rather infrequent basis. (This is changing somewhat with the increased popularity of prepaid cards, but the observation is still basically valid). While the retail consumer gives the company many opportunities to establish an ongoing relationship through repeated visits to the retail establishment, the telco has no such anchor. Many consumers never enter a telecommunications company office. Most never have a reason to talk with a customer service rep. In fact, from the consumers' perspective, after the purchase decision has been made, they would prefer not to think about the carrier at all. Most people prefer that the selection of a telco provider be a background issue. The only times they will even think about the carrier is (a) when a bill arrives or (b) when there are problems with service. Airline Industry Churn Management Although retail is undoubtedly the most prominent of the industries that must deal with customer loyalty, the situation that airlines find themselves in is probably more similar to the telco customer relationship. Like the telecommunications company, airlines are not a part of the average person's day-to-day life the way retail establishments are. People count on airlines to deliver their service when it is needed. At other times, they don't think about airplanes. Like the telco, airlines need to deal with a wide variety of customers with many different needs and preferences, and they deal with customers that have very erratic and unpredictable shopping/ buying cycles. Because of the unique nature of the airline business, however, the airline industry has developed a number of unique loyalty management (churn prevention) techniques that are now being mimicked by other industries. Frequent Flyer Programs By far the most extensive and most successful of the customer loyalty programs ever to be launched is the airline frequent-flyer program. The basic principle behind the program is simple. Keep track of how often consumers make use of your service and reward Chapter 6 them each time they do. 