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Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of questions from your customers? You’ve probably noticed that the same questions pop up over and over again. Many businesses find themselves in a loop of repetitive inquiries that consume valuable time and resources. But what if there was a way to empower your customers with the information they need, right at their fingertips, while freeing up your team to focus on more complex issues? This is where a Knowledge Base comes into play.
A Knowledge Base is a dedicated space for hosting how-to guides, FAQs, and all the wisdom your customers seek.
We’ve previously written an article about how to build a Learning Centre on your website. The difference between a Knowledge Base and a Learning Centre, is that a Learning Centre is for both customers and non-customers, while a Knowledge Base is specifically for only paying customers.
A Knowledge base helps answer questions from customers who are currently using your product or service. A Learning Centre, on the other hand, answers questions from buyers, in order to build trust and generate leads and sales.
In this article, you’ll learn how to build a Knowledge Base for your customers through HubSpot. Note that if you’re not using HubSpot, this article probably isn’t for you. Instead, you should read this one, to find out if HubSpot is a good investment for your business.
By the end of this guide, you’ll have a clear roadmap on how to create a knowledge base in HubSpot that’s not only functional but also impactful. We’ll explore who this tool is for, the benefits it brings, and how you can set it up to serve your customer base effectively.
Whether you’re looking to streamline customer support, reduce repetitive inquiries, or simply offer a better user experience, you’re in the right place.
Understanding HubSpot’s Knowledge Base
Note that you can only build a HubSpot Knowledge Base is your business has invested in Service Hub Pro or above.
Before diving into the setup process, let’s explore who this tool is best suited for, its benefits, and an example of a successful implementation.
Who is a HubSpot Knowledge Base for?
HubSpot’s knowledge base is designed with your external customers in mind. It’s perfect for businesses that regularly field the same queries about their products or services.
Whether you’re a SaaS company, a retailer, or a service provider, if your customer support team finds themselves answering the same questions repeatedly, a knowledge base can save you time and resources. It’s about making specific information about your offerings easily accessible, thus enhancing customer satisfaction and self-sufficiency.
It is worth noting that a HubSpot Knowledge Base was originally intended for SaaS companies and may work better for product companies that fall within this category.
Benefits of a HubSpot Knowledge Base
There are a couple benefits to having a HubSpot Knowledge Base:
- Efficiency: Streamline customer support by reducing the volume of repeat inquiries
- Accessibility: Customers can find answers 24/7, improving their experience and satisfaction
- Scalability: As your product or service evolves, so too can your knowledge base, growing to meet the changing needs of your customers
Limitations of a HubSpot Knowledge Base
While HubSpot’s Knowledge Base is a powerful tool, it’s worth noting that it requires a subscription to Service Hub Pro or above.
For smaller businesses or those just starting out, the cost may be a consideration. Additionally, while it allows for categorisation and tagging, there’s a limit to one category and subcategories per article, which requires strategic planning to ensure content is easily discoverable.
A Real-World Example of a HubSpot Knowledge Base
One notable Knowledge Base we built is ApplyFlow Academy’s Knowledge Base.
They’ve leveraged HubSpot’s knowledge base to create a user-friendly resource hub for their customers.
By categorising content into intuitive sections and regularly updating their articles, they’ve provided a valuable self-service option that complements their customer support efforts.
This example demonstrates the potential of a well-executed knowledge base to not only reduce support tickets but also empower customers to find answers independently. With the right approach, it can become an invaluable resource for your customers, offering them the answers they need while allowing your team to focus on more complex queries.
Next, you’ll learn how to set up your HubSpot Knowledge Base.
How to Set Up Your HubSpot Knowledge Base
Creating a knowledge base in HubSpot is a straightforward process, but it requires thoughtful planning and organisation to ensure it serves your customers effectively.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to setting up your HubSpot knowledge base, from initial planning to publishing and maintenance.
1. Planning Your Knowledge Base Content
Before diving into the HubSpot platform, start with a clear plan for your knowledge base content.
Identify the common questions your customers ask and categorise them into themes or topics.
This will help you determine the structure of your knowledge base, including categories and subcategories. Think about the customer journey and organise your content in a way that mirrors how customers might search for information.
2. Setting it Up in HubSpot
To begin setting up your knowledge base in HubSpot:
1. Navigate to your Service Hub in HubSpot and click ‘Knowledge Base’
2. From there, click on “Create Article” to start adding your content
3. Simply enter the details in the relevant sections for your Knowledge Base article. You can use images, videos, text content, tables and call outs to help answer whatever question your article is answering. Use clear and concise titles that directly relate to customer queries. This not only helps with searchability within the knowledge base but also improves SEO for external search engines.
3. Simply enter the details in the relevant sections for your Knowledge Base article. You can use images, videos, text content, tables and call outs to help answer whatever question your article is answering. Use clear and concise titles that directly relate to customer queries. This not only helps with searchability within the knowledge base but also improves SEO for external search engines.
4. Click ‘Settings’ and then choose your URL, Category, and Subcategory for your help article. In the example below we’ve chosen ‘Workplace Articles’ as the Category and ‘Example 1’ as the subcategory.
5. Scroll down and you’ll see a section titled ‘Keywords for search.’ While HubSpot allows for one category per article, you can use tags to further delineate your content. This helps in organising your knowledge base so that even if customers are unsure of the specific category, they can still find what they’re looking for through related tags. You should enter tags based on what you think customers will search in your Knowledge Base. For instance, if you’re writing a help article for refund requests, then perhaps making three tags using the phrases “refund”, “request”, and “refund request” is one example of what you could do.
6. Enter a meta description. Your meta description should summarise the main purpose and points of your article. The purpose of your meta description is to make sure that when customers search for something in your Knowledge Base, HubSpot will know that this article is the one they are looking for. Make sure you use descriptive language and consider potential search terms your customers might use.
3. Editing and Updating Content
Regularly review your knowledge base articles to ensure they reflect any changes in your products or services and to add new content as customer needs evolve.
Creating your knowledge base is just the beginning. Regularly solicit feedback from your customers and support team to identify areas for improvement.
Monitor how your customers are using the knowledge base, which articles are most popular, and where they might be encountering difficulties. Use this insight to continually refine and expand your knowledge base, ensuring it remains a valuable resource.
HubSpot Certifications and Resources for Setting Up a Knowledge Base
To further enhance your knowledge base and ensure you’re making the most of HubSpot’s features, consider completing HubSpot Academy certifications related to setting up a Knowledge Base.
Here are two great courses to start with:
These resources can provide deeper insights into best practices and advanced techniques for managing your knowledge base effectively.
So, What’s Next?
By following these steps, you can create a HubSpot knowledge base that not only reduces the burden on your customer support team but also empowers your customers with the information they need, when they need it.
This will help you ultimately build trust with your customers, and they’ll eventually become evangelists for your brand.
Which means more leads, more sales, and more revenue.
Want to know how to build trust with buyers who haven’t paid you yet? Check out the below article.
🔎 Read: Why Trust is the Ultimate Ingredient for Sales
