Virtual CAB Program - More Tips on How to Run Your CAB

A CAB is like a wedding — everyone has their own vision for the grand experience. Before I dive into running a virtual CAB program, I have a public service announcement:?

Regardless of how many CAB meetings you have, make sure you ALWAYS circle back and get everyone’s input on the next CAB. The next CAB virtual meeting should be a balance of what you want to discuss as a vendor and what your customers want to discuss. Be up-front about that as you set the next board meeting agenda. This is very important, because you are showing their advisory input matters. It’s a mutual board meeting for the vendor company to gain advice from its customers and reciprocate by being ready to discuss the issues at the top of its customers’ minds.

In my previous newsletter about shortening virtual CAB meetings, I mentioned that your customers will be happier with four shorter quarterly meetings, than one long one. Depending on your CAB goals, there could be a need for an impromptu CAB.?

How long is the virtual CAB program??

Conventionally, CABs are terms of a year long. In the last 10 years, I have shortened CAB terms down to six months. I feel that’s enough time to work closely on any issues with your customer advisors. If you decide to have a six-month virtual CAB program, a good plan is to have two to three more meetings.?

Turn multiple CAB meetings into opportunities

Start talking to your chief of staff, your executive sponsor, and your CEO. Get their feedback on what next topics should be mapped out for the next three CAB board meetings after your first one. Let’s say, you’ll likely have another roadmap update with an in-production demo. You’ll need customers for future analyst meetings, peer reviews, or support for yearly reports such as the Gartner Magic Quadrant or Forrester Wave analyst reports. Be transparent. Share with your board what you need help with. After all, they’re your customer advisors. The needs that you have throughout the year can help you map a strategic CAB program so you’re prepared and not faced with “Oh, yeah, what are we going to update the CAB customers next month?”

If you’re a start-up, you’ll still need customers to help serve as references for analysts and sales. You may want to air out your growing pains in a CAB meeting by asking your CAB for advice on areas that need improvement, such as customer support and features that need better UX design. Hopefully, by the time you have had two to three CAB meetings under your belt, you can even ask the questions that keep your C-suite up at night, like how to reduce churn.?

These multiple CAB meetings should be 90 minutes long. I often have to step in and ask presenters to limit what they share over virtual meetings. If it’s too much information, there will be no value and the CAB customers will end up feeling overwhelmed.?

Focus on specific topics and questions, not a 50-slide presentation?

You’ve probably sat in hours-long virtual meetings where you were supposed to concentrate, but it was hard to focus even after an hour. Often when a CAB lead creates the next CAB agenda, they feel compelled to pack in as much information to show the company was hard at work in the last two or three months. They feel if they can share “more” with the CAB members, the members will walk away feeling or saying, “Wow, this company is awesome. They’re doing so much. I’m impressed and looking forward to singing their praises at the next conference.”?

What will actually happen is “Wow, so much information. That was a lot to digest. I feel like I was talked to, not asked at all what I think. I guess I’m not really an advisor.”?

Be up-front with your CAB customers. Tell them what topics are really important for your company. And tell them that we want to focus our time and get your feedback on “Y and Z.” When you openly share that with your board customers ahead of the next CAB meeting, they will start thinking about the CAB agenda and will be much more engaged. More engagement means they will help you validate your strategy and tactics, and provide you with advice you need to increase company loyalty and keep customers happy.

Don’t be afraid to get into the nitty gritty

Have you ever been on a sports, military, or work team? Whether you won or lost, you learned a lot from those team experiences. And those experiences make you come out as a winner. That’s what a CAB does for your business. Your customers act as advisers. They volunteer their time to give you the tough love for your company to be stronger and competitive.

When executives are authentic and vulnerable, they can open up and ask for customers’ sincere advice. This strengthens the bond between your customers and your executives, and customers will want to help as partners. CABs aren’t fluff and show and tell. (Although, they can be.) Get into the nitty gritty and solve the hairy issues. Solving issues with customers will form a new CAB trust. This will create customer loyalty, and customers will more likely promote your company. With their word-of-mouth testimonials, there will not only be industry buzz but brand buzz, where your company will stand out from the competition. All this can be done over four 90-minute CAB meetings and some smaller breakout meetings.??

What’s your experience with virtual CABs???