Dolly Parton and Customer Advisory Boards….Totally Relatable!

Country music has never been my thing. New age / pop country, maybe sort of, but music by the likes of Dolly Parton did not appeal to me. Simply put, it wasn’t relatable. However, that quickly changed when our Farland Group President, Jane Hiscock, mentioned a podcast about Dolly Parton (full disclosure – she wasn’t a big Dolly fan before the Podcast either).

I decided to take a listen — and I was immediately hooked! Sure, it gave background on what life was like for Dolly Parton growing up in Tennessee, but the fascinating part (aside from many songs that I am a fan of that I never knew she wrote) was that I found it very relatable to the work we do at Farland Group. The podcast series wasn’t just about Dolly Parton and her music alone, it was about how throughout her decades-long career, she has remained neutral — bringing people together from all over the world, young and old, diverse backgrounds, men and women — you name it! This connects to our work at Farland Group.

In today’s world and current crisis, engaging with your client or customer-base has never been more important. What Dolly Parton has managed to do is appeal to anyone and everyone, all at the same time, by being a neutral third-party, reflecting back to people what she hears and sees by doing what she does best — writing music and singing. Just like Dolly Parton, Farland Group (no, we don’t sing) is a neutral, third-party that serves as a mirror of what we hear from the market. We help cultivate our client’s relationships with their own customers through customer advisory board meetings.

The customer advisory boards we support include a widespread customer base, with cross-industry leaders who come from diverse backgrounds — just like Dolly Parton’s fan base. The benefit to having an unbiased customer advisory board meeting facilitator like Farland Group also means participants have an equal opportunity to share their open and honest feedback, on any given meeting topic, during customer advisory board meetings and the one-one-one calls we facilitate with participants of those meetings.

During these challenging times, it’s important for organizations to continue to engage with their top clients, especially where the evolution and transformation of business strategies is an ongoing challenge. Just like Dolly Parton says, pour yourself “a cup of ambition” and starting thinking about how a customer advisory board could be the key to strengthening your relationships with clients.

Related Stories

Customer Advisory Boards: How Difficult Conversations Drive Change

Posted on 04.27.2023 by in Customer Advisory Boards

One of my first jobs out of university was working in the headquarters office of a local business with several locations. In this role, I worked closely with the customer service representatives, and we received feedback, questions, and  

Continue Reading »

Ramping up Customer Advisory Council Recruiting

Posted on 01.31.2023 by in Customer Advisory Boards, Featured

When the end of a calendar year closes, hand in hand come a number of retirements and role changes in the C-suite, which has an impact on Customer Advisory Council membership. While a number of open seats on your  

Continue Reading »

How to Make Working Groups Work For You

Posted on 12.8.2022 by in Customer Advisory Boards

Coming out of Customer Advisory Council meetings, there is generally a list of action items, and areas identified for further exploration. There are many ways to follow through, but one vehicle is invaluable when it comes to keeping  

Continue Reading »

Looking Back on One Year: An Interview with Mike Abbott, Thomson Reuters

Posted on 12.1.2022 by in Client Interviews, Customer Advisory Boards, Featured

Mike Abbott is the Head of Market Insights, Global Thought Leadership and the Thomson Reuters Institute, which brings together people from across the legal, corporate, tax and accounting, and government communities to ignite conversation and debate. Mike and the Thomson  

Continue Reading »


Customer Advisory Boards

Customer Advisory Boards are powerful engines of engagement, insight, and business transformation. Make the most of yours.

Meeting Facilitation: Virtual and In-Person Boards » Taking Your Customer Advisory Board Meetings Virtual »

Learn More »

Engagement Strategy

Like any good relationship, customer engagement is a long-term, reciprocal effort. When done well, meaningful engagement leads to better business results, faster.

Engage Your Customers to Help You Stop Pitching » Getting to a Customer Engagement Mindset »

Learn More »

Understanding the C-Suite

Building C-level programs that are meaningful and bring value to you as well as to your c-suite customers is challenging. Veiled sales pitches won’t win the day with this audience. Deliver what executives want: ideas, inspiration, innovation, influence.

Building a C-Suite Client Experience Strategy » Do you Know What Your Customers Value? »

Learn More »