Advisory board helps firm focus.

• Position: Customer relations - Customer Advisory Board - Brief Article

Does the idea of a customer advisory board sound reasonable for your company? It did to Bill Capraro, president of telecom firm CIMCO Communications Inc., and he says the idea has been a boon to the business.

Capraro says the 18-year-old firm, which has just under 3,000 customers and focuses on services like outsourced voice and data management, instituted the customer advisory board (CAB) concept a couple of years ago on the suggestion from a vice president of marketing. The board currently has 12 members, with four rotating off each year and four new members coming on; it meets quarterly at the company's Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., headquarters.

Capraro says he and several other management representatives attend each meeting, which lasts several hours and includes a dinner. CAB members aren't paid, and some come "a good distance," he says. "They see a lot of value in it because we really take to heart what they tell us.

"The simplicity of the board concept is what makes it work," Capraro adds...