Summer Planning for a Successful Customer Advisory Board

As the busy Spring season comes to an end and people head off for Summer vacation, getting a jump start on planning for the upcoming Fall season and beyond will help set your Customer Advisory Board up for success.

Here is a short checklist of actions to start taking now:

Reflection: Review recently completed meetings for actions to take to close-the-loop on open items and how advice received during the sessions can be utilized for strengthening future sessions. What were the top three lessons learned from your Spring meetings? What sessions received positive feedback? What topics warrant further exploration? What areas could be improved upon in future meetings?

Program Timelines: Stay organized and on track with Board program deliverables by using a program timeline. Create program timelines now and your team will be confident that during the busy season nothing is forgotten or overlooked in the Board meeting planning.

Input Calls: Conducting interviews with Board members both pre- and post-meeting is where feedback and advice for future sessions is received. Input calls are vital for progressing work and generating value. Coming out of Spring sessions, what topics resonated with Board members? Were new topics identified to bring forward in future discussions? For upcoming sessions, what are Board members’ priority areas of interest? Do Board members feel they have made a breakthrough on a certain topic and could potentially help kick off a discussion among peers?

Meeting Dates: From our experience at Farland Group, getting meeting dates out early helps to ensure robust Board member participation. Use the Summer season to begin identifying potential meeting dates for your Customer Advisory Board. Look to send calendar invites for next year’s sessions to Board members ASAP to give them ample time to secure their participation.

Recruiting: It’s never-ending work, but ultimately it is what keeps a Customer Advisory Board running. This Summer, spend time updating your recruiting list – work with your account teams to identify new target candidates and review your current recruiting list to ensure candidates are still in their positions and remain a good fit for your Board.

Even though Summer may feel like a slow season, getting ahead now will put you in the best position for a successful busy Fall meeting season!