ARE ADVISORY BOARDS ADVISABLE?

In my last article, ‘Undercover Focus Groups' I mentioned forming an advisory board including specific customers. This is a really powerful technique that, surprisingly, isn’t used all that often. But, when it is, it changes everything! 

Running a successful organization, especially for startups and smaller enterprises, is a challenge. Although the vast majority of businesses fall into this category, and are credited with having a big impact on the economy, communities and regions, these smaller businesses tend to focus on business strategies designed for big organizations. Which, of course, means organizations with vastly superior resources.

Running a smaller enterprise is a different thing altogether and it requires a different way of thinking. Some might remember people like Seth Godin talking about ‘guerrilla marketing’ - a phrase that really gets to the heart of what can make the difference for those with smaller budgets and big dreams.

Now, I’m not going to be talking about marketing here, but rather a ‘guerrilla’ strategy that, I believe, is so valuable that it can open doors and opportunities leaders may never have thought of. 

This strategy, like most of those I like, is very simple, cost-effective and powerful. As I mentioned in ‘Undercover focus groups’, our customers should always be our ‘go to’ when we want to keep our finger on the pulse of what’s working, what’s not, where our business is at and what’s happening in the marketplace.  

As has often been said, it’s a mistake to spend all our time and energy on cultivating new customers at the expense of our existing customers. It’s a mistake because a) it’s so much more expensive to achieve a first-time sale than it is to achieve a repeat sale, and b) we are losing out on potential new customers achieved through referrals, and c) we are oblivious as to why our customers aren’t loyal, repeat buyers. 

If we want to find out how to make what we’re selling irresistible to our target market, there are two sure-fire ways to do this.

1) Make use of focus groups within our internal and external customers.

2) Invite our best customers, most loyal advocates, and customers who could be, but aren’t as yet, to join our strategic advisory board.

The criteria for selecting customer advisors:

1. Must either already be, or potentially be long-term users and advocates for our product / service
2. Should include customers who are unhappy with our service / products but are open to working with us to ‘fix’ things. People who would gladly buy from us if it weren’t for the issues they’ve encountered. (Caveat: there will always be customers who are never going to be happy with us, for one or other reason, and find things to complain about. I’m not suggesting adding this kind of unhappy customer to our advisory board.)
3. Ideally they will have networks that will be beneficial for referrals, have sources for things we need, or know someone who does
4. They are community-minded and have an optimistic, altruistic mindset
5. And, let’s not forget internal customers, our team members, who align with our vision and are eager to see the organization grow

The scope of activities of a customer advisory board:

The purpose of having a regular advisory board is to provide accountability, input on the overall performance of the organization, and other critical aspects of business governance. The purpose of a customer advisory board is slightly different. This board is our source of input - honest, transparent input - on what customers really want - and where we are doing well at providing this, but more importantly, where we aren’t doing well and what needs to be done to rectify this.

Having both specific internal and external customers on this board gives us a balance from both perspectives as to what’s ideal and what’s possible. It’s no good coming up with the best, ever, latest, greatest widget that every customer loves, but finding that it’s cost-prohibitive, or impractical to produce.

So, while there’s room for blue-sky thinking, it also has to be firmly anchored in reality. And a mix of internal and external customers can give us that balance. And, of course, when everyone is connected on an Optevo WorkPod, it makes it easy for everyone to collaborate conveniently.

How is this different to the focus groups I’ve discussed?

An advisory board is more intense, and in-depth. The focus group is formed periodically and participants may change. It’s more of an ‘event’ with the purpose of gaining a snapshot of the current situation.  

The advisory board is a group whose participants remain the same and meet on a regular basis to discuss and brainstorm intensely. This may mean meeting twice a year, once a quarter, or monthly, depending on the business situation.

I’m not convinced, tell me exactly why we should have a customer advisory board?

Because no one, except the organization itself, has more to gain by making our offerings align better with customer needs / wants than customers themselves. They can be honest about what they like, what they don’t like and where we need to change / improve in order to keep them coming back again.  

By choosing people who genuinely want us to succeed, we ensure honest input and avoid the echo chamber syndrome. What do you think of this concept? Do you think it’s viable? If so, why? And if not, why? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

#CustomerAdvisoryBoard #Leadership