Five Tips to Facilitate Better Listening in Your Customer Advisory Board
In our previous article, we explored how listening to your customers is not just good practice — it's a strategic advantage. Now, let’s go deeper into how to effectively create an environment where that listening can actually happen.
When you invite customers into a conversation about their needs, challenges, and future goals, it’s essential to create the right conditions for open, honest dialogue. That means more than just putting people in a room — it means shaping an experience where everyone feels heard and valued. And that’s where skilled facilitation comes in.
Here are five key practices to ensure your Customer Advisory Board (CAB) delivers on its potential as a strategic listening tool:
1. Set the Tone Early
Create a sense of psychological safety right from the start. Start your CAB session with a clear message: “This is a space for your voice.” Make it known that you're here to listen, not to sell. The way you show up matters — humility, curiosity, and active listening from leaders go a long way.
A seasoned facilitator helps reinforce this tone and can gently steer conversations when they drift off course or become dominated by a few voices.
2. Ask the Right Kind of Questions
Encourage insight, not just input. Open-ended, forward-looking questions invite meaningful discussion. Try prompts like:
“What’s keeping you up at night this year?”
“Where do you see the biggest opportunity for innovation in your industry?”
These questions help shift the conversation from feedback to foresight — and that’s where strategic insight lives.
3. Choose Interactive, Structured Formats
It’s not a presentation — it’s a conversation. Customer Advisory Boards thrive when participants engage with one another, not just with you. Formats that invite interaction lead to richer insights and stronger relationships.
Consider formats like:
Round robins or “fishbowl” conversations
Small-group breakouts with share-backs
Real-time polling followed by discussion
4. Create Space for Every Voice
Don’t let a few people dominate the room. Every advisory board has a few natural talkers — and that’s okay. But if their voices are the only ones being heard, you’re missing out. A skilled facilitator knows how to encourage quieter participants to share, how to balance airtime, and how to surface the full spectrum of perspectives in the room.
5. Turn Listening Into Action
Close the loop — visibly and consistently. At EQIQ, we believe the real power of listening comes from what you do with what you hear. We work closely with clients to transform customer insights into tangible next steps — and to share back those outcomes with their advisory board members. This not only builds trust but reinforces your customers’ sense of partnership and purpose in the process.
When done right, your Customer Advisory Board becomes more than a meeting — it becomes a strategic listening engine. So, how is your company listening today… and how could it listen better tomorrow?