arget (a certain number of expected new subscribers at the end of the process). Problems/Challenges The major challenges for these marketing groups are two-fold. The bad news is that there is no way for them to directly equate their marketing activity with sales. The only thing that advertisers can do is measure the brand awareness that their ads create or check to see if the sales group has delivered the customers. This means that the marketing group is totally dependent on the ability of the sales group to actually close sales to meet its objectives. Nonetheless, the Awareness Familiarity Marketing Preference Negotiation Sales Customer Transaction Service Figure 17-7: Marketing/Sales and the Costa Model eXcellence in Telecommunications The Telco Churn Handbook approach works well, and advertisers are usually able to accomplish their part of the customer relationship mission. Sales Role - Headcount The primary responsibility for the remaining execution of the Costa model typically falls under the sales group. Through agents, retailers, bundles/packages and direct sales efforts, the sales groups will take responsibility for picking up the familiarity and preference that the advertisers have created and drive these consumers through the negotiation process and into the sales zone. There are a number of challenges faced by the sales groups that actually deliver customers to the firm, but ultimately, the single metric that drives everyone is the headcount, usually communicated via the activations report. Roles for Other Functions The most interesting and most telling use of this retail-oriented model of consumer relations is the role that billing, activation, network maintenance, customer service, and the other groups play. Although these groups are undeniably important to the management of the relationship with the customer, they are typically afforded a less than critical role from the corporate perspective. They take on a less than critical importance in the mind of management because they are generally not direc