@Swati Bakshi @sriram pasupathi
@darkknight and @bradley - you might have some input on this.
@tonyaclemons This would be amazing for them to be able to pick your brain. You have so many great ideas.
Since our inception, we’ve worked with clients to design and execute their Customer Advisory Board (CAB) programs. As business travel has been curtailed due to COVID, several important questions have been raised about the best way to proceed with your CAB, or if you should pause the program entirely. As with many customer experience programs, the answer will depend on a variety of factors. However, our general recommendation is that companies should continue to push forward with their CAB programs, although the meetings should take place in an online or virtual environment for the foreseeable future.
How to Maintain the Momentum of Your Customer Advisory Board in a Virtual World
It seems like we’re all inundated with virtual meetings these days. As you move your CAB to a virtual environment, you’ll need to prepare your team.
For example, you will still want to focus on discussion topics that will elicit valuable and actionable feedback from your members. One specific tip to allow you to gather feedback in a methodical, orderly fashion is to develop slides to illustrate the objectives and questions you would like to explore with the group.
Following up with specific actions that will improve the customer experience is an important outcome, so use that understanding to prompt members of your leadership team on relevant and meaningful topics that will fuel a robust dialogue.
Importantly, recognize that what was likely a full-day in-person event should now be cut back to a few hours, so you’ll need to prioritize and focus on the most pressing items.
Additionally, now more than ever, you need to stay focused, be compelling, encourage contributions from everyone, and – of course – finish on time.
The Virtual CAB Time Commitment
As discussed, you will likely want to reduce the length of the meeting from what was a day or day and a half to 2 to 3-hour meetings. If you do so, you can also consider increasing the frequency of the meetings to have them quarterly (for example) instead of the semi-annual in person CAB meetings most companies have. As long as the content is considered interesting and your customers trust that their feedback is used to drive positive change, most will happily set aside a few hours every three months or so.
With the shorter time allotment, home theater subwoofer under 500 here you’ll want to be diligent about staying on schedule. It’s OK to ‘park’ discussions if they are starting to go off track or you’re running long for that session.
As with any CAB, try to keep answers and statements by company representatives brief and on point. A good way to ensure this occurs is to establish a moderator/facilitator for each meeting. The moderator ensures rules of conduct are maintained and that people do not talk over each other. In a virtual environment, it is practically impossible to moderate and participate as an equal at the same time. It is best to hire a consultant for this, much like you would for an in-person CAB event.