According to CIO Insight, the top reason CIOs participate on customer advisory boards is to influence their vendors’ product roadmaps. Learn the rest of the top 10 reasons. Click here>>
"While I consider myself an expert in executing and facilitating CAB meetings, there is always something to be learned from Ignite and the other participants. I garnered many great facilitation techniques that will allow my programs to run more smoothly." Lisa Bianco, VP Customer Experience, SAP Ariba
"As a new person to advisory boards, I was learning through research on the Internet. The CAB Training gives me a framework to establish actions to put into play for our first meeting." Marge Hart, Director of Product Management, Newforma
About Ignite Advisory Group
Ignite Advisory Group is the world’s leading consultancy focused exclusively on helping B2B companies engage with executives at key accounts through high-impact customer and partner advisory board programs.
CAB Connection is a quarterly resource newsletter from Ignite Advisory Group for Customer Advisory Board (CAB) Managers, Facilitators and Executive Sponsors.
Upcoming Webinar
Creating and Managing a Successful Customer Advisory Board (CAB) Program
Tuesday, April 12, 1:00 PM EST / 10:00 AM PST
Hosted by Pragmatic Marketing, this exciting, live, interactive webinar will feature best-practice guidance from Ignite Advisory Group as well as use case examples from Adobe, providing practical advice to help you build a successful CAB program.
In this podcast, Eyal Danon shares his advice for building an effective advisory board initiative, details who to invite, identifies mistakes to avoid when hosting a meeting, and describes how to make the most engaging CAB program possible.
Technology Services World Conference: May 2-4, San Diego
Ignite has become a consulting alliance partner (CAP) with the Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA), which offers research and best practices to help tech leaders optimize the financial and strategic contributions of their service businesses. Ignite will be participating at TSIA’s annual Technology Services World (TSW) Conference May 2-4 in San Diego.
Special offer! Ignite procured a 25% discount off the non-member event registration rate for its clients, friends and contacts. Click hereto take advantage of this significant savings.
CAB Training: FACILITATOR Sept.20-21, 2016 and MANAGER Sept.21-22, 2016
Ignite offers the industry's only customer advisory board training program, one for CAB Managers and one for CAB Facilitators. (We also offer onsite training customized specifically for your company.)
Ignite hosted its new, 2-day training program dedicated to CAB meeting facilitators February 9-10, 2016 in Atlanta. The comprehensive training included guidance on obtaining meeting objectives, managing an engaging discussion, and satisfying the high expectations of meeting participants. The training was in such demand that the training sold out and received rave reviews from attendees.
Eyal Danon is the President and Founder of Ignite Advisory Group, and a world-renowned expert on customer and partner advisory boards.
Question: Eyal, we would like to hold a social activity as part of our next CAB meeting, but are getting some wild suggestions from our management. Any guidance here?
Answer: We sometimes see companies host some crazy social activities. One client we observed held its CAB social event at a gun range, offering a selection of high-powered weapons laid out on a table for members to shoot at will – with no instruction provided or safety precautions taken – not to mention a full, open bar nearby! (Fortunately, there were no injuries.)
While CAB social activities are subjective and can vary depending on the host company corporate culture, the best events should enable deeper communication and relationship building. Activities that are too “over the top,” physically demanding or cater to the interests of a minority of the members are not recommended. CAB managers should target interesting activities that encourage interaction, ideally at a location unique to the meeting city, and get approval from their executive sponsor. In the end, a quiet dinner can suffice for deepening relationships. (My team member Judy Davis has some great advice on this topic.)
Got a CAB management question for Eyal? Email him at eyal.danon@igniteag.com. Your question could be included in the next CAB Connection.
New eBook
Beginner’s Guide to Establishing a World-Class Customer Advisory Board
This new, 4-part eBook series is an ideal resource for those new to CABs, and provides guidance on the various types of CABs, what makes CABs work, and how to establish a successful, long-term program.
"While I consider myself an expert in executing and facilitating CAB meetings, there is always something to be learned from Ignite and the other participants. I garnered many great facilitation techniques that will allow my programs to run more smoothly."
Hosted by Pragmatic Marketing, this exciting, live, interactive webinar will feature best-practice guidance from Ignite Advisory Group as well as use case examples from Adobe, providing practical advice to help you build a successful CAB program.
Eyal Danon is the President and Founder of 