ch of the business units to guarantee that the units are working to meet not only their immediate short-term goals but also the long-term goals of the corporation. BUILDING THE ORGANIZATION AND THE SYSTEM The systemic and organizational concepts proposed here are in many ways revolutionary. They call upon us to take existing organizational structures and computer systems paradigms and to stretch our understanding of how they should be used to new levels. What we are proposing will not come easily. Large investments of time, money, and organizational re-structuring will be required to make the model function. Ultimately, however, the real question is, "Does your organization have any alternative?" Clearly, the telcos that learn how to create, staff, and implement the system we are describing here will create for themselves an unassailable long-term edge in the marketplace. The ability to function quickly, consistently, and precisely with customers, to react more quickly to their changing demands, and to interpret more accurately the vagaries of their behavior are the keys to business success in the next generation. eXcellence in Telecommunications The Telco Churn Handbook CHAPTER 11 AN INTRODUCTION TO SEGMENTATION Segmentation is without a doubt the single most important and least understood of customer relationship management tools. The art and science of segmentation has undergone a number of revolutions over the past several decades and more mistakes, confusion, and waste have been created as a result of this than any other single factor. Ultimately, segmentation is the only tool we have at our disposal that will allow us to treat our customers with consistency and clarity. Through segmentation we can reconcile all of the conflict and confusion that typify attempts to manage customer relationships on a large scale. Throughout the previous chapters we have repeatedly stated that segmentation will play an important role in the development of churn management and customer relationship management solutions. Before 