closer or push them further away. eXcellence in Telecommunications The Telco Churn Handbook Public Relations, Rumors, and Reputation Not only will the more immediate interactions with the telco move the consumer back and forth across the loyalty continuum, SO too will other matters. Public relations events, rumors among the populace, and the ongoing reputation that the firm has with consumers all play a role and move consumers in or out. WHY THE OLD MODEL WORKS When viewed in this light we see that, if the telco is to take advantage of consumers' implicit trust and maintain the loyalty of customers, some serious scrutiny of these zones of influence is in order. This perspective also makes clear that every department of the telco plays a role, not only in winning or serving customers, but also in maintaining customers' loyalty. Looking at the retail/transaction-based model of customer relationship management, two key factors stand out that make the model SO extremely successful. The model assigns responsibility for delivery of specific missions to specific organizations - advertising takes care of awareness, sales takes care of negotiation, etc. This as- signment of responsibility allows the groups to specialize. 2. The model provides a clear, easy-to-understand measure that lets everyone know if the approach is working. All in- volved in the delivery of the transaction model concentrate on the transactions delivered. We therefore have several questions to answer regarding the implementation of this new model. Which departments do we assign to what responsibilities for the maintenance of the zones? How do the roles of these departments change as a conse- quence of this assignment? 3. How will the organization measure and monitor the actions of these groups? How can we tell if the model is actually working? Chapter 18 ASSIGNING DEPARTMENTS TO MANAGEMENT OF ZONES Our first task, then, is to determine which departments should be assigned to what jobs and, in some cases, to ask whether the creation of new departments 