What it means
A software company asks several customers to discuss how their teams expect to work over the next two years, and its leaders listen for needs and tradeoffs before choosing a product direction. That is a more useful advisory meeting than a sales presentation labelled as feedback.
Define the question first, because a group convened to discuss market change needs a different agenda from one reviewing service design, and vague opinions without a decision in view are of little use. Choose members deliberately by including relevant customer types and decision perspectives, not only the biggest accounts or the easiest advocates.
A dozen invited customers cannot automatically speak for the entire market, so check insights against research and usage data. Set expectations on how often meetings occur, what preparation is needed and how the company may use the discussion.
Explain the role clearly: advice can inform decisions, but it does not usually give customers voting control over the business or its formal governance. Offer customer value such as peer exchange, early insight and meaningful influence, since members should not be asked to donate time solely for the vendor's benefit.
Use a neutral facilitator where useful, because an executive selling a product while asking for candid criticism may suppress disagreement. Make room for difficult views, since a board filled only with praise provides weak evidence, and invite specific problems and competing priorities.
Keep meetings focused, because too many unrelated topics dilute discussion and leave little time to understand why members disagree. Separate strategic from tactical feedback, as a feature bug may need support while a pattern in customers' future workflows belongs in a broader discussion.
Record themes and evidence by summarising points, dissent and unresolved questions without treating every comment as a promise or request. Customers may share commercially sensitive plans, so set expectations on recording, attribution and circulation before the meeting, and do not reveal one participant's private data to others.
If members compete with each other, design discussions so they can contribute safely and seek legal guidance where antitrust risk arises, and keep sponsorship separate from sales so the meeting does not become a renewal negotiation. Commit to follow-up by telling members which points were considered, what changed and which ideas did not fit, and give each follow-up an owner among the decision-makers, because advice that leaders never hear can make participation feel ceremonial.
Measure participation rates alongside insights used in decisions, review membership as customers change roles, and choose formats that allow for time zones and travel. A beta group tests a specific product while an advisory board discusses broader direction, retention alone does not show the board caused it, and Forrester warns about unclear purpose, poor facilitation and weak follow-up, while a separate customer-council guide distinguishes strategic input from feature voting.
In practice
Real-world examples.
Example
A product leader asks customers which workflow changes would matter most over two years. The discussion focuses on tradeoffs, such as whether faster reporting matters more than deeper integrations.
Example
An adviser raises a recurring onboarding problem that the company checks against broader support data. The data confirms that the problem affects many accounts, and the team moves it into the planning cycle.
Example
The company reports which suggestions influenced a roadmap and explains why others did not. Members see that their time produced a visible response, even where their preferred idea was declined.
Formula
Calculation
Illustrative member retention rate = members still customers at a later date / customer members at the starting date x 100. If 11 of 12 remain after a year, that is 11 / 12 x 100 = about 91.7%. It describes the cohort and does not prove that advisory participation caused retention.
For comparison, suppose 170 of 200 similar non-member customers remain, which is 170 / 200 x 100 = 85%. The gap of about 6.7 percentage points is interesting but not conclusive, because the board members were selected for their engagement in the first place.Case study
Seen in the real world.
Fictional case: Meridian Apps, an invented software company, invited six major customers and spent the first meeting demonstrating features. Participants offered little input. The next agenda posed two strategic questions, used an independent facilitator and sent a follow-up explaining what leaders would test.
Members also asked for a short pre-read so that they could consult their own teams before the meeting. By the third session the discussion included disagreement between a large and a small customer about pricing, which gave the product team a more honest picture. This fictional change shows a better feedback process, not guaranteed product success.
Watch out
Common mistakes.
- Using the advisory meeting as a disguised sales pitch.
- Treating a selected group as a representative vote for all customers.
- Collecting feedback without telling members what happened next.
Questions
People also ask.
Can members direct the company?
They advise; formal decisions remain with the company's authorised leaders.
Who should be invited?
Customers with relevant perspectives and willingness to give candid strategic input.
How is success judged?
Look at member value, useful insight, follow-up and decisions, not attendance alone.
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