How to Create a Customer/Client Service Advisory Board

Far too often CEOS, business owners and managers think they know what kind of services and products they should be providing. Unfortunately, many times they don’t. Here is an idea that can help you have an inside track to continually learning what your customers and clients really want from your company or organization. It is called a Customer/Client Advisory Board. One of the best ways to use this valuable source of information flow is to have a sampling of the different types of people you are serving. Pick people who use your company or organization on a regular basis. Select people who infrequently buy from you and some who have never bought from you, but rather from your competitors. Select customers/clients from the different age levels of 18 - 25, 26 - 35, 36- 45, 46-55, 56- 65 and 66 and older. By having a wide selection of age ranges you can learn much more information as it relates to these particular age segments. Make sure you have a good representation of men and women. Next, make sure the composition of your advisory board includes different ethnic groups. Many times the reason a certain ethnic group will not use a particular product or service is because of some small oversight. One example of a not so small oversight was committed by US automakers. For many years, they tried to sell their vehicles to countries who drove on the left side of the road. When the US automakers finally asked why these countries were not buying more of their vehicles, they were told that they put the steering wheel on the left side of the car and not on the right, like other European cars. It was inconvenient and dangerous to try and get used to driving a car that way. You would have thought the US automakers would have known better, but they didn’t. Some advisory boards may meet for a few sessions. Others could last much longer. It depends on how long it takes you to get the kind of information you are looking for that will help you meet the true needs of your clients. By having several different advisory boards over the course of the year, you will insure your company or organization of having a good representation of people. The benefit of using advisory boards is that it will give you a wealth of information that can put you far ahead of your competitors in knowing what your customers/clients really want and need. Tom Borg is president of Tom Borg Consulting, LLC. He is a business consultant, speaker, coach and author. Please see more of his blogs at csjobsBlog.com and view additional job postings at Nexxt