{"id":2985,"date":"2022-06-25T21:16:06","date_gmt":"2022-06-25T21:16:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fusionwm.com\/?p=2985"},"modified":"2022-08-25T21:23:23","modified_gmt":"2022-08-25T21:23:23","slug":"the-surprising-value-of-a-client-advisory-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fusionwm.com\/the-surprising-value-of-a-client-advisory-board\/","title":{"rendered":"The Surprising Value of a Client Advisory Board"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Entrepreneurs should always be looking for ways to strengthen their businesses, enhance their success and grow their personal wealth. The top business owners we know and work with are not only highly focused on those goals, they\u2019re also open to fresh and novel ways to achieve them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take advisory boards, for example. As we\u2019ve noted in the past, it\u2019s common for business owners to establish advisory teams\u2014organized groups of leading professionals who contribute their expertise to help both the company and the owners excel. The experts on these teams are able to help guide the business forward by enabling the company to avoid obstacles. They may do this by sharing industry best practices and dealing with specific problems the firm faces. Advisory teams can be especially critical to ensuring that a family business continues as a family-owned and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-operated enterprise over several generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s another type of team that some business owners may find especially valuable: an advisory board consisting of a select, handpicked group of the company\u2019s existing clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


We call this a client (or customer) advisory board (CAB), and we\u2019ve seen that it can be an excellent way to gain insights into how to provide an exceptional client experience at all steps\u2014and capture new opportunities. Here\u2019s a look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A CAB overview<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

A CAB is a forum in which business owners invite a select group of top clients to share their insights, ideas and advice about the business. It involves regularly scheduled, in-person or virtual group meetings to discuss key practice management issues that the entrepreneur is facing and to seek creative solutions together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essentially, a CAB is a focus group consisting of highly valuable clients of a business who are both willing and able to help the owner enhance the overall value and effectiveness of the firm and grow the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Important:<\/strong> A CAB is different from client-driven appreciation events or get-togethers. It\u2019s a more formal and systematic approach to enrolling clients in the future of the business. Also, it\u2019s designed to provide owners with insights and strategies from a group of top clients brainstorming in a collaborative, work-focused environment that encourages creative solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why clients?<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s probably easy to see the value of creating an advisory board of other business owners and professional experts, but perhaps less obvious why entrepreneurs would want to include clients in their initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are several key reasons to form a CAB. If you\u2019re a business owner, your clients view your success as an entrepreneur as an important part of their own overall success. You might not realize this, but it makes perfect sense. We all want to work and associate with top people. Your clients have a vested interest in helping you and your practice achieve tremendous success. In fact, it\u2019s in their enlightened self-interest to do so. They want you to continue to provide them with excellent service and solutions. The upshot: Many of them, if given the opportunity, would be eager to provide you with insights and resources that could help you grow your practice and become even more successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are several important reasons to consider enlisting top clients as formal advisors (see Exhibit 3):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exhibit 3<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reasons for a Client Advisory Board<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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