large organizations, it is common to establish different response times for different customer
segments, based on segment value, by prioritizing inquiries in the queue.
Failure to provide customers with service escalation options is a lose-lose proposition: the
customer problem is unresolved and the organization will find it impossible to achieve high
customer satisfaction. Based upon customer segment and/or transaction value, it may be
acceptable to offer escalation for a fee (i.e. offering software support contracts for an additional
cost).
Escalation is one reason for channel switching, but it’s not the only one. If a problem requires
privacy the current channel isn’t providing, or the customer is more comfortable using another
channel, the organization should have processes in place that allow for channel switching.
When switching from one channel to another, it is important to integrate channels so that a
“soft” handoff can occur, which transfers the relevant information collected so far.
Escala
tio
n
Cost
Establish Response Times
Enable Escalation
Allow Channel Switching
4
3
2
1
Info-Tech Research Group 64
Review hybrid-channel customer service best practices when deploying CSKM platforms (cont.)
Don’t alienate customers by providing them with different
answers for the same problem through different service
channels and from different agents. Adopt a common service
knowledgebase – this is where CSKMs are here to help you!
Recording service inquiries in a central repository, regardless of
service channel used, enables:
• Identification of product defects.
• Viewing a customer resolution history in the event the
customer experiences the same problems again.
• Analysis by marketing for up-sell and cross-sell opportunities.
• Notification to sales account managers of issues that could
impact further customer purchases or renewals.
• Analysis by the service organization to measure operational
efficiency.
Common
KB
Self-Service
(i.e. Live Web, IVR)
Assisted Service (i.e. social
channels, e-mail, phone)
Field Service
(i.e. face-to-face)
Product Training
Technology Training
Channel Training
Customer Training
Agents should be trained on the firm’s
products, its customers, the channels it
uses, and customer service technology .
Employ the Same Knowledgebase
Record all Service Inquiries
4
3
2
1
For more information about customer service strategy, refer to Info-Tech’s comprehensive solution set
Design a Customer Service Strategy that Serves the Social Customer
Info-Tech Research Group 65
Recommendations
• Review your needs and the functionality offered by your CRM to assess if a dedicated CSKM platform is required. An
honest assessment of your product and service complexity can help guide the “go, no-go” decision.
• If you move forward with a standalone CSKM platform, be sure to understand your end users, determine business
requirements, and put a selection methodology in place that moves from RFP to Vendor Demonstration.
• Assemble a cross-functional selection team. Pull members from all levels in order to show them the value of the platform
and increase adoption later.
• Create a plan for maintenance and performance tracking, and assign responsibility to create accountability.
• Establish points of integration between the CSKM platform and other enterprise applications. The organization will be
losing out on a lot of potential value if they treat the knowledgebase as an island.
• The platform should be built in a secure environment – have policies in place that track users and limit content access.
• Optimize search results by recognizing the need to bypass the search algorithm’s prioritization system in some situations.
• Promote adoption by training end-users. Each end-user group will have different uses for the platform, so will require
different training. Create a training program for service agents, customers and knowledge managers.
• Provide a dedicated resource (knowledge manager) for upkeep of service-relevant knowledge in the platform.
• A pilot project before full deployment will identify weak spots in the system and potential problems that you can head off
now. Moreover, the reaction and questions of the users can be used when building your training programs for full
deployment.
• Review the content lifecycle and ensure the CSKM platform supports each stage (e.g. creation, approval, editing, and
retiring of articles).
• Review your general customer services practices to make sure maximum customer satisfaction is being achieved.
Appendix A: Survey Results
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Knowledge Tool Usage
Info-Tech Research Group 68
State of CSKM Adoption
Info-Tech Research Group 69
Ranking of Selection Criteria
Info-Tech Research Group 70
Use of CSKM Features
Appendix B: Vendor Landscape Methodology
Info-Tech Research Group 72
Vendor Evaluation Methodology
Info-Tech Research Group’s Vendor Landscape market evaluations are a part of a larger program of vendor evaluations which includes
Solution Sets that provide both Vendor Landscapes and broader Selection Advice.
From the domain experience of our analysts as well as through consultation with our clients, a vendor/product shortlist is established. Product
briefings are requested from each of these vendors, asking for information on the company, products, technology, customers, partners, sales
models and pricing.
Our analysts then score each vendor and product across a variety of categories, on a scale of 0-10 points. The raw scores for each vendor are
then normalized to the other vendors’ scores to provide a sufficient degree of separation for a meaningful comparison. These scores are then
weighted according to weighting factors that our analysts believe represent the weight that an average client should apply to each criteria. The
weighted scores are then averaged for each of two high level categories: vendor score and product score. A plot of these two resulting scores
is generated to place vendors in one of four categories: Champion, Innovator, Market Pillar, and Emerging Player.
For a more granular category by category comparison, analysts convert the individual scores (absolute, non-normalized) for each
vendor/product in each evaluated category to a scale of zero to four whereby exceptional performance receives a score of four and poor
performance receives a score of zero. These scores are represented with “Harvey Balls”, ranging from an open circle for a score of zero to a
filled in circle for a score of four. Harvey Ball scores are indicative of absolute performance by category but are not an exact correlation to
overall performance.
Individual scorecards are then sent to the vendors for factual review, and to ensure no information is under embargo. We will make corrections
where factual errors exist (e.g. pricing, features, technical specifications). We will consider suggestions concerning benefits, functional quality,
value, etc; however, these suggestions must be validated by feedback from our customers. We do not accept changes that are not
corroborated by actual client experience or wording changes that are purely part of a vendor’s market messaging or positioning. Any
resulting changes to final scores are then made as needed, before publishing the results to Info-Tech clients.
Vendor Landscapes are refreshed every 12 to 24 months, depending upon the dynamics of each individual market.
Info-Tech Research Group 73
Value Index Ranking Methodology
Info-Tech Research Group’s Value Index is part of a larger program of vendor evaluations which includes Solution Sets that provide both
Vendor Landscapes and broader Selection Advice.
The Value Index is an indexed ranking of value per dollar as determined by the raw scores given to each vendor by analysts. To perform the
calculation, Affordability is removed from the Product score and the entire Product category is reweighted to represent the same proportions.
The Product and Vendor scores are then summed, and multiplied by the Affordability raw score to come up with Value Score. Vendors are
then indexed to the highest performing vendor by dividing their score into that of the highest scorer, resulting in an indexed ranking with a top
score of 100 assigned to the leading vendor.
The Value Index calculation is then repeated on the raw score of each category against Affordability, creating a series of indexes for Features,
Usability, Viability, Strategy and Support, with each being indexed against the highest score in that category. The results for each vendor are
displayed in tandem with the average score in each category to provide an idea of over and under performance.
The Value Index, where applicable, is refreshed every 12 to 24 months, depending upon the dynamics of each individual market.
Info-Tech Research Group 74
Product Pricing Scenario & Methodology
Info-Tech Research Group provided each vendor with a common pricing scenario to enable normalized scoring of Affordability, calculation of
Value Index rankings, and identification of the appropriate solution pricing tier as displayed on each vendor scorecard.
For this set, vendors were provided with the following scenario and asked to provide a three-year TCO:
• Enterprise Name: Mushu Dynamics
• Enterprise Size: Mid-Sized
• Enterprise Vertical: Consumer Electronics
• Total Number of Sites: One Customer Service call center
• Total Number of End Users: 150 call center agents, split into three shifts (50/shift – please specify per-user or per-device licensing). Six Knowledge Managers
responsible for content and taxonomy management.
• Operating System Environment: Windows 7
• Office Productivity Suite Environment: Office 2010 Enterprise Edition
• Functional Requirements and Additional Information:
• Mushu Dynamics is a global provider of specialized consumer electronics. The firm provides 24/7 customer support via self-service portals and assisted-
service channels (telephony, e-mail and chat). It has a single call center, with 50 agents working per shift (150 over three shifts). The organization has a service
management solution in place, but is specifically looking for tools for Customer Service Knowledge Management. In particular, the organization needs a solution
that provides the following functionality:
• Customer Service Knowledge Base
• Advanced Search (i.e. ability to crawl both KB and external content)
• Agent-Facing and Customer-Facing Portals
• Service Resolution Tools (i.e. decision trees and wizards)
• Knowledge Base Reporting and Analytics (for example, knowledge gap reporting and knowledge article utilization statistics) Please specify if an external reporting
vendor is necessary.