What is the customer advisory board application form template?
A customer advisory board is only as useful as the people on it. A board full of the friendliest customers, or of people who can't make the meetings, tells you very little. An application helps you choose a mix of roles, company sizes and perspectives — and confirms each member can commit.
This customer advisory board application covers who the applicant is — job title, company, industry, company size, country and a professional profile — and then how they use the product: how long they've been a customer, which features they use, how often, their relationship with the product, how many colleagues use it, what it's helped them achieve and what they'd improve.
The final page asks which topics they'd like to advise on, why they want to join, the perspective they'd bring, how they can take part, the time they can commit, whether they could travel once a year, sign a confidentiality agreement and get employer approval. Applicants confirm their commitment, and each application is saved as a PDF in your FileIt vault.
- Best for
- B2B software companies, product teams and customer marketing teams
- Filled in by
- Customers applying to join the board
- Time to complete
- About 8 minutes
- Includes
- Role and company profile, product usage, topic interests, participation options, confidentiality and commitment
Who uses a customer advisory board application form?
- Recruiting the first customer advisory board for a SaaS product
- Refreshing board membership for a new term
- Building a product council for a specific feature area
- Inviting power users to test early features
- Balancing a board across industries and company sizes
- Recruiting customers for a regional advisory group
Questions on this customer advisory board application form
25 questions over 3 pages · includes multiple pages, consent checkbox.
1 About you
- Your name*
- Job title*
- Company*
- Work email*
- Phone
- Industry
- Company size 1 to 49 employees · 50 to 249 · 250 to 999 · 1,000 to 4,999 · 5,000 or more
- Country
- LinkedIn or professional profile
2 How you use the product
- How long have you been a customer?* Less than 6 months · 6 to 12 months · 1 to 2 years · 3 to 5 years · More than 5 years
- Which products, plans or features do you use most?
- How often do you use it?* Every day · Every week · Every month · Less often
- Your relationship with the product* I chose or buy it · I administer it · I use it every day · I'm the executive sponsor
- People in your organisation who use it
- What has the product helped you achieve?*
- What would you most like to see improved?
3 Interests & commitment
- Topics you'd like to advise on* Product roadmap · New features and early access · User experience · Integrations · Pricing and packaging · Support and onboarding · Security and compliance · Industry trends
- Why would you like to join?*
- What perspective would you bring that others might not?
- Ways you can take part* Video calls · In-person meetings · Surveys and written feedback · Testing early features
- Time you can commit* A few hours a quarter · About an hour a month · More when needed
- Could you travel to one in-person meeting a year?
- Could you sign a confidentiality agreement covering roadmap discussions?*
- Will you need your employer's approval to take part? No · Yes — I can get it · Yes — not sure yet
- Commitment*
The customer advisory board application form, page by page
1 About you
The applicant gives their name, job title, company and work email, all required, with phone, industry, company size, country and a LinkedIn or professional profile optional. This is what lets you balance the board across roles, sectors and company sizes.
2 How you use the product
How long have you been a customer?, how often they use it and their relationship with the product — chooser or buyer, administrator, daily user or executive sponsor — are required. Products or features used most and the number of colleagues using it add context.
What has the product helped you achieve? is required, and What would you most like to see improved? shows how the applicant gives feedback.
3 Interests & commitment
Applicants choose the topics they'd advise on, from the roadmap and early access to pricing, security and industry trends, and explain why they want to join and the perspective they'd bring. Ways to take part — video calls, in-person meetings, written feedback or testing early features — and the time they can commit are required.
The form asks whether they could travel to one meeting a year, whether they could sign a confidentiality agreement for roadmap discussions and whether they need employer approval, before a required commitment statement.
Make the template yours
- State your board's term, meeting schedule and any member benefits in the cover message
- Change the topic list to the areas where you want advice
- Remove the travel question for a fully virtual board
- Set a closing date so applications stop when recruitment ends
- Send personal invitations to shortlisted customers, prefilled with their details
- File applications in a vault folder for the board's term
Tips for a better customer advisory board application form
- Aim for a mix of roles, industries and company sizes rather than only your largest accounts
- Look at the improvement answers — constructive critics are often the most useful members
- Be clear about the time commitment before people apply
- Agree confidentiality terms before sharing roadmap details
- Tell every applicant the outcome, including those not selected this time
- Involve account managers before inviting their customers
Every response becomes a PDF in your vault
Each application is saved as a PDF in the vault folder you choose. Owner notifications email the board's organiser as applications come in, and applicants can receive a copy.
The Responses table lists every application, so you can compare applicants by role, industry, company size and topic, and export to CSV to build a shortlist.
- Start from this template. It opens in the FileIt Forms designer — change any question, add pages, set the rules for when questions appear.
- Share it. Turn on a public link, or send it to people by email, each with their own link. They don’t need a FileIt account.
- Get the answers as PDFs. Each response is saved as a PDF in the vault folder you choose, with uploaded files attached — and listed in a Responses table you can export to CSV.
Customer advisory board application form: frequently asked questions
Is this template free?
Yes. It's included in the FileIt Forms app on every account, including the free plan, and every question can be edited, removed or added to.
Do customers need a FileIt account to apply?
No. Anyone with the form's link can fill it in without creating a FileIt account.
Can I invite specific customers only?
Yes. Email personal links to the customers you'd like to invite instead of sharing a public link.
Does the form include a confidentiality agreement?
No. It asks whether the applicant could sign one. Send your own agreement to selected members, for example through FileIt eSignature.
Can I set a deadline for applications?
Yes. Set a closing date or a maximum number of responses in the form's settings.
Can I change the topics?
Yes. Edit the checklist in the designer, and applicants can add their own under Other.
What does the commitment statement mean?
Applicants confirm that, if selected, they'll take part in meetings for the term and give honest feedback. It's a statement of intent, not a contract.
Can it be used for a partner or user council instead?
Yes. Change the wording to suit partners, users or any other group you want to advise you.