A customer advisory board is a group of carefully selected customers who help obtain valuable market insights. They meet up regularly to provide their advice to the organization and share their customer experiences.
The primary purposes of a customer advisory board include:
- Gathering Market Information
- Validating or Challenging Product Ideas
- Designing and Developing Marketing Campaigns
- Help in the Creation of a Competitive Advantage for a Market Champion.
The customer advisory board convenes meetings of these customers regularly annually, quarterly or half-yearly. They indulge in fruitful discussions about the organization’s products and services, client support programs, promotional campaigns, and the development of new products.
What Is a Customer Advisory Board?
The Customer Advisory Board CAB is also known by many other names, including the customer advisory council, client advisory board, or product advisory board. It comprises a group of existing customers who come together regularly in meetings and discussions.
They provide the company management and top leadership valuable intelligence about the market dynamics, their product experiences, and shaping up new strategic goals for the future. The CAB members are selected carefully based on their crucial customer ranking and large accounts. They provide insightful feedback on using the products and services of the company. They also enlighten the company representative about their impression of the corporate brand.
Why Do Businesses Need to Have a CAB?
Having a CAB helps you directly link the existing and potential clients you serve with your products and services. With this personalized link, you can improve your understanding of the customers and identify their current needs and requirements.
Based on the first-hand information provided by the CAB, the company managers can create better products and services for them. It also enables organizations to align their priorities and goals according to customers’ changing preferences.
The CAB is extremely helpful for the company in making strategic-level decisions. Whenever the company faces a problem, it can turn to advisory to the CAB and use their high-value input to make the right decisions.
Advantages of a Customer Advisory Board
There are many benefits of creating and employing a CAB in your organization. Some key advantages include the following:
Align the Strategic Direction
CAB offers the group of customers a platform where they can express their thoughts and experiences without any limitations. They candidly explain their requirements, preferences, and why they opted for the said company over the competitors.
Insightful information about the things they like in the company’s products and services and what they desire in the future helps the company align its strategy in the right direction.
Contribute Towards the Product Roadmap
Customer experience, need fulfillment, and future expectations from a product or service help organizations improve their current offerings.
It also helps generate new products and services and provides information for product roadmap development.
Improve Customer Loyalty
Using the information provided by the CAB, the organization will not only improve its products and service functionality. Still, it will also bring about positive changes in its customer support and service standards.
Better services will lead to more satisfied customers and improved loyalty.
Additionally, when the customer knows that they are part of the CAB and, subsequently, part of the strategic information and development process, they will be more loyal to your brand.
Identify New Opportunities
Apart from existing products and services, the CAB members can help the company identify emerging opportunities within the market.
They will highlight changing market trends and client preferences. The CAB can also help dig out information about new markets that can be targeted with the same products and services.