WRITTEN BY DARIUS LATHAM, FLUVIO CONSULTANT
What is a Customer Advisory Board (CAB) & Why is One Valuable?
For many sitting outside of product marketing, CABs are simply another way and opportunity to gather product feedback from customers. And while for some organizations this may be true, as most PMMs know, a truly effective CAB provides so much more.
A Customer Advisory Board (or CAB, also called client advisory board or product advisory board) is a B2B sales and marketing program designed to bring together a group of the most influential and knowledgeable customers to advise the host company on product development, provide feedback on user experience, and share strategic goals and industry themes - ultimately to help shape the host company’s strategy.
Broadly speaking, a well-run CAB can provide a number of different strategic and practical benefits to a company. These benefits can include (non-exhaustive):
Validation of existing product roadmaps
Feedback on new product developments and enhancements
Insight into competitor intelligence and strategies
Early discovery of emerging opportunities and trends
Increased customer loyalty
Four Best Practices to Consider
Although the value of a CAB is pretty clear and may sound like a great option to achieve your company’s goals, before reaching out to potential customers for the board, there are a few key things to consider to make sure your company is set to run an effective CAB program.
Set Clear and Specific Goals for the CAB
This may seem obvious, but more often than not this step is not given enough upfront consideration. Below are a few goal-setting items to think through and lockdown:
Be explicit about what you want to accomplish with the CAB - what are you hoping to gain from convening these customers? And what can customers expect to gain by joining?
Align CAB goals across your different teams - what are the potential benefits to different teams across the company?
Consider funding expectations - what is the potential financial impact of implementing and sustaining a CAB program?
Establish Ground Rules and Governance
This is typically done in the form of a CAB Charter - a document that lays out in detail the established governance structure, mission, objectives, and mutually beneficial goals of both the members of the board and the host company.
This ensures that everyone involved, internally and externally, is on the same page.
Identify Customers for CAB Membership
It’s best practice not to think about reaching out to potential customers until you have clearly established goals and objectives. Once that is agreed upon, you can start thinking about a diverse set of potential customers that align with the goals of your CAB program.
Make sure to consider customers with a diverse set of characteristics, skills, product expertise, and experience with your company. Don’t hesitate to get input from your customer-facing internal teams as well, such as Customer Success and Professional Services.
Tip: Research says aim to have a representative total group size of approximately 10-12 individuals
Develop Feedback Management Process
Ideally, your CAB meetings will be very engaging and rewarding for the selected customers involved, therefore providing you with a ton of information and feedback.
Brainstorm how to manage the entire process from feedback collection to validation and prioritization of feedback, to communicating and educating customers about product improvements made (if applicable).
Tip: Use product announcements to thank customers for their inputs
A well-run, truly impactful CAB program is best established with buy-in across the company. Although development is not an easy task, it is worth the effort. CABs provide an invaluable way to inform company strategy, drive customer loyalty, help penetrate new markets, and ultimately grow sales.