Feedback matters: How our Customer Advisory Board makes us better

Most of us appreciate the purpose of a good board of directors: a group of people come together to make decisions about what’s in the best interests of a company and its shareholders.

The people who sit on the board are often experts in their field, and offer valuable insights to help the company achieve its vision and mission.

But what would it look like if you applied this same thinking to an advisory board, whose sole purpose was to discuss improvements to your product and your customers’ experience of it?

Most importantly, who would you ask to be on the board?

In 2018, this novel idea became a reality for us when we launched the Skedulo Customer Advisory Board. Our goal was simple: bring together experts in Skedulo for the sole purpose of making it better.

Who did we consider experts? Our customers — and more specifically, the people in those organisations who use our product every day.

Goals of Skedulo’s Customer Advisory Board

Since 2018, our Customer Advisory Board has evolved to become an important part of our business. We meet multiple times each year (virtually and in person), and spend hours discussing:

•       our customers’ experience with us
•       product functionality and usability
•       what works well
•       challenges and solutions
•       practical improvements

The board comprises a select cross-section of customers across different geographies, use cases, company sizes, and industries. This allows us to see Skedulo through various lenses, and understand how current and future functions add value to our users.

How the Board Is Evolving

We’ve found that customers who join the board most enjoy our in-person events, because they’re a great opportunity to network and share ideas with like-minded thought leaders.

We also use in-person events to share product plans and updates, and give customers a “first look” and opportunity to provide feedback on features and concepts.   

This is why we have decided to ramp up the number of in-person events and add new members — kicking off with a half-day “Customer Gathering” in March with our customers in the APAC region the day before the Salesforce World Tour event in Sydney.

The 4-hour session will include small working groups, presentations on product features and plans, demonstrations, and a dinner.

It’s a larger, more collaborative experience for us and our customers. It helps us grow our customer community, while providing valuable networking opportunities with a higher degree of interaction.

Later this year we will run another event in the USA, and plans are also underway for an event in the UK and other cities where we have a diverse customer base.

A Culture of Continual Improvement

The Customer Advisory Board is just one way we seek feedback from customers and adhere to our values: Customer love and Striving for continual improvement.

Our customers always have access to their personal Customer Success Manager, who collates and reports feedback to relevant business areas in real time. They also complete intense customer health checks twice a year to explain new features and best practices, and proactively seek feedback.   

This process is complemented by a variety of other continual improvement measures, including:

•       tech support surveys
•       project surveys
•       onboarding surveys
•       sales win/loss interviews

We also shadow end users of Skedulo while “on the job.” This allows us to see how people use the web and mobile app in the field, and pinpoint opportunities to enhance user experience.

Currently, feedback and improvements result in an average update to Skedulo every 2 weeks — with each update offering a more seamless platform for our customers to manage their mobile workforce.

We believe customer feedback is vital, and we’re excited to watch our Customer Advisory Board and other similar initiatives evolve as we settle into 2020.

To find out more about us, or how to get Skedulo up and running in your organisation, book a demo.