Rob Jensen
Who from Your Company Should (and Should NOT) Attend Your Next Customer Advisory Board...
We are often asked by customer advisory board (CAB) practitioners who from their own companies should be invited to attend their initial or next CAB meeting. The question is often a tricky one for CAB managers, who may be getting internal interest in their...
A Customer Advisory Board Meeting with No PowerPoint? Here’s What to do Instead
While PowerPoint is an excellent business tool to communicate ideas, its pervasive, constant use has weakened the impact it once had. While professionals may feel naked in front of an audience without it, spectators often lose interest quickly – if not outright groan upon...
Six Tips for Minimizing Customer Advisory Board Content Procrastination
After over a decade of working with Fortune 500 and leading growth companies, we’ve facilitated hundreds of successful customer advisory board (CAB) meetings. Those companies who invest the time, resources and budget to create a successful CAB program and meetings are almost always delighted...
Top Six Costs to Incorporate into your Customer Advisory Board Program Plan
We are often asked about the costs of starting a customer advisory board (CAB) program. And while these can vary based on your budget, program goals and company size, the first thing to know about starting a CAB is it doesn’t have to be...
Six MORE Tips for Holding Hybrid-Attendance Customer Advisory Board Meetings
While the Covid pandemic may be (finally!) waning or even (hopefully!) coming to an end, we’re seeing a somewhat delayed and mixed reaction from some of our clients. While many eagerly look forward to resuming in-person customer advisory board (CAB) meetings, others and, more...
Not a One-Time Event: How to Make Your Customer Advisory Board an Ongoing Program
One of the most important concepts to learn – and communicate to your members and internal executives – is that your customer advisory board (CAB) should not be established as a “one time” meeting or an “event.” Doing so implies that your program is...
Customer Advisory Board Members Not Showing Up to Meetings? Top 5 Reasons Why (And...
Well-run customer advisory boards (CABs) usually get a high percentage of member attendees at meetings (either in-person or virtual). And why not – these engagements should offer your members the opportunity to learn about potential solutions to shared challenges, industry trends coming their way...
In-Person vs. Virtual: 5 Tips for Managing Hybrid Attendance Customer Advisory Board Meetings
With the Covid pandemic and related variants surging to and fro, many companies are struggling with their in-person travel and meeting procedures and policies. While they may desire to get “back to normal” operations to bolster their revenue streams, they are faced with ever-changing...
Customer Advisory Board Success: Fireside Chat with Banking Veteran Jeff Rankin
When it comes to learning how to run a successful customer advisory board (CAB), it’s always insightful to learn first-hand how some companies are doing it well. I had the pleasure of conducting an informal, “fire-side” chat with Jeff Rankin, a former executive of...
Planning Virtual Customer Advisory Board Meeting Social Activities: Pros and Cons to Consider
With customer advisory board (CAB) meetings continuing to take place virtually, many host companies are attempting to re-create the face-to-face experience for their members as much as possible online. As such, in addition to their standard meeting agenda and content, some companies are including...
Preparing for Virtual Customer Advisory Board Meetings: Five Must-Do Tips
With customer advisory board (CAB) meetings taking place virtually now and for the foreseeable future, CAB managers and executive sponsors should take steps to ensure these meetings deliver utmost value to their members and their own host companies. While preparation, engagement, facilitation and outcome...
The New Normal: Why Virtual Customer Advisory Boards are replacing Various Client Engagement Mediums
With the Coronavirus pandemic dragging on, the practice of customer engagement has radically changed in 2020. Gone (for now) are the face-to-face meetings that have been ideal for discovering client guidance that conference calls and virtual meetings just can’t match. But as professionals get...
Virtual Customer Advisory Board Meetings: Six Must-Do Steps for Conducting Engaging Breakout Sessions
Customer Advisory Board (CAB) managers who oversee successful programs know the value of stimulating member breakout sessions. After all, these are often the most engaging, insightful, fun and well-reviewed aspects of any CAB meeting. And even though almost all CAB meetings are now taking...
Post-Customer Advisory Board Meeting: Five Action Tracking Must-Do Tips
Of all the recommended post-customer advisory board (CAB) meeting deliverables (meeting report, ongoing engagement plan and action tracker), we not only get a lot of questions about how to prioritize, manage and track resulting meeting action items, we see companies sometimes stumble here. On...
Providing Gifts to Your Customer Advisory Board Members: 5 Tips to Consider
Over many years of advising Fortune 500 companies, we are often asked about the need to provide gifts to their customer advisory boards (CABs). On the one hand, it’s a nice idea and a way to thank members for their commitment to providing guidance...
5 Reasons Why Your Business Needs A Customer Advisory Board
Marketers are giving a lot of attention of late to the topic of customer engagement. Indeed, optimizing interactions with top clients and maximizing ROI from customer programs seem to be a universal desire for companies. The more challenging aspect of ...
Eight Essential Elements of Your Customer Advisory Board Meeting Agenda
When it comes to customer advisory board (CAB) meeting agendas, there is never a shortage of questions (or even confusion) from CAB managers – be they fresh beginners or even experienced veterans. The topic is a popular one at CAB training events and...
Top 10 Ways to Measure the ROI of Your Customer Advisory Board Program
Top 10 Ways to Measure the ROI of Your Customer Advisory Board Program Earlier this year, we participated in a webinar with Pragmatic Marketing about addressing the challenges in establishing and managing a successful customer advisory board (CAB) program. During the webinar, we...
Now What? Top 3 Must-Have Deliverables to Create After Your Customer Advisory Board Meeting
You’ve spent months planning your face-to-face customer advisory board (CAB) meeting. You interviewed each member to ensure your agenda contained topics in which they were interested. You reviewed all internal session presentations to confirm they would serve the members, the meeting agenda and objectives....
How To Leverage Your Customer Advisory Board To Power Advocacy
As experienced customer advisory board (CAB) managers know, CABs are ideal forums for validating corporate strategies, gathering input to product roadmaps, and deepening relationships with key customers. An additional benefit of a well-run CAB program is discovering and gaining advocacy among your program participants. Indeed,...