Bizsuccess

Monday, November 2, 2009

By: Susan Gunelius

Companies create Advisory Panels all the time to connect with experts.  I’m on one for a well known technology company. They use it as a way to get free insight into the minds of thought leaders and discuss new trends, strategies, and more.  It’s also a great way for companies to drive publicity.  You better believe each time the Advisory Panel meets, there just might be a press release about it!

But did you know you can use the same concept to market your business?  It’s true.  You can set up a Customer Advisory Panel!

Creating a Customer Advisory Panel is simply a matter of defining your goals for the effort.  For example:

• Do you want to conduct exploratory market research to help you define future marketing strategies?
• Do you want to test interest and effectiveness of advertising campaigns?
• Do you want to test your products?
• Do you want to get people talking about your products, services and business offline and online?

A Customer Advisory Panel can help you do all of that and much more!

Once you know what your overall goals for your Customer Advisory Panel are (for example, your primary goal could be to drive an online conversation about your brand using the members of your Customer Advisory Panel as your brand advocates), you can recruit consumers.  Remember, participants in your Customer Advisory Panel don’t have to be your existing customers.  You can invite prior customers, potential customers, industry experts, and more.  Consider how different members could benefit the effort and help you reach your long term goals.  Just make sure all members have unbiased opinions.  Most importantly, don’t create your panel and then forget it.  Make sure you hold in-person or virtual meetings on a consistent basis!

Try to offer added benefits to consumers to join your panel.  Free publicity for participants is a great way to attract industry experts.  Tell them you’ll link to their Web sites and mention their names or businesses each time you promote or discuss the Customer Advisory Panel.  You can do this by mentioning them in press releases, in brochures, in your emails and direct mail, on signage in your store or office, and so on.  Many times, consumers are simply happy enough feeling important and sharing their opinions as part of an advisory board, and that’s the best case scenario.  You don’t want to sway any opinions by offering compensation for participation.  However, attracting busy experts might take some incentive, such as the free publicity mentioned earlier.

It’s important to promote your Customer Advisory Panel as well.  Send press releases, update your business blog, discuss it on Twitter and Facebook, and send emails or newsletters to keep your customers and a broader audience “in the know” about the interesting things you’re working on with your Customer Advisory Panel.  These are just a few ways you can use your Customer Advisory Panel not only as a long-term marketing strategy development effort but also as a short term publicity vehicle.

Get started today by reaching out to potential members.  Prepare your pitch and make sure participation is positioned appropriately for each invitee to get maximum results.  You should blog about it before you even get started to build momentum and interest in the great things you have in store for your business and customers! Go ahead — go spread the word on your blog, on Twitter, in person, and so on.  Let the world know that you’re planning on creating a Customer Advisory Panel to ensure you’re meeting customer needs now and in the future!