Putting the Peer in Client Engagement

In this era of social connectedness, opinions and input from peers are of paramount importance to driving buying decisions and the adoption of new enterprise products and services. In working with executive engagement programs, the power of peer connections is critical to help to define the value of engaging with your company. To reach this audience effectively, you need to systematically design executive peer engagement into your programs.

The Peer Imperative

Executives rely even more heavily than others on the advice and perspective of their peers and seek opportunities to learn from, share, and engage with those they perceive to sit in that role. At the same time, it is not always easy for executives to access peers in innovative, sales-free ways. Your clients will place a high value on the chance to participate in programs that allow them to share and that help advance their own business agendas.

Creating a Peer Experience

As you build and revamp your approach to client engagement, focus on those activities that support and enhance executive connections. Here are a few programs to consider:

• Thought leadership as a vehicle for peer insights

  Involving your clients to create insightful, inspiring stories that showcase and extract ideas, solutions and best practices is a potent way to integrate peer insights into your conversations with clients.

• Advisory Boards as a setting for peer engagement

  Client or Customer Advisory Boards and Councils are one of the most effective tools for engaging clients with their peers – and your executives – through a shared strategic agenda in a safe and encouraging setting.

• Client eminence programs to elevate clients as peer leaders

  Client eminence programs, designed to highlight and showcase your clients as personal and industry leaders through speaking, writing, and other vehicles inside your company and beyond, provide a powerful opportunity for influence and insight that executives do not always have access to, even from their own marketing departments. This broadens the platform for your clients to share and get value while helping to establish them as leaders among their peers.

The Power of Peers for You

The power to convene the right peers is highly regarded by executive clients and represents a differentiator among the sea of vendors vying for attention. Your ability to connect your clients to peers and their ideas and insights reflects on your company’s ability to provide high-end business value and provides a brand lift that is often underestimated by marketers and companies alike. And your own executives are part of this network, bringing them new ideas and opportunities at the same time. This is not a one-way street, but a mutual avenue for innovative engagement. Don’t miss the opportunity.