Understand the core competencies required to build a world-class Customer Advisory Board. Based on research conducted by the CustomerAdvisoryBoard.org industry association http://www.customeradvisoryboard.org/

1. Core Competencies of a World Class
Customer Advisory Board
This presentation contains best practices related to each of
the 7 core competency areas:
1.Strategic Alignment
2.Member Engagement
3.Program Management
4.Content Creation
5.Actionable Insights
6.Internal Influence
7.Measurable Success
http://www.customeradvisoryboard.org/

2. 1. Strategic Alignment
The CAB program has an identified executive sponsor
The executive sponsor’s ‘customer-facing’ direct reports are
members of the CAB steering committee
The top issues and opportunities facing the executive sponsor in
growing the business is reflected in the CAB’s objectives
The CAB mission & objectives are clearly communicated to the
members
The CAB manager meets with the executive sponsor and steering
committee regularly to align the CAB objectives with the current
corporate strategic objectives
The members are aware of the company’s growth strategy and are
able to reference it during their interactions at the board meeting
The executive sponsor meets with the board members regularly
throughout the year to provide updates and discuss strategic
decisions they face http://www.customeradvisoryboard.org/

3. 2. Member Engagement
Members are fully engaged in meetings and take every opportunity to actively engage
in discussions
Members are engaged in the agenda creation process
There is a high percentage of attendance at all meetings
Members do not delegate their participation to more junior colleagues
Members complete the required pre-reading and activities prior to every meeting
Members are polled frequently on the satisfaction with the program
A member feedback survey is completed at the end of every face-to-face meeting with
very positive results
Members contribute to the creation of deliverables through task forces/sub-
committees in between advisory board meetings
Members volunteer to present case studies
Members are scored on their level of engagement and participation in the board
annually
Peer networking exists between members
http://www.customeradvisoryboard.org/

4. 3. Program Management
The board is managed by a program manager with experience in managing CAB’s or a consulting
company with CAB expertise
An ideal member profile exists and the board is comprised of the optimal mix of clients from
different industries, titles, geographies and organizational size
Documented processes exist for identifying & recruiting board members, creating agendas,
onboarding members, engaging internal stakeholders, communicating to board members, producing
meeting reports, retiring members etc
A steering committee exists of the most senior executives internally who are responsible for action
the the customer insights collected
The status of action items agreed by the board are maintained and reported back to the board
throughout the year
A process exists to disseminate the customer insights effectively to all the internal stakeholders
Account managers are kept abreast of key insights gathered from their individual customer’s
interaction in board meetings
Trained facilitators (ideally external) are used to ensure the goals of each session are achieved
through an interactive and equitable exchange
A charter exists detailing the member commitment and governance structure of the board
A meeting kit is produced for every face to face meeting consisting of the meeting theme, charter,
attendees bio & headshots, agenda
A communication plan and timeline is communicated internally and externally of all board
activities planned for the next 12 months http://www.customeradvisoryboard.org/

5. 4. Content Creation
There is a pipeline of key topics for the board to focus on
An interview process exists to gauge members interest and thoughts on proposed
agenda topics
The results of member interviews drive the content creation process internally
A theme exists for each meeting and there is a logical flow to the session topics in the
agenda
Subject Matter Experts are engaged in content creation to develop the host
company’s strategic perspective on key topics
The executive sponsor and steering committee provides input throughout and
ultimate sign off on all agendas
Detailed facilitation plans are developed for each advisory board meeting session,
including the use of visual aids, small group breakouts, insight capture process and
ideation techniques
The advisory board is given the opportunity to access unique content only available
under NDA in this forum
Members are leveraged to help generate content for board reflection
An onboarding information pack exists to help new members come up to speed on the
corporate strategy, market positioning and board discussions
http://www.customeradvisoryboard.org/

6. 5. Actionable Insights
The insights to be collected from every session and the format are
agreed in advance of every meeting
Host company employee attendees are engaged in engaged in
capturing insight during every sessions
A tracking process with systematic follow up exists to ensure the
action items are worked on internally and the results reported back to
members
The board reviews past accomplishments and outstanding items at
the beginning or every meetings
Members are engaged in working on action items to drive towards
mutually beneficial deiverables
http://www.customeradvisoryboard.org/

7. 6. Internal Influence
The executive sponsor and steering committee members turn to the CAB
program manager to help solve strategic challenges that require customer
input
The output of the CAB is effectively communicated internally so it has a far
reach within all parts of the customer-facing organizations
The CAB is perceived as a tool to help in strategic decision making processes;
such as product roadmaps and potential partnerships
The business value generated from the advisory board is communicated
through internal newsletters, posts etc
The members participating in the advisory board are known and recognized
internally in all their touch points with the organization
The sales and account management teams understand the benefits the
advisory board can bring to them and actively pursue nominations to ensure
their top clients are represented on the board
http://www.customeradvisoryboard.org/

8. 7. Measurable Success
The executive sponsor has agreed the advisory board’s goals and
associated metrics for 1-3 years
A clear ROI can be calculated for the board
Recruitment targets are agreed and achieved
Examples exist of the host company’s strategy changing based on
board member input
Scorecard metrics exist where relevant covering areas such as sales,
marketing, product development, innovation, loyalty
The CAB manager is able to compare the results of the advisory
board to non-advisory board members in terms of growth in annual
customer spend, loyalty, satisfaction or other suitable metrics
The CAB manager can list deliverables created from the board or
having board member input
http://www.customeradvisoryboard.org/

9. WHAT NEXT…
Please contact us at contact@customeradvisoryboard.org if you have any
questions or wish to become a member of our industry association
http://www.customeradvisoryboard.org/

10. WHAT NEXT…
Please contact us at contact@customeradvisoryboard.org if you have any
questions or wish to become a member of our industry association
http://www.customeradvisoryboard.org/