Introduction
Customer Advisory Boards (CABs) provide an excellent platform for engaging your most strategic customers in meaningful conversations. By involving them in discussions about your product roadmap, business strategies, or shared goals, you can foster deeper relationships and convert them into advocates. This article explains how to create and leverage CABs to strengthen customer relationships and build advocacy.
Step 1: Identify Strategic Customers for the Advisory Board
Select the right mix of customers who can provide valuable insights and represent diverse perspectives.
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Use Engagement Metrics for Selection: Leverage Adoption Explorer to identify customers who are actively using high-value features.
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Prioritize Promoters: Include customers with high NPS and sentiment scores, identified through NPS Analytics and Sentiment Analysis.
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Consider Diversity: Ensure your CAB includes representatives from different industries, company sizes, and regions to provide well-rounded feedback.
Step 2: Organize Participatory Workshops
Design workshops to encourage collaboration and gather actionable insights.
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Set Clear Objectives: Define the purpose of each CAB session, such as gathering feedback on new product features or brainstorming industry trends.
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Facilitate Discussions: Use playbooks to guide discussions and ensure all participants have an opportunity to share their perspectives. Refer to How to Create Playbooks for structuring these sessions.
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Document Key Takeaways: Record workshop highlights and action items in Timeline for easy reference and follow-up.
Step 3: Track CAB Engagement and Outcomes
Monitor participation and outcomes to ensure the CAB’s effectiveness.
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Use Dashboards for CAB Metrics: Build dashboards to track participation rates, meeting outcomes, and advocacy activities resulting from CAB sessions.
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Follow Up with Participants: Use Journey Orchestrator to send thank-you emails, share meeting summaries, and invite feedback.
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Highlight Advocacy Opportunities: Document potential advocates identified during CAB sessions in Timeline and assign follow-ups using CTAs.
What's Next
Customer Advisory Boards can serve as a springboard for creating long-term advocates. Use the relationships and insights gained to foster deeper engagement through recognition programs and targeted advocacy campaigns.
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