How to profit from client advisory boards

SPECIAL How To Profit From
ACTION Client Advisory Boards
REPORT
Concept Outline

Client Advisory Boards (CABs) are semi-formal focus group-type meetings with
small numbers of selected clients. The objectives of CABs are:
A complimentary report
provided by an A. To foster goodwill with representative clients, especially those at the centre
independent BBG…
of a notable circle of influence
Business Development B. To gather valuable information about the market and competition
Specialist C. To determine customers' perceptions of your business
D. To encourage referrals and further business, and…
Our purpose: E. To discover new ideas for improving your product or service range.

To provide practical Preparation for CAB
business information
that works… There is no strict format for CABs, so the preparation will vary between one
Guaranteed! occasion and the next. As a general rule, the following points need to be considered:

In particular how to: A. Purpose - What is the purpose of the CAB? This purpose (or set of
Increase Sales objectives) should be clearly defined before commencing. Once the desired
Reduce Costs outcome is known, the appropriate audience, timing, venue and so forth
Improve Productivity becomes clear.

Better Business B. Promotion - Generally speaking, people will be pleasantly surprised by an
Group Ltd invitation to participate in a CAB and will attend if it is reasonably
convenient for them. Nevertheless, a simple "marketing campaign" has
Serving Australian and
New Zealand Business.
been provided to help maximise the response to the invitation.

BBG Australia A flowchart showing the variations of your marketing campaign is attached as
Appendix 1 with a sample of a cold marketing campaign letter as Appendix 2.
U5, 51 Perry Street
Bundaberg, Qld 4670
Phone: 1300 711 743 Conduct of CAB
Phone: +61 412 667 559
Fax : +617 3036 6174 The following points can be taken as a reasonable guideline:
Email:
bbgau@betterbusinessgroup.biz
A. Group Size - The maximum manageable number of participants is around
BBG New Zealand 10 or 12. An ideal size is around 6 or 8.
1329 Akatarawa Road B. Group Composition - The make up of the group should be dictated by the
Upper Hutt 5372. predefined purpose and objectives. As a general rule, ensure there is a mix
New Zealand of "old faithful" clients and new clients. The loyal old clients tend to be
Phone: +64 4 5266880 unshakably positive and supportive, while the new clients tend to have the
Fax: +64 4 5264024
fresher ideas. This mix of old and new helps to ensure that the meeting is
Email: both a positive and worthwhile one.
bbgnz@betterbusinessgroup.biz

Presented By: C. Venue and Catering - Virtually any board or function room is suitable ...
except your own! Participants tend to feel restricted in their comments if
they are sitting in your offices, and this may restrict the flow of information
you get from them.

Page 1 of 5 Copyright © Fred Steensma

How To Profit From Client Advisory Boards
The ideal venue seems to be one which offers the classic boardroom layout, with a large table and chairs
spaced evenly around it. Catering can range from coffee and croissants for morning meetings through to
pre-dinner cocktails and three-course meals for evening meetings. Obviously, the purpose of the meeting
and the identity of the participants will dictate which level of catering is most appropriate,

As a general rule, some catering should be provided. Acceptable minimums would be:

Coffee, croissants and fruit juice for breakfast meetings
Sandwich platters for lunch meetings, and…
Sandwich platters for evening meetings, or nothing during the meeting but “money over the bar"
afterward

D. Preparation - As soon as your guests arrive, you should be able to pin a nicely-presented name
tag on them. This will save you the trouble of remembering everyone's name, and will help
participants relax with the other guests.

Have pencils and paper waiting for each person. These will be necessary later in the meeting.

Have coffee or juice waiting so that you can invite guests to partake as soon as they arrive. This sets a
nice, friendly tone to the meeting and it gives you a chance to relax with participants before the meeting
starts.

Most importantly, have a list of questions worked out (at least in your mind) so that you can keep the
meeting moving in the right direction once it starts.

Have a small tape recorder and a supply of blank tapes so that you can record the evening's discussions
and be sure of capturing all of the good ideas and feedback.

E. General Conduct - Open the meeting by thanking the participants for attending, then give them
an outline of the format of the meeting. Ask permission, then start the tape recorder. Some
appropriate "Opening Comments" are attached at Appendix 3.

The key to making the meeting a successful one is to get the guests actively involved. The most effective
way of doing this is to ask questions and present problems, then act as "facilitator" while the guests
discuss (and argue) the ideas.

Ensure that no one person "hogs the floor". Encourage quieter people and lively discussion by using
involving questions such as, "What do you think, (name)?"

A list of suitable types of questions is shown at Appendix 4.

At the conclusion of the meeting, sum up the key points that you've taken note of, then ask each person in
the room to:

1. Write down, in one or two paragraphs, a summary of their thoughts about your organisation and its
products and services. At this stage in the meeting, this exercise usually generates glowing
testimonials, and…
2. Write down any suggestions (which have not already been raised, or which deserve special mention)
on how to you can improve.

Page 2 of 5 Better Business Group Ltd Copyright © Fred Steensma
Australia- U5, Perry St, Bundaberg, Qld 4670 - +61 412-667 559 or 1300 711 743– Email: bbgau@betterbusinessgroup.biz
New Zealand- 1329 Akatarawa Rd, Upper Hutt 5372, NZ - +64 4 5266 880 - Email: bbgnz@betterbusinessgroup.biz

Post Meeting

After the meeting, send each participant a personalised thank you note along the lines of the one shown in
Appendix 5.

Appendix 1: How to Profit from Client Advisory Boards

FLOWCHART FOR PROMOTION OF CLIENT ADVISORY BOARDS

Response YES MEET Follow Up
Note
Invitation
Letter
No Follow Up NO THANK
Response Call

Appendix 2: How to Profit from Client Advisory Boards

SAMPLE COLD CAMPAIGN INVITATION LETTER

Good morning (name),

I need your expert advice.

You see, one of the things I've learnt in business is that "the customer is always right". And since you're
one of our valued customers, I figure that makes you an expert on how this business could serve you
better. So, if you could possibly find the time, I'd be really grateful if you could spend an hour or so with
me and a handful of other clients like you.

In the time we spend together I'd like you to give me your input and feedback on what we do at (your
company name). I'll briefly outline our intended future directions and plans and will look to your for your
comments and suggestions. But, most importantly of all, I'll be asking you to give me some specific ideas
on how to improve. How can we serve you better? What do we do well? What do we do poorly? What
else would you like us to do? Your input… all of it… will be very much appreciated.

If you can make it, please give me a call on XXXX as soon as possible. (If you can't make it, I'll need to
invite someone else in your place, so please call me at your earliest convenience.)

Either way, it'll be good to speak with you.

Sincerely,
(Your name)

P.S. This "Client Advisory Board" meeting will be held at the XXX at xx o'clock on the XXth. I hope
you'll be able to make it.



Appendix 3 to: How to Profit from Client Advisory Boards

SAMPLE OPENING COMMENTS

Thank you for attending. As indicated, the purpose of this meeting is to look
for better ways to serve you.

Format of meeting - two ears and one mouth - that’s the proportion I want to
use!

My job is to ask questions - but I want you to be the ones who discuss and
come up with answers to those questions.

Please hold nothing back - if we’ve done something to annoy, mention it so we
can fix it.

If we’ve done something especially well, mention it so we can build on it.

Clear?

You’re bound to utter pearls of wisdom - okay to use the tape recorder?


SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Generally speaking, what is your perception of .... (your business)?

What is the thing you’d most like us to do - which we don’t currently do?

What can we do to make our service extraordinary?

What would happen if ... ?

How do you feel about the idea of us ... ?

What is the most annoying thing about us?

How can we fix it?

What other products/services would you like us to supply?

Are our products/services good value for money?

What do you think of the idea of ... ?




SAMPLE FOLLOW UP NOTE

Dear (Name),

I wanted to drop you a quick note to thank you for your participation in the meeting the other day. As I
indicated at the time, “feedback is the breakfast of champions” - and we certainly got some feedback!

Thanks, especially for the part you played in making that happen. If you ever have any further thoughts
on how we can better serve you, please call me.

It’ll be a pleasure to speak with you again.

Regards,

(Your name)


How to profit from client advisory boards

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