Chapter at a Glance
✓ | Create and submit a knowledge base article. |
✓ | Publish a knowledge base article. |
✓ | Search for a knowledge base article. |
✓ | Remove an article from the knowledge base. |
✓ | Create and modify a knowledge base article template. |
In the previous chapter, you learned how to manage service requests in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Whether your organization tracks the questions, comments, and problems submitted by your customers as cases in Microsoft Dynamics CRM or elsewhere, over time there will probably be common themes or patterns in the service requests. This should make recurring cases easier to resolve, but often the organizational knowledge collected in service requests is lost in the sheer volume of cases managed by each representative. Another challenge in retaining experience and organizational knowledge on customer service teams is the high turnover common on many teams.
Beyond quantitative analysis of case-related metrics—such as the number of cases per customer or the average time it takes to resolve a case—customer service teams can benefit from a qualitative repository of case summaries, whittled down to include the information that will help the team respond to future service requests quickly and accurately. Combined, the qualitative and quantitative stores of data can become a powerful source for improving service to customers and driving sales, marketing, and product development processes to better meet customers’ needs.
In this chapter, you’ll learn how to build a knowledge base—a collection of articles in Microsoft Dynamics CRM that can be referenced by customer service representatives when answering questions about an organization’s products or services. Articles are text based and can include product user guides, summaries of recurring problems and their solutions, and frequently asked questions (FAQs) assembled by the customer service team. Any information that can be used to quickly answer questions from customers, prospects, and other parties can be stored in your organization’s knowledge base.
Like service request cases, knowledge base articles are assigned a subject, tying knowledge base articles to the same business categories used to group other sales and service records in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. For articles, subjects also provide the user with a quick way to search for information on a particular topic even if the specific article title is not known. Because a subject value is required for each article, you should make sure your subject tree is configured before you create an article. For assistance with creating the subject tree in your Microsoft Dynamics CRM environment, contact your system administrator.
See Also
For more information about subject trees, see the "Configuring the Subject Tree" sidebar in Chapter 11.
Tip
Although many fields can be marked as optional instead of required in Microsoft Dynamics CRM forms, the Article form cannot be modified. However, during the installation process, a Default Subject value is created in the subject tree. You can select the Default Subject value for articles prior to configuring your subject tree, if necessary.
A well-organized knowledge base can reduce the amount of time customer service representatives spend searching for answers and reference documents on behalf of customers. In this chapter, you will learn how to build a knowledge base by creating, publishing, searching for, and modifying articles in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
Troubleshooting
Graphics and operating system–related instructions in this book reflect the Windows Vista user interface. If your computer is running Windows XP and you experience trouble following the instructions as written, refer to the "Information for Readers Running Windows XP" section at the beginning of this book.
Important
The images used in this book reflect the default form and field names in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Because the software offers extensive customization capabilities, it’s possible that some of the record types or fields have been relabeled in your Microsoft Dynamics CRM environment. If you cannot find the forms, fields, or security roles referenced in this book, contact your system administrator for assistance.
Important
You must know the location of your Microsoft Dynamics CRM Web site to work the exercises in this book. Check with your system administrator to verify the Web address if you don’t know it.
In addition to a subject value, each article contains a title, a list of search keywords, and the content, which varies by article template. You’ll learn more about configuring article templates later in this chapter. For this first exercise, you’ll use one of the templates included with Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
Knowledge base articles are not assigned to customers; instead, the information contained in each article is typically applicable to a subset of customers—or even all customers. In this exercise, you will create a new article detailing a product recall and then submit it to the customer service manager for review.
Note
USE a user account that has the Customer Service Representative security role or another role with privileges to create, read, and write knowledge base articles.
BE SURE TO use the Windows Internet Explorer Web browser to navigate to your Microsoft Dynamics CRM Web site before beginning this exercise.
In the Service area, click Knowledge Base to view the article queue.
In the grid toolbar, click the New button.
The Select A Template dialog box opens.
In the dialog box, select the Procedure template, and then click OK.
In the New Article form, in the Title field, enter Mountain Bike Frame Recall.
In the Subject field, select Default Subject or any other subject in your system.
In the Keywords field, enter the following: recall, safety, warranty.
In the article text editor, click the red text under the Purpose & Scope section heading and enter the following: SAFETY NOTICE: All size 52 mountain frames are being recalled due to possible frame failure. For your safety, contact Customer Service or any Adventure Works Cycles dealer if your bike has a size 52 mountain frame. Note that the instruction text is automatically hidden when you begin typing in each section.
In the Procedure section, enter the following: Registered customers who provided a warranty card and serial number have received a safety notice about the recall. Bikes can be returned for a replacement frame at any Adventure Works Cycles dealer.
Click the Save button to create the article.
Tip
When an article is saved for the first time, it is automatically assigned an article number. Article auto-numbering is configured by system administrators in the Administration section of the Settings area. By default, each article is created with a three-character prefix (KBA), a four-digit code, and a six-character identifier—for example, KBA-1057-1V7GZS. If you have security rights to modify auto-numbering settings in your Microsoft Dynamics CRM system, you can modify the article prefix applied to each new article.
Click the Submit button in the form toolbar to move the article into the Unapproved queue so that it can be reviewed by a customer service manager.
