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- Tony Carter, Professor of Sales and Marketing Management, Columbia University |
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The PowerMark Group, Inc 31411 Camino Capistrano, Suite 300 San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675 phone: 949.481.4100 fax: 949.388.0717 email: info@thepowermarkgroup.com www.thepowermarkgroup.com |
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--Sean Geehan and Stacey Sheldon,
Connecting to Customers
Connecting to Customers
We are all human and most love to talk, especially those of us in marketing and sales positions. We have opinions and want to be heard. Consider for a moment, however, how much more effective our marketing and sales opinions would be if we stopped to really listen to our customers.
More and more senior managers are realizing CAB members are a firm’s thought partners providing informed and objective opinions representative of the beliefs of current and potential customers. A CAB’s input can cover a variety of topics—sales practices, marketing programs, strategic alliances, financial terms, administrative procedures, industry trends, etc. CABs offer a pool of contacts for strategic input, industry expertise, a fresh perspective from your target audience, and a halo of prestige for your firm. “If company X buys from you, you must offer good products and services.” CABs offer competitive advantages.
What can you do to ensure the effectiveness of your CAB?
- Get senior management involved. Secure and align senior management stakeholders. CAB members want to know senior management takes their counsel seriously. Pay attention.
- Establish a mission and structure for your CAB. Why do you want to launch a CAB? What do you want the CAB to accomplish? Regarding structure, make sure meetings are skewed to discussion, not presentations which don’t allow for feedback. Also, stagger member terms so you have newer members working with seasoned members to maintain continuity. Meet 2-4x/year and supplement meetings with conference calls to build the team’s working relationships.
- Recruit qualified members. The most effective CABs are comprised of 7-13 members representative of your leading customers. Make sure candidates understand business issues, not just individual functions. You will discuss big picture topics. You don’t want this to become a sales event or a gripe session. Lastly, consider group dynamics when selecting participants. You don’t want one grandstander side tracking your meetings.
- Communicate regularly. Keep the Board members informed as to progress on topics discussed. They have volunteered their time and expertise; you owe them the courtesy of progress reports. You are accountable to them.
- Act on the best ideas. Turn the CAB’s comments into action plans. Confirm expectations. Show progress. There is no stronger way to instill customer loyalty than to show customers their input made a difference. You don't have to adopt every idea, but put the best into practice and your business will benefit.
