Series 2: The Three Phases of CAB Competitive Advantage

Phase 1: Foundation Building

Trust → Insight → Early Advocacy

At this stage, the goal isn’t perfection. It’s presence.

You’re gathering the right voices, asking better questions, and showing up consistently. Your CAB members are just beginning to trust that this isn’t a one-time event—it’s a real relationship.

This is also the phase where you start asking a critical question:
Who belongs on this board?

Are you looking for hands-on admins who can speak to technical usage?
Or customer executives who can help shape your product vision and share business challenges from the top down?

The people you choose now will shape not just your feedback—but the kind of influence your CAB can have down the road.

In this phase, companies typically:

• Build rapport and connection with top customers

• Gather real-world insight (not just feature requests)

• Start to identify and support early advocates or references
  

  One client used this phase to better understand why deals were stalling—not from data, but from customer stories that surfaced in the room.

This stage is about earning the right to go deeper with your customers.
Before the strategy, there has to be trust.

Phase 2: Strategic Partnership

Trust → Co-Creation → Influence

Once trust is in place, the conversations shift.

Customers don’t just show up—they contribute. They begin offering ideas, pushing back on assumptions, and co-creating what’s next.

You’re no longer running a meeting.
You’re hosting an insider circle of strategic influence.

This is the most important phase—where intention meets momentum.

During Pre-CAB: take the time to connect 1:1. Hop on a Zoom with each nominated CAB member. Walk them through your mission, your vision for the CAB, even the backstory that got you here.
Most importantly, share the agenda and ask: "What would you personally like to get out of this CAB?"

That simple question turns participation into partnership.

Companies in this phase often experience:

• Customer participation in product direction and roadmap feedback

• Public support—think analyst briefings, content collaborations, speaking engagements

• Expansion into new verticals, markets, or use cases through CAB connections
  

  One B2B team discovered a brand-new growth market through a CAB participant’s insight—years before the competitive landscape caught on.

At this stage, you’re not just collecting input.
You’re building with them, not just for them.

Phase 3: Market Advantage

Co-Creation → Ecosystem → Barrier to Entry

By now, you’ve built real trust. You’ve moved beyond feedback and into shared momentum.

This is where the most committed CAB programs create their true competitive edge—not just inside the company, but in the market.

Your CAB becomes more than a strategic sounding board. It becomes a living ecosystem of advocates, advisors, and amplifiers.

This is also the moment to lean into EQ over agenda.

During your Zoom check-ins or board prep calls, listen carefully.
Who lights up when talking about your product?
Who has a story or use case that provokes deeper conversations?

Start to identify the customers who can own the room—by sharing insights, use cases, or challenges that spark something bigger.

Let them lead a story. Give them space to shape the conversation.
The more you elevate your customers, the more they elevate your brand.

At this phase, companies often see:

• Unprompted referrals from CAB members

• Competitors blocked through stronger customer alignment

• Influence in analyst reports, partner ecosystems, and industry discussions

In one anonymized case, CAB members helped solidify a company’s category leadership by influencing peer organizations—and even investors.

You’re no longer just collecting input or building relationships.
You’ve created a moat—one built on trust, shared success, and customer-led market influence.

But the strongest CABs don’t stop there.

While vendors often focus on cultivating advocates, don’t forget to give your customers space to build their own networks, too.

Many CAB members may not know one another when they arrive. Make time for connection.
Leave room for a long lunch. Add a walk-and-talk session or small group activity.
Encourage mingling, storytelling, even moments of silence.

This isn’t just your time with them—it’s their time with each other.

Because while they’re here to help you, they’re also here to enrich themselves.
And when customers leave feeling more connected, inspired, and valued… your CAB becomes more than a strategy.
It becomes a brain