Customer advisory council

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A Customer Advisory Council (also referred to as a Customer Advisory Board or CAB)is a form of market research whereby a group of existing customers is convened on a regular basis to advise company management on industry trends, business priorities, and strategic direction. The CAB differs from traditional focus groups in the following ways:

Market research is an organized effort to gather information about target markets or customers. It is a very important component of business strategy. The term is commonly interchanged with marketing research; however, expert practitioners may wish to draw a distinction, in that marketing research is concerned specifically about marketing processes, while market research is concerned specifically with markets.

A focus group is a small, but demographically diverse group of people and whose reactions are studied especially in market research or political analysis in guided or open discussions about a new product or something else to determine the reactions that can be expected from a larger population. It is a form of qualitative research consisting of interviews in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging. Questions are asked in an interactive group setting where participants are free to talk with other group members. During this process, the researcher either takes notes or records the vital points he or she is getting from the group. Researchers should select members of the focus group carefully for effective and authoritative responses.

Contents

Composition

Customer advisory councils and CABs typically consist of 10 to 15 customers selected to represent a cross section of the customer base. Proper selection of attendees requires identifying not only the most strategic customer company, but also the proper individual who can best represent their company's needs, priorities, and directions. Key individuals who have a strong relationship with the sponsoring company and have valuable ideas to contribute are ideal candidates. Membership may also benefit from a few outspoken customers who have voiced strong complaints in the past about existing business practice.

Frequency and format

It is common practice for customer advisory councils to meet 1-2 times per year. More frequent meetings are usually not practical due to time constraints of participants. Furthermore, it takes a significant amount of time to process the advisory council recommendations and implement them within the existing company strategy.

Meetings are usually held face-to-face for half a day or more. Meetings can also be held via teleconference or through interactive means though the level of 2-way dialogue may suffer. Meeting agendas usually leave ample time for facilitated discussion using a variety of brainstorming and workshop techniques.

Teleconference live exchange of information among several persons remote from one another

A teleconference or teleseminar is the live exchange and mass articulation of information among several persons and machines remote from one another but linked by a telecommunications system. Terms such as audio conferencing, telephone conferencing and phone conferencing are also sometimes used to refer to teleconferencing.

Council member expectations

Council members usually participate on a voluntary basis for the opportunity to influence company direction in a way which is beneficial to their own needs as well as the customer community. To maintain credibility it is important that the sponsors are committed to follow through on key recommendations made by the council or at minimum provide a rational explanation for those recommendations which are ultimately not implemented. Participants also typically benefit from the prestige of participation, ability to network with each other as well as with company officers, and opportunity to share best practices and new ideas.

See also

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