Customers are the heart of any business, but ironically, they aren’t always the voice. It’s easy to remain in the feedback loop within your team or with your investors or even in trying to keep up with competitors. However, there needs to be room at the table for customers, too.

A customer advisory board, or CAB, is a formal group of customers that are interested in your company’s success and are willing to provide input and insight on an ongoing basis. Whereas a focus group may meet one time to contribute their opinion, CABs are in it for the long haul. It may also help to think of customer advisory boards as a group of product champions that you build deeper relationships with.