E-mail services firm Bronto Software Inc. established a customer advisory board to incorporate more customer feedback and insights into the development of its software and services.
The Bronto Customer Advisory Board consists of a diverse group of customers who are willing to contribute collective insights.
“We launched the Bronto Customer Advisory Board as a means to facilitate ongoing communication between Bronto leadership and our customers,” said Eric Boggs, product manager at Bronto, Durham, NC.
“We envision to BCAB as a venue to exchange ideas on the state and direction of the e-mail marketing industry and to ensure that our product direction aligns with customer needs and their future e-mail marketing plans,” he said.
Through bimonthly meetings, board members will facilitate conversations intended to exchange ideas on the state and direction of the e-mail marketing industry.
In addition, members will share best practices while helping Bronto better understand customer pain points and new innovative opportunities in the marketplace.
The first meeting was held last month and included 10 participating board members.
The inaugural board members are Jerry Bergquist, information technology manager at Chiasso.com; Dylan Bost, president/CEO at Ulanguzi; Elizabeth Crews, director of circulation at EH Publishing; and Jeff Cusson, online marketing manager at Gather.com.
Also on the advisory board are Gabe Harris e-commerce manager at Blooms Today; Gavin Jocious, alumni affairs manager of information technology at Duke University; Len Muscarella, president at Interactive Media Associates; Emily Swanson, communications specialist at The USO; and Tig Tillinghast, CEO at Watershed Publishing/MarketingVox.com.
This first meeting focused on addressing driving forces and key challenges behind successful e-mail marketing, as well as discussing proposed feature enhancements for the upcoming winter product release.
As a result of that direct customer feedback, Bronto is adding enhanced customized reporting capabilities into the upcoming release.
“We believe that the dynamic nature of the e-mail marketing industry requires that ESPs stay firmly grounded in customer needs,” Mr. Boggs said. “My collaborations with board members thus far have brought greater focus to our product development ideas and generated countless new ideas.”
