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Global Category: Jeanne Talbot

How do I select Customers for my Customer Advisory Boards

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Jeanne February 20, 2023

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Written by Jeanne Talbot Originally appeared on LinkedIn. Received permission to republish from the author. Companies often invite their biggest current customers – by brand or ARR – to join their customer advisory board. I’d argue that isn’t the best approach. Why? Because the primary purpose of a CAB is not about hitting your quarterly forecast. A CAB is playing the long game. It’s about engaging customers in a way that leads to a deeper and longer relationship. (Yes, that can lead to revenue growth too.) Here’s how I have approached building a CAB member list: 1️⃣ TYPE & PURPOSE Decide on the type of your CAB (executive, technical, partner, etc.) and on the purpose of your CAB. (This could be a whole different post.) 2️⃣ SIZE Decide on the size of your CAB. There is a passionate debate about the perfect size for a CAB. (Think Oxford comma-level debate.) I have seen successful CABs with 10 members all the way to 60 members. 3️⃣ BUILD NOMINATIONS WITH THE FUTURE IN MIND Set membership percentage goals based on what you want your customer base to look like several years from now, not how it looks today. Consider: o Industry mix o Account size (enterprise, mid-market, SMB) o Product mix o Geography mix o Department mix o Title mix o (Insert what's important to your company's future here.) For example, if you know you have high growth plans in EMEA and the healthcare industry, build your CAB membership in a way that will help you achieve those goals. 4️⃣ DIVERSITY Set minimum percentages for diversity of membership across multiple dimensions. (Do not waiver when this gets hard.) 5️⃣ NOMINATION PROCESS Establish an internal nomination process with deadlines and clearly defined criteria, beyond ARR, and that does not include current pipeline. Consider the elements that are most important to you and apply those to each candidate: account health, product adoption, advocacy, product roadmap development, executive engagement, networking, thought leadership, etc. 6️⃣ SELECTION COMMITTEE Create a committee for selecting members that includes a variety of points of view. Consider representation from executive leadership, product marketing, customer success, sales, customer marketing, and engineering. 7️⃣ SCORING METHODOLOGY Use a scoring methodology to give greater weight to your most important candidate criteria. 8️⃣ INVITATIONS After scoring, create prioritized A and B lists and a “not right now” list. o Invite candidates from your “A” list until you hit your target number of members, while ensuring you are hitting your diversity percentages. o Invite candidates from your “B” list as space is available until you reach your target number of members. 9️⃣ EVALUATE ANNUALLY Evaluate members annually for participation levels and repeat the process, adjusting your targets based on your business goals. Remove and add members accordingly.

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