Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Respected customer-centric firms like Wells Fargo, SAS and Intel are among the firms who?ll be sharing insights on how to gain an edge with a Customer Advisory Board program at the 2008 CAB Exchange Summit in San Jose, July 21-23. Here?s a preview of some of the tips they?ll be sharing.

1. Provide a superior value proposition.

SAS Institute enjoys an 85% acceptance rate by executives it invites to join its C-level Advisory Boards. SAS Institute?s Phebe Walsh explains that the keys to this remarkable rate of success are: careful screening of CAB candidates by the right SAS constituents, careful nurturing of the invitation process, getting SAS C-level executives personally involved in the recruitment process, and perhaps most important, emphasizing value to prospective members. And what they want is not sales pitches from your product managers. ?What they value most,? says Walsh, ?is to network with their peers from other companies.?

2. Corollary to #1: Some of the best customer value propositions are win-win.

Wells Fargo Senior VP Jeff Tinker points out that, ?Over the past several years, our Customer Advisory Council (CAC) members have joined us on stage at Regional and National Banking Conferences, co-presenting on how they use Wells Fargo products and services.? Recently, two of the firm?s CAC members were featured in the Wells Fargo annual report, discussing how they use one of Wells Fargo's leading new products. ?Our CAC members love these opportunities,? says Tinker, ?and given their knowledge of Wells Fargo, we've found that their stories resonate well with our broader customer base.?

3. Keep CAB members engaged throughout the year.

A skillfully run CAB event can generate a lot of excitement, but many firms fail to take advantage. Intel succeeds at this by taking key issues identified at its Executive Board of Advisors (EBOA) meetings and facilitating ongoing user groups. ?Our last EBOA meeting got an average rating from participants of 4.1 out of 5 ? a sign of the tremendous level of excitement we created,? recalls Intel?s Rhett Livengood, Director of Enterprise Customer Programs. ?To build on that, we're facilitating two new user groups on topics selected by attendees - one on security and one on data center management.? Striking while such irons are hot pays off: some EBOA members even bring in additional expertise to keep the information flowing. ?Since our last EBOA meeting, we've had monthly meetings in which members bring in specialists from their own organizational staffs,? says Livengood. He and his team make sure new information from the ongoing user groups is promptly disseminated to the EBOA, in a user friendly way. One favorite method: video podcasts.