Consumer Advisory Boards: Chrysler At The Cutting Edge (Who Knew?)
Posted on | March 26, 2008 | 1 Comment
by Andrea Learned
It is always nice to see a glimmer of hope from a brand in a very troubled industry – especially one that so represents the can-do history of America. And, so it was when I read a MediaPost article by Karl Greenberg about Chrysler’s new consumer advisory board (aka CAB). For auto manufacturers as well as jewelry retailers, garden centers, or lawn mower and consumer electronics brands, etc., this is an incredibly wonderful way to really dial into the lives of your core audience. And, while Chrysler is doing it on a grander, email-based scale, CABs can work at less grand levels too.
Last week I presented to a diamond industry audience, and, as usual, talked about how much this sort of regular interaction with customers (and/or prospects) can guide a marketing approach – even on a very small scale or informal level (such as picking ten really active customers and buying them all dinner once a quarter). One man in the audience had heard me speak early last year, and had then taken on my CAB suggestion for his business. He shared his story with the other industry folk in last week’s group, and the bottom line was: He couldn’t believe the insight gained to money spent ratio. Another woman contributed that she organizes really amazing off-hours events for a core group of her best female customers – and during those evenings she gets a lot of “advisory” input to boot. She agreed that the sum of money she spent to host those functions only strengthened her connection with these women: Women who will be all the more likely to keep the jewelry retailer’s store in mind, and will likely think about purchasing jewelry a bit more often, as well.
What’s so interesting about this CAB idea is that talking to customers regularly and really making note of what they say (about your industry and otherwise) sounds obvious – especially for industries that are feeling major pains (as in Chrysler’s case). Yet, lots of businesses and brands get either too caught up in day to day operations or have been convinced that only expensive, quantitative consumer research will deliver the insights they need. In reality, smaller scale, more intimate connecting – especially in this now overwhelmingly digital age – can have exponentially positive results that either guide on their own, or complement more extensive studies.
The bonus is that the more intimate gatherings, because they are so different an experience for most consumers, can actually be more memorable and ignite greater buzz than a lot of other options. Anyone who participates in even a small-ish CAB is bound to be so blown away by your asking for their opinion/wanting to buy them dinner, that – in addition to giving you nuggets of knowledge when they are gathered, they won’t be able to contain their enthusiasm to anyone they come across for the next few days or so.
Does a consumer advisory board take re-grouping and a little extra organization, for any size business? Yes. Is it worth the hassle? I’m guessing that might be so for the majority of people reading this post.
Any time a brand or retailer goes out of its way to invite feedback, it is a surprising enough occasion that the participants can’t help but engage a bit more. Build on such engagement over time and you’ll develop marketing strategies that are even more relevant – all because your CAB told you what to do.
Chrysler is on to something…
Comments
One Response to “Consumer Advisory Boards: Chrysler At The Cutting Edge (Who Knew?)”
Leave a Reply
April 8th, 2008 @ 9:39 am
[…] Consumer Advisory Boards: Chrysler At The Cutting Edge (Who Knew?) […]