e defined what the telco churn phenomenon is all about, have seen that there are many reasons that churn will occur, and have realized that customers make their churn decisions based on a large number of variables. To finish our exploration of the reasons that customers churn we need to include one more perspective. eXcellence in Telecommunications The Telco Churn Handbook How Do CONSUMERS MANAGE ALL OF THIS INFORMATION? When you consider the amount of information consumers have to process on a day-to-day basis in order to make an informed decision, and when you realize just how many financial, emotional, and practical variables they need to take into account to choose a service provider, you wonder how consumers keep track of it all. As overwhelming as it seems to us, remember that we are the professionals and this is our business. We get paid to think about all of these issues. How does a consumer, who is working at a full-time job, raising a family, and dealing with all the stress of life, process all of this data and come up with a purchase decision? There are several tools they use, but the most functional one is something we call their shopping cycle. SHOPPING CYCLES Obviously, no one can take the time to do all of the minute and detailed analysis necessary to make the best possible decision about every product purchased. There just isn't enough time in the day. So, what happens instead is that people develop patterns of behavior that help them define how they will go about making their decisions. These patterns of behavior help them decide: When to start looking around for an item How much time to spend looking for alternatives How much energy to put into consideration of alternatives What the negotiation process should be like The Shopping Cycle for Automobiles To help us understand shopping cycle analysis let's look at the typical shopping cycle for a different industry. The Buick Buyer Cycle is a well-recognized shopping cycle in the automotive industry. It got its name from the pattern that was first d